John Podora Can Outwit the Queen of Muck, Beetlejuice Boebert in CO 4.

David Wheeler: 00:00:03

Welcome to Muck U, the podcast, slicing through pompous prattle in a riotous circus of razor sharp wit. I'm David Wheeler, your brash, marginally amusing ringmaster from American Muckrakers. I ain't Kara Swisher, but you ought to see my pivot.

And I'm not as handsome as Jason Bateman, but my zingers still stings, flinging fiery barbs at political and cultural clowns. I'm here to spark a laugh and gasp, brace for a whirlwind of brazen banter.

But before we cannonball into the muck, here's the world famous Colonel Mo Davis ready to roll out his razzle dazzle and introduce our spectacular guest.

Col Moe Davis: 00:00:45

Hey, thanks, David. How many times you have to practice that before you actually get through that whole thing? That. That's quite impressive.

David Wheeler: 00:00:54

Well, how about none?

Col Moe Davis: 00:00:56

Wow.

David Wheeler: 00:00:58

All right, it's all yours.

Col Moe Davis: 00:01:00

All right, thanks. Hey, folks, thanks for joining us again on another episode of Muck. You. And today we're pleased to have John Podora on with us.

John is out in Severance, Colorado, where he's running for Congress. That's Colorado's 4th congressional district.

ohn's going to take her on in: 2026

John Padora: 00:01:44

Yeah, it's great to be here. Thank you for the invite.

Col Moe Davis: 00:01:47

Oh, sure. Hey, listen, you're in Severance, so I have to ask this question.

Is Mark going to leave his wife for Heliar and his Lumen industry supporting Lauren Boebert?

John Padora: 00:01:57

I don't know the answer to either of those questions.

Col Moe Davis: 00:02:02

Yeah, if you don't watch the show on Apple tv, there's a show called Severance.

John Padora: 00:02:06

I briefly seen it and you're not the first person to ask me about it.

Col Moe Davis: 00:02:10

I couldn't pass that up. Hey, listen, that, you know, you're in the 4th Congressional District, which Cook Political Report says is an R +9.

Boebert won in November with about what, 11 and a half percent victory? So why are you putting yourself through this?

John Padora: 00:02:32

You know, because Lauren Boebert does not speak for, for my community, for my neighbors, for myself, for my family. Lauren wins because she's a firebrand, because this is a gerrymandered district. But people shouldn't lose hope.

This district is 47% unaffiliated it is going to take the right kind of Democrat that can appeal to conservative voters. I believe that's me. You know, I grew up my entire life in a conservative household on a farm with my grandfather in southeastern Pennsylvania.

My dad was a carpenter who taught me how to build things. I've been a blue collar manufacturing engineer for the last two decades.

I really know how to talk to conservative folks and it's something that I enjoy doing. And we see them continue to vote against their own economic interests time and time again.

But to be honest, as Democrats in this district, I don't believe we do a very good job. I don't believe that parroting DNC talking points is how we win Colorado's most conservative district. So I've been out and about in my community.

I've been talking to folks. I have a lot of moderate Republican friends around here in Severance and Weld county. And I don't believe this is something we should write off yet.

And that's why I'm willing to put myself out there.

Col Moe Davis: 00:03:44

Yeah, I agree. I mean, it sounds like your district is really similar to the one I'm in.

This is North Carolina's 11th congressional district and the demographics sound very similar. We've got a, the, the largest voting bloc here in North Carolina.

They're called unaffiliated voters, but independents outnumber the Republicans and the Democrats. And you're right, it's appealing to those people that is essential. It. You know, you mentioned about people voting against their interest.

I can tell you, when I ran in: 2020

And how do, how do we get that across to them?

John Padora: 00:04:27

You know, that's the million dollar question. I, I don't think that's implying that anybody's stupid at all. You know, I spend a lot of time in the agricultural community.

I see them that they vote on perceived values. People tell me that Lauren Boebert is a Christian, she's a woman of God. You know, they support that. She might not have it all figured out.

She might be controversial. To me, it's, we, we have to show these people that they're voting against their own economic interests.

We have to show them a strong economic populist message that resonates with them. And we need to do a hell of a lot better job of capturing independence.

I have talked to hundreds of people just over the last couple Weeks that have left the Democratic Party, left the Republican Party because they're tired of those partisan politics. They're tired of the antics. They want solutions, they want results.

I don't know what the answer is for how we come across to these people, but I grew up in a Christian household myself.

And so when I hear people say that, people like Lauren Boebert, that she follows God, she's the antithesis of everything that my pastor taught me growing up. So I think having those tough conversations with people, I think that Democrats tend to live in echo chambers.

And we don't like to sit down with conservative folks or folks on the complete opposite side of the political spectrum.

And I think that's something we have to be really willing to do is go out into these conservative communities, show up to their community events and answer the really tough questions.

Col Moe Davis: 00:05:53

Yeah, I, I agree. I think you're exactly right on that.

And it, you know, to me, it kind of confounds me that somehow Democrats kind of lost the bubble and, you know, working class people, I mean, truth is, we're the party that wants to look out for working class folks. And somehow the Republican Party has persuaded them that, that, you know, to, to side with them. And you're right. We got to get that message across.

But you're talking about Boebert and her Christian Persona.

I think we all remember the mutual molestation in the theater there and last time around, but you got to give her credit now, she is nonpartisan because the guy that she was mutually molesting was a Democrat. So good on her for reaching. Reaching across the aisle, literally.

John Padora: 00:06:41

Yeah, I mean, we'll give her that.

Col Moe Davis: 00:06:43

Yeah, but you ran in the primary back last time around and you actually went to the theater. So can you, can you tell our listeners what you did there? And I'm assuming you didn't do what she did, but.

John Padora: 00:06:56

No, we did not.

Col Moe Davis: 00:06:57

What'd you do in the theater?

John Padora: 00:06:59

You know, all we did was we showed up, we paid the union workers that ran the theater, you know, a solid wage to rent their space out and to take care of the lighting and letting us in and out. We went there and we filmed a campaign ad sitting in the very same seat that she was. And what we did is we just contrasted ourselves.

You know, I was there with my three kids and my wife, and we talked about a vision. We talked about how she's shown us time and time and time again who she is.

We recited some of the legislation that she's voted for that's, you know, hurt everyday Americans and that was really just the goal.

We wanted to just make people laugh in the process, you know, of contrasting what our campaign was, what our vision was, who I am as an individual, and just to highlight and remind people how toxic she actually is.

Col Moe Davis: 00:07:45

Yeah, you mentioned your, your wife and kids. I'm assuming, unlike Bobert, you and your spouse and kids don't have mug shots.

John Padora: 00:07:54

We don't, you know, so we don't have mug shots. I've been very, very open in the past. I grew up in, you know, southeastern Pennsylvania, the heart of rural America.

And I was a product of the opioid epidemic.

You know, when I was 19, I got in a severe car accident and my head smashed through the windshield and I was prescribed long term painkillers for, you know, close to a year. Doctors cut me off. I was physically addicted. I struggled with addiction on and off for years.

So, you know, I have two non violent arrests for expired prescriptions and such during the years that I was in recovery. My wife and I are good people. We're in our community, we're engaged with our, our family. We have no violent crimes, we have no domestic disputes.

You know, a big contrast to that. But I do always like to be open about my struggles because I think it, you have to be authentic in today's political environment.

Col Moe Davis: 00:08:48

Yeah, well, there's certainly, you know, John Lewis talked about good trouble, but seems like the Boebert clan is. That's not good trouble, that's just trouble.

John Padora: 00:08:57

There's a fine line and she's way, way, way on the other side of it. I've, I've been known to cause good trouble.

I have no problem, you know, showing up to protest and a little couple acts of civil disobedience when we needed to, you know, exercise our American fundamental principles. But her and I are nothing alike. So the answer to your question is no. We're, we're a much more functional family.

David Wheeler: 00:09:21

Yeah, that's the, it's the Bobert crime family. I mean, I, I probably know more about Lauren Bobert and her family that she does.

And it's pretty disgusting that entire family, down to teenage children have either been arrested or accused or something. But, you know, I don't make any judgments about that.

Col Moe Davis: 00:09:42

Well, maybe I do.

David Wheeler: 00:09:44

There's a little bit of work going on in my house, so you might hear some hammering. But listen, John, I, I don't know you that well. I endorsed you personally last time around at the last minute, and I just think the world of you.

And two things stick out to me in the last six minutes we've been having this conversation. Number one, your honesty, you're being upfront. That is one of the things that I think is going to eventually kill Boebert's chances in Congress.

And then, and then second, you know, you're being very humble about your problems and, and owning the problem. You can't name one thing that Lauren Boebert has ever owned, whether it's Beetlejuice or whatever. Where does that come from, John?

What, how, how do you get through these struggles but still realize that you're the person responsible?

John Padora: 00:10:49

You know, I think a lot of that comes down to our values and how we were raised. I was raised by two, two amazing parents. You know, my dad was, he was a visionary. He was a carpenter and a community leader.

And he always said that he should have been a lawyer. And nobody ever argued with him because they would have been invalidated pretty quickly.

My mom was caring and compassionate, and I remember the first couple times I ever got in trouble in life, you know, trying to pull a fast one over my parents. And my mom would always say, you know, John, it's, you're going to get yourself so much more wrapped up if you don't just fess up to it.

Just, just be real with me. And that stuck with me from the time that I was a kid. So when I would make mistakes, I'd come right home and mom, dad, you know, this happened.

I, I shouldn't, I shouldn't have done it. But I want to let you know that I'm learning from it. So for me, it's a value based thing. I have a super strong support network.

You know, I want to set a good example for my children.

I want to show them the same lessons that my parents taught me, that we're human beings, we're imperfect, we're going to make mistakes, but it's how you own up to them.

And sometimes some of your biggest struggles and your biggest mess ups, like what I just spoke about with the opioid addiction, they can turn into your biggest strengths.

I mean, that propelled me into my political, into my political career and future and advocacy work that I've done, meeting with police officers and state representatives and congress people and advocating for people that are going through those situations. So sometimes I think how your mistakes that you make along the way and how you own up to it is just conducive of your overall mindset.

David Wheeler: 00:12:26

And you know, the other thing that sticks out to me, John, is you're very articulate.

And I say that with due Respect, because we get a lot of people on here and by the end of the sentence, I have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. And, you know, you're short and sweet to the point, and you can tell that it's sincere. Where did this come from?

Or do you have a background in public speaking? Or tell us a little bit about your personal and professional background that you're comfortable with.

John Padora: 00:12:56

Sure, yeah. So again, I can't really take a whole, whole lot of credit for that.

My aunt, who actually lived her entire life out here in Boulder, Colorado, her and my mother were very, very articulate, and they just taught me how to expand my vocabulary from a young age. They, you know, I went to a private Catholic school.

You know, being in a low middle class working family, my parents prioritized education because where we grew up, the public education system wasn't very good. So I got that opportunity where, you know, a lot of people might not start out in life, but really, my.

To be honest, I never really did that good in school. I never really thought that I was intelligent.

I had times where teachers would cut me down and say, oh, you know, you're going to work at McDonald's your whole life, you know? What I learned when I finally graduated high school is that I was intelligent. I was just bored and had a little bit of ADD and I wasn't challenged.

So I went into trade school. I gained an associate degree in computer aided manufacturing and machine tool technology. And I got to work with my hands.

Once I got to work with my hands, I realized that that add from being crammed in a desk for 16 years just wasn't for me. So I went on and I got a bachelor degree in environmental sciences and geospatial technology. And my.

I really credit my articulation of words, again, to my upbringing. My family put a lot of emphasis into how I communicated with people. And I'm just a product of my environment.

David Wheeler: 00:14:29

Well, that's another attribute that we need in Congress.

I mean, if you think about the issues facing this country, God forbid we have somebody that's been through it and come out the other side in a positive way.

John Padora: 00:14:43

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I think one of the biggest things that I'd like to contrast myself to people is like, I didn't go to an Ivy League school.

My wife and I are in six figure student debt because we're working people and we wanted to be educated. That's. Some people just start out way ahead of the line.

And when I look in Washington, I see way Too many people that had that upbringing, that went to the Ivy League schools, that got a cushy lobbying job, that know, spent their entire life preparing to run for office. That was never my intent.

I'm running for office because I want to meet the moment because I'm scared shitless to see the type of future that my children are going to inherit.

David Wheeler: 00:15:22

Well, the, the other thing that you can contrast yourself with, with one of your primary opponents is you actually live in the district. And I noticed yesterday there was a member of the military got into the race and we've invited. What's her name again? John.

John Padora: 00:15:40

You know, I just saw her yesterday. Rear Admiral Eileen, I believe.

David Wheeler: 00:15:45

Okay, all right, we'll just Rear Admiral Eileen. We've invited her on this show. We're gonna be fair. We haven't endorsed anybody yet. We want to hear from all the candidates.

But not living in the district. You know, mo's running for NC11 Congress out here and you guys are gonna, maybe you guys could be housemates, but when you win.

But I can't imagine Mo running in this district and not living here. It's just inconceivable. But we'll, we'll let the Rear Admiral defend herself when she hopefully comes on our show.

But that's another thing that I think is, is important. You're rooted in the community, John. Your family lives and works there and your kids go to school there.

So tell us a little bit about your family that you're, if you're comfortable with that and, and a little bit about your kids.

John Padora: 00:16:40

Yeah, sure, absolutely. So I, I had the unique privilege of growing up both in Pennsylvania and Colorado.

I, from the time I was 5 years old, got to spend summers and winters with my aunt and uncle out here. I got to, you know, go to camp in, in Denver. Spent a lot of time on the eastern plains. I've had friends out here my entire life.

ago right at the beginning of: 2021

My wife has a huge section of family out here in the Denver metro area. We moved out here because of our desire to want to be in the outdoors, to want to do more hiking, more skiing. It's just a beautiful western state.

We absolutely love it. I have three kiddos, my oldest is 14, I have an 11 year old daughter and our youngest son is 5 years old. And you're Right. We live in our community.

We're very active in our community. We're active in our. In our children's life. We're active in the schools. We're active at our local town council. We're active at the county level.

We're active at the party at the state level. We just, as a family, we do everything together. My kids have been knocking doors with me for the last six or seven years.

They've got firsthand experience working for, you know, knocking doors for presidential campaigns and talking to people in conservative areas. And we just try to show them that, you know, you can't bury your head in the sand. You have to be out there in your community. You have to be engaged.

And again, I just equate that to my upbringing. It's how my dad was, how my grandparents were.

When you're strong within your community, you're strengthening your community, because I think that's something that we're missing so much, is those strong community bonds that really, really tie us together. My wife is a.

She's been able to stay home and raise all three of our kids, which, when child care is $20,000 a year minimum, that's a blessing that I could never be more thankful for. She's just putting. She's an amazing person.

David Wheeler: 00:18:47

She.

John Padora: 00:18:47

She's an interior designer and architect. She kind of holds me all together.

When we go to events and campaign together everywhere, people always notice that, that we're together, and they say, oh, well, who is this? You know, just kind of joking. Well, that's my life manager, she calls herself.

I joked she was my campaign manager, but she one upped it to the life manager. So her and I have something that a lot of candidates don't have, and that's the unity, the strength, the friendship. We're in this fight together.

It's not just one of us, but it's both of us all the time. It's our children as a family. It's. We have family all over the country that believes in what we're doing all over the community.

And that's kind of it in a nutshell.

Col Moe Davis: 00:19:28

Well, John, you're, you know, you're going into this knowing that, you know, she starts out an advantage again. I said, you know, Cook Political Report says your district is an R +9. What's your elevator pitch?

You know, when you're out there talking to voters and you're trying to win over that 9%, what's your two or three points that you want to make to them? That's going to bring them over to your team.

John Padora: 00:19:51

Yeah, you know, it's, it's tough because that's the biggest thing that I think we struggle with is convincing people about the viability of this race. You know, we need the money to be able to, to, to beat her advantage.

Like you said, it's a heavily Republican district, but I think people get caught up in that dichotomy of, oh, well, it's an R plus this and it's an R plus that. I don't know the exact statistics, but I want to say something.

ongressional districts in the: 2018

I'm somebody who has, you know, lived the American struggle. I know what it's like to skip meals to make sure that your children don't go without.

I know what it's like to make those sacrifices, to count your change, going to the grocery store to choose between gas in your car or the medicine that you need. I grew up very, very young. When I was five, my. My dad got sick. He got sick with Ms.

And we basically lost everything and went from living the American dream to the American nightmare. And I remember being five or six years old and wondering why we didn't live in a country that does more for people when they get left behind.

And I just stress to people that I'm a normal person. I'm a blue collar engineer. I grew up in an agricultural community, very working class family. I can connect with Republican voters.

And so we just have to continue to get out into that community like we talked earlier. And I just tell people to not lose hope because there's hardly any competitive congressional districts in the United States. That's the reality.

There's a lot of manufactured candidates, There's a lot of professional candidates. There's a lot of people that quite honestly aren't very good candidates.

There's a lot of candidates that just, like I said, repeat those DNC talking points and don't actually get to know the needs and the wants and the mindset and the culture of their district. I'm embedded in this district. I'm embedded into the culture. I take a lot of time to meet with people.

So I have a very good comprehension and understanding of what affects people. And I can tell you this is a very, very working class district. And it's a very traditional district.

And so having a strong family A strong community, strong mindset and understanding and respect for their culture. That's how we win. So I don't really have a direct pitch other than I let people know that I'm one of them.

And I think that's something that really resonates with them.

David Wheeler: 00:22:22

Yeah.

Col Moe Davis: 00:22:22

Night I ran back in: 2020

John Padora: 00:22:28

I do.

Col Moe Davis: 00:22:28

But, you know, he went, he went to Congress, same class as Bobert and Marjorie Taylor Green. And fortunately da David and I think were instrumental in making sure he was a one and done. But that was one one of the arguments I made.

He, you know, he was a young man who had his first full time job, was member of Congress. He was still on his daddy's insurance policy.

So, you know, some of the things you mentioned I think are important, those life lessons, you know, having to figure out how to pay the bills and having made mistakes and owning up to them and you know, those life lessons I think are important for folks that are going to represent, you know, the folks of their, of their district. But I'm, I'm curious.

You know, I'm, I'm, you know, as David mentioned, I'm running here in western North Carolina and there's, I think on the Democratic side there's a push for candidates to be more aggressive and more assertive. You know, it seemed like in the past we were too timid.

And so how are you striking that balance between, you know, being more aggressive and taking the fight to them but not being, not being an asshole about it?

John Padora: 00:23:42

That's a great question.

And you know, it's something I live every day because being a young voter myself with a lot of those lived experiences, I look around Washington and especially right now in the Democratic Party and I'm looking for a spine for a lot of our elected officials.

And when I go out and I speak to people in the community, I usually like to ask the question, how many people here believe that Washington Democrats are doing enough to fight for you to stand up to the, the sprint towards authoritarianism that we're experiencing right now? Nobody raises their hands. Nobody. We, we've bled a lot of young voters, we've lost a lot of lifetime Democratic voters.

Because right now we need to be strong. We need to project strength. We need to be the party of opposition.

Donald Trump is a terrible, terrible person, but he's politically more intelligent than a lot of Democrats.

And I say that lightly because living in Pennsylvania and living out here in the 4th congressional district, I see how he appeals to working class voters, and a lot of times it's that he's bold. He's willing to say things even if they're not true, even if they're completely distorted, they seem to resonate with people.

Republican party in the early: 2010

We are sick and tired of people that don't know what it's like in the last 30 or 40 years to be working class, to go to work every day, to have to pay your expenses. We need to be bold. And right now that's the most important thing that I'm doing is advocating for structural change, not corporate centrism.

And it's engaging a lot of people because a lot of independents have left the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party isn't progressive enough. And when I say progressive, I don't even mean craziness.

I mean supporting that health care is a fundamental human right, that everybody should have access to affordable housing, that, you know, our military policy needs to be in line with our national security interests and not the interests of corporate military defense contractors.

Just being able to stand up to the status quo and recognize that Democrats are complicit a lot of times as well and have led us to the situation that we are. The two party system has been failing the American people, in my perspective, for quite some time.

And I think that's a message that we need to deliver to people. That doesn't mean I'm not a Democrat. That doesn't mean I don't have Democratic values.

have any other option because: 2026

Col Moe Davis: 00:26:22

Yeah, you made a great point. You know, I spent 25 years in the military and I'm certainly a, you know, a strong proponent for our national security and our national defense.

But this notion that just throwing money at it, can you.

That there's, that there's that narrative that if, you know, if you oppose, if you're opposed to increasing the defense budget, then obviously you hate America.

John Padora: 00:26:45

Right.

Col Moe Davis: 00:26:46

And it's just absurd that particularly in this environment where we're slashing programs that really matter, that, that help people that need help and we're going to increase the defense budget to over a trillion dollars. And the primary beneficiaries of that increase aren't the troops.

It's those defense contractors that are making exactly billions and billions of dollars.

And then, of course, it's like my opponent that I'm running against here, Chuck Edwards, you know, one of his donors is General Dynamics in Boeing, and neither one of them have business here in western North Carolina. So they're not. They're not investing in Chuck because they love the mountains. They're investing because they expect a return on their investment.

And that vicious cycle has got to. Got to stop. So I don't know about you.

I believe in fiscal responsibility, but, yes, we can fix a lot of the problem by reforming the way the government spends money.

John Padora: 00:27:39

I. I think you're spot on.

So this is a conversation I've had for quite some time, and that's because I've worked with defense contractors and subcontractors. A lot of the precision manufacturing I do, we work directly with a lot of those companies. I've made submarine noise suppression devices.

I've made satellite cooling devices. I've made, you know, components that go on the missile launchers and such.

When I look at the amount that these contractors are charging the government, it's pure markup. I mean, 250, 350, 750%. It's just absolutely insane. And you hit the nail on the head.

You can oppose defense spending and still care about national security, still love our country.

At the same time, I want to see our money go to our soldiers and our troops that are on the front lines, not padding the pockets of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics.

When we look at a $1 trillion defense budget bill, I can tell you that that can be cut down in half and won't compromise our national security, because that's where fiscal responsibility comes into the equation.

Col Moe Davis: 00:28:43

Yeah, absolutely.

In this notion, too, that, you know, if you look at it year after year after year, we spend more money on the military than the next 10 countries behind us, including China and Russia. But then the narrative is, oh, my God, to keep up with Russia and China, you know, we've got to spend more.

And it's like, oh, you'd think we'd be light years ahead of them because we continually outspend them.

John Padora: 00:29:07

Yeah, it doesn't make a very good case for the efficiency in the way that the government operates.

And I think it's just more propaganda than other talking point to keep that vortex of money flowing into the Pentagon and into the pockets of the defense contractors.

David Wheeler: 00:29:23

So, you know, we have a lot of national listeners. We've got a lot here in North Carolina that donate to candidates. How do you win, John? It's a tough fight.

Well, against a tough candidate, you can't underestimate Bobo the Clown. She seems to whip it out at the end. Well, maybe not whip it out, but she's whipping something out at the end of every campaign and wins.

John Padora: 00:29:49

So true.

David Wheeler: 00:29:50

How are you gonna. How are you gonna beat her?

John Padora: 00:29:53

Yeah, I mean, the unfortunate part to that is we can't beat her without the money. We cannot beat her without the money. So we're.

We're setting a goal to raise, you know, at least a million dollars during this primary so that we can Travel to all 21 counties and connect with folks. But where we beat her is, for example, in our hometown. So I live in Severance.

David Wheeler: 00:30:14

Hold on a second, John. Hold on. You can't. You can't say that and then not toss in the. The website.

John Padora: 00:30:22

Oh, absolutely. I. I was going to come back to that, but.

David Wheeler: 00:30:26

Yeah, all right, I knew you were. But I want you to throw it in two or three times.

John Padora: 00:30:30

You got it. I'll jump to it first. So, hey, Pandora for Congress dot com. You can go there. You can sign up for our email program to learn more about our campaign.

You can hit the donate button at the top. That is the most important thing.

If you don't want to be in ActBlue system, you can send a check over our way to our campaign PO Box, which is clearly listed at the bottom of the website. But definitely sign up so that you can stay engaged and learn more about what we're doing. And thanks for coming back to that, David. I appreciate it.

David Wheeler: 00:30:57

Yeah, no, I didn't mean to interrupt.

John Padora: 00:30:58

You, but I don't want you're fine.

David Wheeler: 00:31:00

Folks to get over there and help you. So it's.

Col Moe Davis: 00:31:05

Okay. Good.

John Padora: 00:31:06

Yep. And it's. We're on all social media, so you can look us up anywhere.

We've got a link tree which is real streamlined with all of our websites and different social media platforms. So please head over there and back to what I was saying. She lives 10 minutes from. From us in the next town over in Windsor, where we are every day.

My kids go to karate there. They play at the park across across the street from her.

She has refused to come into Windsor where she supposedly lives and hold a town hall talk with her neighbors. We were at a protest last week where her neighbors were. There she is just a complete ghost in her community, whereas we're there at every junction.

And that's how we're going to beat her this time. She was able to carpet bag over here last time and kind of ride the coattails of the Democratic Party, really tanking.

Last year she was able to tie everything to Joe Biden, Joe Biden, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. She'll probably try that again, but I think it'll help not having a Democratic presidential candidate on the ballot this time.

She has been traveling all over the district, but I'll tell you what, it's not in her hometown, it's not in the Front Range communities. She goes four hours away to southeastern Colorado, where she can hide at some little dive bar with five Republicans that are in love with her.

So we're going to show up. We're holding our first town hall in Loveland here at the end of the month.

We're inviting Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliated voters, no pre screen, no pre screen questions, no bullshit, just right to the talking points. And that's how we're going to beat her. We're going to travel this entire district. So that's my biggest ask to everybody.

We want to go to all 21 counties multiple times, starting now. These town halls are incredibly expensive to pay for the travel expenses. So know that when you're making a donation, that's what you're paying for.

You're paying so that myself and my family can get out into our community and, and afford to meet every voter where they are.

David Wheeler: 00:32:52

And, and you were in the campaign last time. You didn't get out of the primary. What, what lessons did you learn from that primary as well as Tricia, who won that primary.

What would you do differently?

John Padora: 00:33:09

You know, that's a good question. This is an entirely different race. I just want to contrast last time we had a once in a lifetime special, special election vacancy.

And what happened is because Ken Buck vacated a seat before the end of his term, the Democratic Party got a couple delegates in a room. It equated to maybe 100 people total. And those hundred people got to decide, okay, this is going to be the nominee. And we came in second place.

And once that happened, Tricia was able to kind of just capitalize on being the special election nominee. The special election was the same day as the primary election. So she was able to have the party resources behind her.

What I've learned this time is I just have to continue to show up. We don't have a special election this time.

This race is going to be decided by all the primary voters within the district, not just by the party folks in that special election committee. We're just going to continue to outwork her. And we're everywhere. We're throughout the district.

And respectfully, I hear a lot of messaging from people that they were disappointed by the candidate last cycle because she wasn't as present in all the communities as people thought that they deserved.

And so I just want to counter that and make sure that we're everywhere, that nobody feels that we didn't show up, that nobody feels like they didn't see us enough. We're going to work double time to make sure we're, we're at everybody's community events and exactly where we need to be to win this race.

David Wheeler: 00:34:32

All right, well, and I, I'm going to toss in one thing that you can disclaim and it's going to sound sexist as. But those bangs. I tell you, those bangs on her haircut just killed me. I think she probably lost 10% by, by that haircut. But anyway, over to you, Mo.

Col Moe Davis: 00:34:52

Yeah, thanks. Hey, John. John, you mentioned you went to a Catholic school.

And I'm, I'm not Catholic, but I, I'll admit I, I shed a couple of tears when Pope Francis died because I think he was really committed to, you know, looking out for the, for the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. And I was really happy yesterday. I, you know, got a little misty eyed with our Pope Leo, you know, the first American Pope.

And you know, that when he first walked out on the balcony, among his first words, we said, you know, God loves everybody.

And I think that's a message that, you know, seems contrary to what we see with people like Bobert who purport to be Christians who have it's, or I refer to them as the cruelty Christians. It's not what I remember reading, you know, when I was going to the Baptist church.

But I'm curious on your thoughts about, you know, how do we break through this? You know, the, the, I guess, you know, the Christian right or purported Christian right is wedded to the Republican Party.

And it seems like our side is, you know, if you want to talk about walking the walk, we, we walk the walk and they just talk the talk.

John Padora: 00:36:12

Yeah, I think that's, I think that's very true.

I think to your, your points about the Pope and such, when, when we recognize that there's people that actually adhere to the true Christian or the true meaning and ideology of Christianity, that we have to be really, really thankful and receptive for that. What I see coming from the Republican Party today is antithetical to every Christian value that I was raised on.

And those values were environmental stewardship. You take care of the earth that God gave you. You love your neighbors, and you take care of people when they need it the most.

The sick, the homeless, you don't cast them out. The immigrants. When I see the way that we're addressing the immigration crisis today and we're treating them like they're.

They're not even human beings, antithetical to every Christian principle.

And I think we need to be out in our community reminding people that we have gotten away from the roles of churches in the communities of helping people when they need it the most. When you.

When I go throughout the country, I see these big, massive corporate churches, and I think that that speaks a lot to how far we've actually drifted away from it. So I think that having a candidate like myself who can.

I can recite scripture, I can talk about the teachings, and I can have a talk with those folks. You know, my grandparents were very, very religious, and my grandmother drilled that into me, especially with the Bible and such.

So when I hear people say, oh, Lauren Boebert or this person or the Republicans, you know, they're the party of God, we can sit down and have a good conversation about that. So I think you made some really, really good points, Mo.

Col Moe Davis: 00:37:41

Yeah, well, thanks. And, yeah, I grew up in living with my.

My grandmother, who is a Baptist Sunday school teacher, and, you know, she's been dead for a, you know, a number of years. And I'm. I'm in my 60s. But to this day, when.

When I have a choice, you know, to make and, you know, one choice is a bad choice, you know, I often stop and think, what would she think, you know, if she knew that, you know, I made a bad choice? But it just seems like on the other side, that, you know, fruity, you know, is the point. Absolutely.

And compassion, I guess that's one thing I was really pleased. You know, here in western North Carolina, you know, we got hit with Hurricane Helene really hard.

And it was really heartening in the aftermath of the hurricane to see people out helping each other. Like, I know in my neighborhood, I met neighbors I'd seen in passing but had never really met them.

But in the wake of Hurricane Helene, it was people helping people, and nobody was asking for your voter ID card to see if you're a Democrat or Republican.

So, sure, it'd be nice as a country if we could get back to Americans helping Americans and get over this, you know, going to our corners and only supporting, you know, our own.

John Padora: 00:38:59

Yeah. I was going to ask how you guys are doing, doing down there. We're, we're pulling for you.

I'm sure there's still some tough challenges ahead, but I'm, I'm glad to hear that there was a strong community outreach. I think that's a huge staple of my campaign, is building strong communities.

And I like what you said, that nobody's asking for your voter registration card. That shouldn't mean anything. We band together as communities and as Americans, and that's something that I think we've really gotten away from.

And I would love to see us return to a point of empathy where we help our neighbors, where we don't worry about our partisan ideological differences. We help them because it's the right thing to do. And I think doing that sometimes, you know, can, can be contagious.

David Wheeler: 00:39:43

You know, the other, the other thing that I think is interesting about the both of you is, or about both of your candidacies is, you know, I grew up in rural Iowa, very Catholic place. I'm not Catholic either, but all my friends were and all my girlfriends were. So I know a lot about the Catholic Church.

And, you know, all of our politicians for the most part, Tom Harkin, Phil Davitt, they're all Catholic as well. So I was steeped in Democratic Catholic politics.

And, and one of the things that was a thread through all these folks, and they were all men back then, a lot more women involved now, obviously, was this focus on service and not unlining your own pockets.

Now they're politicians, so there are certain things that come with being in office, but it shouldn't be millions of dollars and it shouldn't be your spouse getting a $450,000 consulting contract from a oil and gas company. Just because you're in Congress. Will you make a commitment to be an ethical, honest, straightforward representative of the people?

And then the second commitment I need, John, is will you stand down when it's time for somebody else to take the keys?

John Padora: 00:41:04

Oh, man, I love these two questions. Ethics are huge to me. Yes, I can fully take that pledge to be ethical.

I will refuse all gifts from lobbyists and donors, especially the ones that you don't have to disclose. I believe in term limits, so I would have to adhere to term limits myself. I've often supported, at maximum, a 12 year term limit.

So in my opinion, that would be the absolute longest that I would pledge to serve in Washington.

But to be honest, I think I would get done what I would like to do in eight years and starting at year six, I would like to cultivate the next generational leader to step up and fill that void. Because I don't want to Live in Washington D.C. i want to live in my community. I want to spend time in my community.

I don't want to lose the roots that have made me who I am. And I think the longer that you stay in D.C.

the more and more you lose that, that ethical compliance and that grit and determination that got you to where you got in the first place. So, yes, I can make that ethical commitment.

My wife will not be getting a $450,000 cushy consultant job in an industry that she has zero experience in. And that's a huge, huge point of concern for me.

I would introduce legislation to stop all members of Congress from being able to do insider trading, you know, cryptocurrency stocks and such. I think we really, really need some ethical reforms in Congress and I'd be happy to champion that.

David Wheeler: 00:42:26

Well, good, because the current, your current representative out there is a complete scumbag. I'm sorry. She couldn't even pay her own credit card bills and was sued by the credit card company. She went bankrupt and lost her home.

And now she's has multi million dollar net worth and she ain't that smart. So, you know, I, I don't understand the mentality in Washington obviously, and I'm not there.

And, but the, the idea that you go to Congress to put money in your pocket to me is just, you know, beyond disgusting. And I'm glad that I'm talking to two people that aren't gonna do that. So, so. All right. Well, John, this has been terrific.

You're really a solid candidate. Much even, much more solid than I, I thought when we got started here. That sounds like an insult, but it's not. Terrific.

I'm glad to hear you talk about your faith.

I'm glad to hear you talk about your problems in the past and what you've done to, to address them and fix them and live a life of service to your community and your family. And I am delighted that you joined us. And one more time, give folks your website and anything, any other parting words.

And then you're gonna have to sit through my outro, which is long and painful.

John Padora: 00:43:56

No, no worries. David, thank you for having me here today.

And again, my ask to everybody listening today is to go to fedoraforcongress.com, hit the Donate button at the top, scroll to the bottom and see what Our campaign address is so that you can send a check if you feel more comfortable doing so. Help us raise the million dollars so that we can win the primary.

We need the strongest Democrat on the ballot to be able to have a chance to take on Lauren Boebert. And I genuinely believe that that's me. We're working really hard to build a campaign that competes in all the counties here in eastern Colorado.

And this is a national issue. This is a national issue because what Lauren Boebert does, it affects everybody who's listening to this today.

So there's ways that you can get involved if you don't live in the district. We need volunteers to write postcards, to make phone calls for us, to tell three more of your friends to send us a donation.

It doesn't have to be anything huge. 5, 10, 15, $20, whatever you can afford.

We're running a grassroots campaign and I really am going to rely on everybody to help us get across the line.

David Wheeler: 00:44:56

Well, that's a terrific way to end this.

And again, our guest has been John Fedora is running for Congress and hopefully against Lauren Boebert does have a primary and and again, it's Fedora for Congress. B A D O r a for congress.com kick john some a couple bucks, we'll see how he does and then maybe kick him some more.

So that's a wrap for Muc U where we've been diced up dodgy drivel in a giggle fueled circus of snarktastic shenanigans.

I'm David Wheeler, your muck slinging ringmaster from American Muckrakers, joined by the ever dapper, extremely intelligent and occasionally funny Colonel Mo Davis, who is lucky to be married to a lovely woman, Lisa, whose birthday was last week, I think. Tickled pink fire tomfoolery.

Hop on the chuckle wagon, follow share and belly flop into the glorious myths@americanmikerakers.com to learn more or fling us a few coins. Until next time, keep your eye on the long game, keep fighting and whenever a Trumper bothers you, tell them muck you.

Jimmy Muckraker: 00:46:06

This has been Muck you co hosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville, North Carolina and David Wheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Thanks to our guest today, John Pedora from Severance, Colorado.

trict and hopes to run in the: 2026

Follow us on bluesky under americanmuckrakers.com and on substack@americanmckrakers.substack.com you can learn more and donate at americanmukrakers.com David and Mo hope y' all come back soon for a new episode. And remember to never take from anyone, especially Trumpers.