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All right.

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Even as the president and members of

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his cabinet make campaign swings

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through Wisconsin this week, the

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Trump administration is working

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behind the scenes on the electoral

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process leading up to the November

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elections.

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This week, the U.S.

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Postal Service released its proposed

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rule attached to the president's

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March executive order titled

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Ensuring Citizenship Verification

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and Integrity in Federal Elections.

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That's an order Governor Tony Evers,

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at the time, called BS.

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The order instructs the Departments

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of Homeland Security and Social

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Security to send state election

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officials lists of confirmed

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U.S. Citizens and prevents

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mail-in ballots to anyone not

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on the list.

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Add to that the FBI has been

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in Milwaukee interviewing and

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seeking to talk with election

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officials who worked the 2020

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election that Trump declares he

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actually won, but didn't.

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Trump maintains his loss was

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a result of widespread voter fraud,

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which never proved out.

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Set against all this, we turn

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to Wisconsin Elections Commission

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chair-elect, Republican member

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Don Millis.

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And Mr. Millis, thanks very much for

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being here.

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Great to see you.

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So is it another rough-and-tumble

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election cycle staring down

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the Wisconsin Elections Commission?

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Well, more of the rough and tumble

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certainly is gonna be in the

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political ads that are run between

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the candidates.

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You know, this has always been an

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issue for the elections

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commission.

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You know there'll be lawsuits and

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counter lawsuits and proposed

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regulations.

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You know I'm not too worried about

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it. I know that the things

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that really bother me the most or

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that concern me the more are making

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sure that absentee ballots, if

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they're mailed like a week or two

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before the election, they get their

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own election day.

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Those are things that we're working

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to try to.

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Working with the post office to make

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sure that that happens.

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Those are the things that concern me

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the most

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Because WEC has called on the

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U.S. Postal Service to speed up

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deliveries of absentee ballots after

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I read two-thirds of

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clerks reported mail delays during

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the April 7 election.

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How bad was it?

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Well, it was so bad that when

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the commission staff sent out a

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questionnaire to clerks, they got

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an overwhelming and historic

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response from clerks.

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Typically, clerks don't respond.

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There was a huge, huge concern.

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The staff have met

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with the postal service officials.

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We are trying to get what's known as

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enhanced delivery procedures

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that they would agree to when

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we have elections. This would mean,

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for example, that when you...

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Put a return a

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ballot to Madison or

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Grafton or Eau Claire,

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it wouldn't have to go to Milwaukee

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or Minneapolis, it

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would go straight to the clerk.

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And so those are things we're

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working on. Those are the things we

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do behind the scenes that no one

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really seems to pay much attention

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to. I'm glad that you're paying

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attention to it, that we can really

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make sure that our elections

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are done effectively and

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efficiently.

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Have you had any response from the

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USPS on that?

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I think the staff have indicated

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that it was generally a

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very positive response.

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I think there's a dedication to

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making sure that absentee ballots

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are returned promptly,

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having multiple deliveries on

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election day, things like that.

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I think it was a very constructive

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conversation.

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As to these federally generated

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voter lists for delivery

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of absentee ballots, do you think

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that's a good idea?

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Well, I think it's problematic.

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I mean, one of the concerns is

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they want to use intelligent mail

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barcodes On the return

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we use we use those on the

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when ballots are sent out

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Again, the problem with that is that

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it delays it I'm guessing

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that as with so many other executive

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orders and regulations that have

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come out of the Obama Trump Biden

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Trump White houses The

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the courts are gonna have their say

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if it looks like it's gonna pass

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muster with the courts

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That's when we probably become

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concerned and we'll certainly have

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contingency plans.

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It looks like it's going to fall

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into place.

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But what was published

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last week was just a preliminary

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notice and comment in

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the federal register.

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I'm not, I think it's unlikely

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that that regulation is going to be

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in play for the November election.

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So what is your response to the FBI

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poking around on the 2020 election

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in Wisconsin, specifically in

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Milwaukee?

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Well, I've seen politicians on the

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press report about it.

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Everything that I've see in talking

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to people who've been interviewed

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is that the interviews have been

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professional, they've been done by

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career employees, and

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it wasn't really what I call an

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investigation. I think there's an

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effort to prepare

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a report for probably someone

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higher up in the Department of

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Justice or the FBI.

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I am not confident that anything

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more will come of it.

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Certainly, the conversation that was

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reported in the press with

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a. Election Commission staffer,

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the questions that were asked were,

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can you debunk these election

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conspiracy theories?

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I think the staffer did a very good

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job of that.

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And so I'm not sure that we'll

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have an investigation.

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I think it's hopefully doubtful that

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we'll see the FBI come in to

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any clerk's office in

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Milwaukee or Madison or elsewhere

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with a search warrant.

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I think mostly what's going on is

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that they're trying to draft a

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report so that those in Washington

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can evaluate.

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With all of this happening behind

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the scenes really, what should

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voters do to make sure they can cast

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a ballot that is counted?

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Well, certainly go on

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my vote, make sure that you're

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voting in the right place.

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If you're going to vote absentee and

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we don't want to discourage people

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from doing that, make sure you get

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your ballot, fill it out, send

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it back early.

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Or if you're concerned about the

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mails, place it in

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a secure drop box if your

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municipality has one or deliver

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it to your clerk. That's the most

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important.

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We leave it there.

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Don Millis, thanks very much.

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Thank you, have a good weekend.

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Perfect timing.

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Thank you.

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Well, it's more due to you, and I

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try not to filibuster

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So like yeah, maybe some of your

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guests

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You got that right.

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We're talking to an

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early childhood association

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about the elimination

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or the end of

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those child care subsidies.

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We have Donald Trump.

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We are not interviewing him, but we

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are showing him.

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Is it today?

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Is today the day he's in Wisconsin?

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Yeah, Chippewa County.

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Cool.

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We have a nice story about...

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The number of closures of rural

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schools.

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Yeah. Oh.

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Oh, you know, good news as usual,

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all over the place.

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Yeah, I guess so.

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OK, well, good enough.

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Have a good weekend.

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Thank you, you too.