Leland Conway and I both worked in Kentucky. He worked in Lexington first and then he worked in Louisville.
He actually took my show when I.
Left Louisville whas to come to khow out here and Leland considers himself a Kentuckian. I do not consider myself a Kentuckian because I was only there for three years. And though I enjoyed my time in Kentucky. I it's a fascinating, fascinating place. And I got to know, and I say got to know, like we weren't braiding each other's hair, hanging out. I got to interview Senator Mitch McConnell multiple times while I was there and had some
interesting experiences with him. And today the Senator has announced he is not running for reelection. Now, I have told people for years that he would never leave the US Senate voluntarily, that he would that he would head out toes first and that and that that was the only way he was going to leave, because Mitch McConnell was in he had so much power for so long that there was no need for him to leave. I mean, he you know, I believe this to me indicates that his health is far.
Worse than we've been led to believe.
That his health may be the issue here because he's had several kind of catastrophic falls as of late.
I mean, he's older than dirt.
And joining me now to reflect on Mitch McConnell and everything he's meant to Kentucky is well, Leland Conway. Now, Leland, you call yourself a Kentuckian, right.
I do?
In fact, why how long were you there?
Why did you decide to plant your flag there in the Commonwealth?
I was born there. I didn't know that flexing. Yeah, yeah, my whole family is from there. In fact, on both sides, my grandparents on both sides were tobacco farmers. So I'm about as as true, honest native Kentucky and as you can possibly get.
So for some reason, I know you grew up in Arizona, so I, for some reason assume that, Well, that makes a lot of sense. Now, so your family, for what going on almost four decades now, has been subject to the leadership of Senator Mitch McConnell, who will be no more. And I thought, you know, would be interesting, Leland. Do you have any good stories about your interactions with Mitch McConnell's specifically, because I got one.
Yeah, actually I have one kind of more human story, the good side of him, I guess if you will. Now by the way, I call him the Republican assault turtle.
So we always referred to him as the dark Lord, the dark Lord.
Yes, yes, you know what's funny about it. I'll just say this to what's really interesting about Mitch McConnell is, and you and I were talking about this. I think we're exchanging texts on this a few weeks ago. But it's as far as political tacticians go, oh better, until a few months ago, he was as good as they ever get. And he deserves I will say this too, from conservatives. He deserves the debt of gratitude for the current makeup of the Supreme Court. He architected that right.
But somewhere along the way he really delved into this place where you know, it's anti Trump and it's in a fight against Trump and Trump's agenda, and became more of an ally to the Democrats than the Republicans. And so I feel like he's really solid that legacy in his final you know, time there at the Senate.
So don't you think he was, and I saw this very interesting column a couple of days ago. I think I was on the Free Press that was this battle that's brewing or that's happening right now in d C is between the destructionist and the status quoist. And he was definitely a status quoist guy. I mean he he made that bureaucracy to a certain extent in DC over his time there. So he was very much a protect what it is instead of recognizing that what it is
is so fundamentally broken. Also partly his fault and kind of you know, to your point, I think he was so invested in protecting what he perceived to be his creation that he can't he didn't understand and become a monster that was out of control that needed to be put down.
Yeah, that's a really great way to put it. I think, you know, the friendliest I guess review of him is that he was he is a man who hasn't realized that time has left him in terms of the way that Americans in general in mass are demanding that Washington begin to work. So he's essentially protecting an outdated system and probably doesn't even realize how how dated it is.
He probably he's used to doing this sort of, as you say, protectionist thing, which at a time, you know, during the Reagan years, you know, and during the Clinton years, there was there was something to be said for that. It was it was the deliberative body of the Senate in the House and the back and the forth, and we didn't have these wild extreme swings where now the people are demanding that there's there's got to be a different,
more efficient way of running. So yeah, better term dinosaur, right, yeah, you know, and that's for him, but it is what it is.
Well, when I was working at WHAS, Whas is such a part of the fabric of Kentucky. It is a radio station that is just it's so legendary, and he had a very friendly relationship with the station and he spoke to the news media all the time. And when I got there, he had been a regular guest on the host who preceded me show. So here comes the you know, at the time, the leader of the Senate. Wait was he a leader or was he minority? I
can't remember, but obviously in a leadership position. He comes into my studio and he was so over the top nice to me, and I was completely taken aback by this. I was like, what are we doing here? This is not the man I'd heard about. But then right before he left, after that first interview, he's that we're done on the air.
This is all off the air.
He's walking out and he's, well, no, Dad, i'd.
Really like you to, you know, give a good look to Traig Grayson.
He's running for the US Senate, and I think you're really going to like him, and you know, really maybe talk to Trey and basically like did the hard sell on me for his candidate. But then I went and saw Ran Paul at luncheon and I was like, that's it. I'm all in. And there was nothing wrong with Trey Grayson. Nice guy, nice guy. He just inspired nothing in me?
Where's Ran Paul inspired a lot in me? And as soon as I declared my support for Ran Paul on the air, Mitch McConnell's office froze us out for like two years.
I mean, would I say froze us out? I mean icicles are coming in when we make the phone call.
He could be very very vindictive and very spiteful, but I didn't care. I mean, it doesn't make any difference to me, but I never thought he would not run.
Have you heard anything.
I think his health is worse than we've been told, because he's had a lot of health kind of catastrophes over the last year.
Yeah, I haven't heard any insider information about his health, but you could tell over the last few months that has definitely deteriorated. There were more of those instances of freezing up, if you will. And I will credit him for bowing out gracefully and saying I'm not going to run for reelection rather than I love the way you put it the other day. But you know a lot of these guys will go out toes up, right. I think that was your your comment, and I think that's
dead on, and so I'll credit him for that. But it's pretty clear that he's gone down the path of you know, Diane Feinstein and those kinds of things, and maybe he's got the dignity, I guess to say, I don't want to go out that way, So I'm gonna I'm gonna kind of quietly slink back into the corner here. So but yeah, you were right too about the way that that maybe they did the soft cell and then and then well we're just not going to talk to you.
But I never experienced that. But I think one of the most interesting stories I have about Mitch was I do a podcast with a good friend of mine, Cameron Mills, who played at the University of Kentucky on the basketball team, and we scored an interview with him on the podcast a few years back. And Cameron and I are both kind of happy, go lucky, funny guys, and we were like, whatever we do. Because this was a thing with Mitch. I would always try to knock him off guard and
I couldn't do it right. Oh yeah, And you and I are very similar in the fact that we we'd like to get people laughing, and we like to get people talking and try to get that sort of human side of an interview. And these guys are all talking points all the time, and Mitch was the best that that could not knock him off.
And I would ask him a question Leland, and he wouldn't answer it, and I'd say, Okay, I'll ask you one more time, Senator, and he would give me the talking points and I would then say, okay, moving on, since you're not going to answer the question.
Dude, was like it was like a laser with him. It's crazy.
Yes, yes, So Cameron and I we were like, okay, look, we're probably not going to get him off talking points, but here's our goal. We go into this, I go here's our goal. We're going to make him belly laugh. Oh how, some way we're going to make him laugh, right, And it was so funny because we actually did finally get the belly laugh out of him. But it wasn't
about a joke. He was somehow and I can't even remember how we got to this point, but we we literally got him to tell the story of the favorite Christmas present that he got when he was a kid, and it was about a little red wagon. And at some point when he's telling this story, he starts to laugh, like I've never heard him laugh before. And we walked out of it there and we were like, well, hey, we
got it. At least we got a human moment, like deep inside this mechanical robotics Washington insider was a guy who loved his red wagon when he was a kid. And I was like, well, at least there's that, you know.
Yeah, you know, I mean, bless him, bless him.
I agree with you, he's sort of lost his way over the last few years. But I do think it's just because he spent his career creating this thing.
In Washington, d C.
And when someone comes in and says this sucks and we're going to do something different, it's a natural reaction to protect it. But you know, do you think he makes it to twenty twenty seven not to be morbid? And don't get me wrong, I don't want anything to happen to him, but physically he just he doesn't look good.
I don't see that happening. You know. It's like you can kind of tell when people's time is coming. Yep. And I wouldn't be surprised. I did see an announcement today from Cameron in Kentucky. He ran for governor until they had brain fart there for a second, But good guy, you and I talked texted about him earlier today. He
stepped in awfully quick after that announcement was made. So that to me tells me that I wouldn't be surprised if in the coming months, especially as any sort of campaign apparatus begins to heat up, that we wouldn't see a potential retirement oh wow or something like that. Oh really, I don't know, but it feels to me that was super quick, like, hey, I'm not yet run against Hey are you wait?
Are you saying that it could have been coordinated? Leland Conway, I don't know, I don't know.
Yeah, Leyland Gonway can be heard every single evening on Ko kog O in San Diego. You can find that on the free iHeartRadio app in Crystal Clear digital audio.
All right, my friend, I'll talk to you later.
Always fun. Thank you, Mandy, appreciate you.
Thank you, Leland