Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin is throwing his hat in for governor of Kentucky

March 12, 2015

WRITER

Kentucky really dropped the ball a few months ago by choosing establishment GOP leader Mitch McConnell over small government conservative Matt Bevin for their U.S. Senator. Well listen up Kentucky — you have a chance to redeem yourself! Matt Bevin is running for governor and talked about the campaign on radio this morning.

Below is a rush transcript of the interview:

GLENN: Kentucky, even though you're dead to me --

PAT: Could be somewhat slightly redeemed here.

GLENN: Could be. You could be mostly dead to me.

PAT: Right.

GLENN: If you would elect Matt Bevin for governor of the state of Kentucky. The primary is happening now and Matt Bevin happens to be on the phone with us. A friend of the program. A successful businessman. And a man that should have replaced Mitch McConnell. But Kentuckians decided to have, I don't know, too much bourbon.

PAT: Look at the fruits of that labor already.

GLENN: Working out well, Kentucky, isn't it? I'm sorry. Matt Bevin, welcome to the program.

MATT: It is good to be with you guys. It really is. You're bringing me down a little. Bringing me down.

GLENN: No, no. I don't want to bring you down.

MATT: We need you here in Kentucky. Don't give up on us yet. Don't give up on us yet.

GLENN: So what's happening with the primary? And why are you running for the -- I mean, I think you should have moved out of Kentucky. Just saying.

MATT: You know, I love this state. I say that not for gratuitous reasons. I just do. It's a beautiful part of the world. We're better than we sometimes appear to be, politically and otherwise. We have a lot of people here who care, not only about the direction of this state, but of this country. And it's a function of, we've got energize that base. You know this. You fight this battle every day. We have to get the people to care about these issues to actually come out to the polls.

GLENN: I know. Well, I will tell you this, there's a guy who used to live on the court, St. James Court in Louisville. I too love Kentucky. It's a great state. And if you want to, if you really want to change things, look at what -- look at what Scott Walker has done for Wisconsin. I mean, he has fundamentally transformed that state. You just start putting the correct principles in, and jobs come rolling in and your debt goes away. And things just turn around.

MATT: Absolutely. The missing ingredient is courage. We don't have enough people with political courage who are willing to step forward and take on the odds that seem insurmountable. He is a man who has time and again done things that people said could never and would never happen in that state. And he has not accepted that as an answer. And it's no different in Kentucky. If we do things that people say can't be done, but we do them anyway because we know they must be done, I know we can prevail. I know we can.

PAT: Matt, you've been officially in the campaign for how long now?

MATT: About six weeks. So I am just in the mix. I have not yet run any media of any sort whatsoever. And even so, we are statistically within the ranks of the frontrunner. I mean, we've been first or second in every single poll that has been done, even before I got into this race. So I'm delighted at where we are.

PAT: Yeah. The latest poll we saw shows you right behind the leader, whose name I don't even know. But that's amazing if you haven't even started really running ads or doing any media yet. That's --

GLENN: What's the difference between you and the other guy?

MATT: I mean, there's three other guys in the mix. The one you're referring to is a businessman. He's a good man. He really is. He has spent millions of dollars already on this race and has been officially in the race for over a year and he's barely ahead of me.

GLENN: Wow.

PAT: So this is good.

MATT: This is not because there's anything wrong with him. I don't think he evokes a sense of strong leadership. He doesn't give people a great sense of confidence. He's a good man. But I don't think he's the right solution. He's always a man who is sometimes a little squishy as it relates to taxes and things. He's sometimes there and sometimes not there. I'm far and away the most conservative and the most liberty-minded and have consistently been so throughout my entire life of anyone in this race.

GLENN: Where is Kentucky on Common Core?

MATT: This is another issue. I mean, we have most people saying they're opposed to it. I personally am very strongly opposed to it. Just last night, I spent a fair bit of time with a mutual friend of ours. Heidi Huber, who is just a very strong friend. What they're doing in Iowa right now is encouraging. They're on the cusp of encouraging their state to remove themselves from this in ways that are powerful and could be a great example for Kentucky. I have called in my Blueprint for a Better Kentucky to repeal Common Core in its entirety. And I've made that unequivocal from the first time I first ran for Senate to now and even before that time.

GLENN: And you also are trying to -- you want to move Kentucky into a right-to-work state.

MATT: Absolutely. We must. We're the only state in the south that does not have right to work legislation. It's killing us. People are passing us by simply because they cannot check that box. We cannot afford fiscally financially to pass --

GLENN: I'll tell you, Kentucky is -- I really like Kentucky. Kentucky is a geographically, just in a perfect little spot. It's really beautiful. Really beautiful. The people are very friendly. It's still in the South. And yet it's -- you know, it's obviously on the Mason-Dixon Line. And it has everything going for it. I mean, it's a great place to locate a company. Honestly, I walked through Louisville and thought to myself, you know, when we were getting ready to move down to Texas, I saw Louisville and I thought, you know, some of these old buildings down here, I'd love to take an old warehouse and just build studios in Louisville. Because it's a great place to live.

MATT: If I have my ability to become governor and then ultimately effect the changes that I know we can make, I'd love to attract you back. I'll tell you, you'd rather be here in July and August than Texas. I can tell you that.

GLENN: No, Matt. Not a chance. If you were senator, there was a chance. But Kentucky is dead to me now.

MATT: No, no, no.

[...]

STU: When is the primary, Matt?

MATT: The primary is May 19th. Again, we have four people running on the Republican side. So it's unusual in Kentucky. It's usually the Democrats that fight for the nomination, and then some poor chump gets put up on the Republican side. But this is a state that is shifting. It's changing. And that's good.

So conservatives are starting to have their voices heard. There are still far more Democrats than Republicans. But I need Republicans in Kentucky that are listening, if you care about the future of Kentucky, pay close attention to this race. I would certainly be grateful, of course, for people's support. But I'd rather they make an informed decision and that they go to the polls actively and intentionally, and I think that they will look at our campaign --

My running mate Jenean Hampton is extraordinary. She's a woman who grew up in inner city Detroit. Her mother and father got divorced when she was seven. She was the youngest of four girls. Her mother had an eighth grade education. No one in her family had ever gone to college. She paid her own way through school working full-time at General Motors. Got a degree in Industrial Engineering. Then joined the Air Force. Seven years active duty military, including a deployment to the Gulf War. Got out. Went into the private sector for 20 years, working her way up to being a plant manager at a Fortune 500 packaging company. Got an MBA along the way. Is conservative to the core. Knows why she's conservative.

The fact that she's a black female puts her in remarkably select company in the state of Kentucky's Republican Party. And she knows why she believes what she believes. She's liberty-minded and an extraordinary candidate as this state has ever seen. There's never been an African-American ever run for lieutenant governor or governor in the history of this state. So she brings to this equation a level of confidence and knowledge of her principles and what it means to not play the victim.

She has had 1,000 opportunities in her life to make excuses for why she could have been or would have been something else. And she has seized the very principles that this nation was built on for herself and for her life and is an example to others in ways that nobody else could begin to replicate. She's extraordinary.

STU: Are we voting for her, or?

GLENN: Yeah, I wonder why she's not running for governor.

MATT: I know. The ticket is probably backwards. But --

GLENN: Let me ask you this, Matt -- what are race relations like especially with the shooting that happened in Ferguson? What is happening in Kentucky? How are things in Kentucky?

MATT: You know, I was just with a bunch of police chiefs this morning. I spent my morning with about 40 different police chiefs. And they were talking about that and others. It's -- race relations -- specifically, we're a state that's 88.2 percent white. We're predominantly white.

Race relations tend to be more an issue in the urban areas as might be affected, but frankly ours is a state that could probably stand to pay a little more attention to the fact that we are one nation under God, indivisible. This is what made our nation great. It's what we must have to be great going forward.

Part of why I put this ticket forward is we recognize Kentucky. Jenean and I are Kentucky. We're black, we're white, we're male, we're female. We're from the city. We're from the country. We're two individuals who both grew up below the poverty level, but have been blessed to live the American dream.

And, to me, if there's anything that will enhance the level of dialogue between races in this nation, it's for people to recognize that we are indeed one nation under God. And you've met my family. My family alone happens -- I have black children, I have white children. But I don't see them that way. They're my children.

GLENN: I have to tell you something. You just keep having more children. You have like 34 children. Eventually, your kids can just go to the polls and elect you.

MATT: We're a few years away. Honestly, we only have one seat left in the 12-passenger van so I think we're done.

GLENN: Matt, give me the web address.

MATT: It's MattBevin.com. It hasn't changed. Pat, I know you've been waiting to say that. M-A-T-T B-E-V-I-N dot-com. People can go and see my plan for a better Kentucky. It's a simple plan. It's a fiscally responsible plan. And I'll tell you, anything your listeners can do inside and outside of Kentucky, there's three races in the country in 2015, and only one has the ability to change the governorship in a statehouse, and that's Kentucky. And I'd be grateful -- if people think that having a 32nd Republican Kentucky governor in solving this nation's problems from the bottom up, is going to be the answer, as opposed to from Washington, I'd be --

GLENN: Well, I will tell you that we wish you would have replaced what's-his-face? McConnell. But, you know, another path to the White House, quite honestly, is through the governorship. And I'm not saying that's what you're doing it for or anything else, but I will tell you, look at what happened to Scott Walker. He's changed the dynamics of that state. And that is a very progressive state. He has changed the people's lives for better. And he could be a presidential candidate. So we're big supporters of yours, Matt. And we appreciate it. And best of luck to you. Thank you.

MATT: Thanks for having me on twice. I appreciate it.

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The dangerous lie: Rights as government privileges, not God-given

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When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

POLL: Is Gen Z’s anger over housing driving them toward socialism?

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A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

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