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Nov. 27, 2022 - Huckabee Today
50:18
Why China is HIJACKING America's Economic Innovation and MORE! | FULL EPISODE | Huckabee
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Tonight on Huckabee, Arkansas Senator John Bozeman, innovation race film producer Jenny Beth Martin, the hilarious observations of Clinton Rodney.
Huckabee holidays kick off with We Need a Lot of Christmas.
That's Trey Coley and the Music City Connection.
And I'm your announcer, Keith Bilbrey.
And now, here's Mike Huckabee!
Welcome, everybody. everybody.
We are so excited to have you here.
Thanksgiving is over and hopefully all your relatives have left and gone home and you have a peaceful time in your home.
Now, if you don't, just look over there and say to those relatives who are still hanging around, we're so glad you didn't have to leave so early.
Otherwise, they'll think that maybe you wanted them to go.
Or if you did really want them to go, say, do we still have people here?
Well, anyway, after a long and often disgusting and very disappointing election year, it does give me great joy to simply say Happy Thanksgiving, as I hope you and your family have already enjoyed a peaceful and restful Thanksgiving weekend.
I certainly hope that your family gathering wasn't contentious over politics.
Now, if you've got family members who couldn't give it a rest for a couple of days, Then maybe they should just go to Denny's next year instead of coming and ruining Thanksgiving for the rest of your family, okay?
Yeah.
I got a lot to be thankful for, but I want to tell you about a very special gift that I received that makes me thankful in ways that I have a hard time even describing.
My first guitar was one that I received from my parents for Christmas when I was 11 years old.
I had begged for an electric guitar for three years, ever since I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.
For three years, they let me know they couldn't afford a guitar, which didn't matter to me.
It's what I wanted.
But each year I got the something else they asked me to name instead of a guitar.
After three years, I said, I don't want something else.
I want the guitar or nothing.
Well, I later came to know just how close I was to getting nothing.
But when I was 11, they presented me with my first guitar, ordered from the JCPenney Christmas catalog at a whopping cost of $99.
But it took my parents a full year to pay for it.
They paid a little each month until they got it totally paid for.
I love that guitar.
I played it until my fingers nearly bled.
I still have it, in fact.
A year later, I saved up money from selling gift cards door to door, catching chickens, which is a horrible way to make money, And collecting coke bottles to buy my first bass guitar, a Vox Clubman bass.
I played it in the first rock band I ever played in.
It was a great little bass and I kept it for about three years when I would finally be able to trade it in on a nicer Fender jazz bass.
But I love that Vox Clubman and I thought one day I'm gonna get one just like it.
Well, I've looked for years.
My family has looked.
Every guitar-owning friend I have were enlisted to look for one.
Now, there weren't many of them made, and they were made mostly for the British market.
About two weeks ago, Trey Corley asked me to come to the band room to see something that they had.
Well, when I walked in, this is what happened.
Lori's got a new toy you might want to check out.
No way.
Merry Christmas, guys.
Where did you find that?
UK. I can't believe this.
I have looked all over the world.
I got scammed three times.
Kelly Back, the Music City Connection virtuoso guitarist, had been looking, and he found one in England that had just been put on the market the day before.
A few emails overcoming some initial objections by the owner to ship it to the U.S., and it arrived in Nashville so Trey and the band could present it to me as an early Christmas gift.
Now, they deserve a big pain.
Yes, they do.
Now, you know, to some people, it might have just been a 59-year-old bass guitar.
But for me, it was the Holy Grail.
It was like Rosebud.
You remember the sled from Citizen Kane?
It evoked the memories of a kid in a little town in South Arkansas who never thought he would get a guitar and then was able to get a bass as well.
In the pre-show that we show in our theater, we show a video, and in it, we have some old photos of me as a kid.
This is one of them with my JCPenney guitar in that stand and me holding the Fox Clubman bass plugged into my Sears Silvertone bass amp.
Now back then I had more hair, less weight, but as you can see, I was still living according to my culture as I was very barefoot.
Yes, I was.
A true Arkansas boy.
So while I've had to...
Well, I've had a lot to be thankful for this year, including a daughter being elected governor of Arkansas.
That was cool.
But I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that something that just took my breath away was being given the relic of my childhood and early music life, the little Vox bass guitar.
Thanks to Trey Corley and the Music City Connection, you guys made my Christmas this year like you can never imagine.
Thank you.
Well, something else I have to be thankful for My state chose to re-elect Senator John Bozeman.
Senator Bozeman has been doing a great job representing our state and the U.S. Senate, pushing forward our interest in good principles.
I'm looking forward to the work that he's going to do for Arkansas and the entire country, and to the conversation that I get to have with him right after the break.
We'll be right back.
Thank you.
Go to MikeHuckabee.com and sign up for his free newsletter and follow AdGov Mike Huckabee on Twitter.
Thank you.
And welcome back.
John Bozeman was re-elected to the U.S. Senate this month, where he'll continue to represent the people of Arkansas in the halls of Congress.
He's beginning his third term as the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee.
What does it mean for the Democrats to effectively keep control of the Senate?
And how important is that Georgia Senate race as the new term begins?
Here's my conversation with Arkansas Senator John Bozeman.
Senator, first of all, congratulations on an election in which you got 66% of the vote against two opponents.
Two opponents and they couldn't even break 34% against you.
I think that's a great start and an incredible mandate as you begin this next term as the senior senator from Arkansas.
Well, thank you, Governor.
I'm just trying to follow your lead, my mentor, in so many different ways now for so many years.
So we were blessed.
We worked hard.
And as you know, the people of Arkansas elected me and elected many others, including Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is going to do a tremendous job as governor of Arkansas.
Well, and I don't have to tell you that she is one of your biggest fans, loves you, and of course worked in your campaigns in the past.
And obviously you didn't need her help.
You did it in a wonderful way this time.
But I want to talk about the mandate that you have.
And it is a mandate.
That kind of vote indicates the people of the state Believe in what you're doing.
Part of, I think, is that you are the ranking member on the Agricultural Committee.
A lot of people may not understand, but that's a big deal for people in agricultural states like Arkansas.
It is a big deal, Mike.
It's a big deal for rural America.
In Arkansas, agriculture is 25% of our economy, which you know very, very well.
If you get outside of any town of any size, though, it's probably 85 or 90 percent.
It's all that's left.
We've lost our manufacturing to a large degree in those areas.
And so, you know, taking care of agriculture, taking care of our rural schools, our rural hospitals, making sure that the amenities that you need for growth is so, so very important.
In Arkansas, we've got 75 counters.
Probably 52, 53 of them lost population.
And so you don't have a whole lot to begin with.
You start losing those turnback dollars.
So we really do need to address this and form a big coalition, not only with our urban legislators, our urban decision makers, but our urban decision makers working with Those in the country to make sure that we have a viable rural America.
Let's do a little postmortem on the elections.
Quite frankly, I was shocked that we didn't have this red wave that many of us expected, and I predicted it.
I was wrong.
It was a pink trickle instead.
What happened?
Well, I think a lot of it, we actually had pretty good voter turnout, all of those things.
I'm told that we actually won the aggregate vote.
I think it was just a combination of things.
I think that a lot of people showed up to vote the abortion issue and voted against us in that regard.
Sometimes our candidates weren't as strong as we'd like.
And then the other thing, Mike, is I think we need to learn from Georgia and Florida regarding how you The new election methods, when you were going through, early voting was not a big issue.
Mail-in voting was very little.
That's not the case now.
So those things aren't going to go away.
What we've got to do is learn how to make sure that we get out of our vote using those types of things.
Just those tools in the toolbox, I think, will do a lot better.
There was some concern as to whether there would be a leadership change in the Senate.
Would Mitch McConnell survive a challenge?
He clearly did, with only 10 senators voting for someone else.
He also has said he doesn't want to see big changes in the way things are done.
There's nothing to negotiate.
Is the Senate in the right place?
Is it doing what it should do in terms of its internal organization?
Or is there room for some change?
No, there's room for change.
And we really met extensively for two days.
We're going to be meeting a lot more Regarding how we do business, just the efficiencies, and then also, really, I think, picking out three or four things that we simply must get done.
But it's interesting, you go through these periods where you have some dissension, and the dissension was great.
Not so much about accomplishment.
Nobody's accomplished more than Mitch McConnell regarding fundraising.
You look at the three judges that we got in the Supreme Court, and the list goes on and on and on.
The 2017 tax cut bill, which really dramatically increased our economy.
So all of those things are great.
And he not only had his finger in that, he was the guiding guy.
But I do think that there's a want to be a little bit more inclusive.
And after meeting for two days, I think that that's been recognized.
We're going to put some things in place.
And I think that will make us more efficient.
And then also do a better job communicating with the public as to what we're trying to get done.
Senator, 12 Republican senators last week voted to codify same-sex marriage into law, and I think a lot of people were a little surprised that that many senators broke with a traditional view of marriage, actually kind of took it away from states to push that.
It would seem that maybe that was an issue best left to the states.
Let them decide what happened and why did so many of the senators, some certainly leaning a little left, but why would they have voted with the Democrats on that issue?
Well, you know where I'm at on that.
I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.
You know...
And I also believe it's pretty much settled law.
Eight of the nine Supreme Court judges indicated that.
So the purpose of this, I think, was for the Democrats essentially to try and get the narrative away from the fact of the tremendous inflation that we've got going on, all the other problems, looking at gas prices, looking at the fact that, you know, Thanksgiving has been so much more expensive than it was a year ago.
The list goes on and on.
So I was a little bit surprised also.
But each senator has to vote the way they feel like is best representing their constituents.
But certainly this would not be the case even a few years ago.
I can't let you go without talking about inflation.
You've described it as having a $500 impact on every single family in Arkansas.
When you put it in those terms, it sounds pretty dire.
I mean, that's a big hit for families, $500 a month.
Do people think of it like that?
Are they really understanding what inflation is doing to them?
I think they're understanding now, Governor.
Much better.
In the sense, you know, they've had a feeling something's wrong.
You know, my dollars aren't stretching as far.
And now they're seeing it not only in their grocery prices, the gasoline prices, but their energy costs, health insurance.
My health insurance is going up, I think, 20% this year.
You know, the list goes on and on.
The way I think best to describe it is it's almost like having 11 months of pay with a 12-month year compared to last year.
$569 a month for the average Arkansan, the average family, is a tremendous amount of money.
And so people are feeling it.
Sadly, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.
I think the next baby formula type situation is going to be heating oil in the Northeast.
That tracks very well with diesel.
Diesel is continuing to rise, and we might even be looking at shortages.
So these are serious problems.
Those are the kind of things that we need to be dwelling on and solving versus gay marriage and things like that.
Senator John Bozeman of Arkansas, Senior Senator for That Wonderful State, which is my Home state as well.
And we're very grateful to have you here.
Thank you.
And I hope you have a great Christmas, my friend.
Thank you, Mike.
And we do appreciate you in so many different ways and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Thank you.
I'll learn more about Senator John Bozeman and what he's doing for the people of Arkansas and America.
Head over to Huckabee.tv, where, as always, you'll find links to keep up with our guests on social media.
Right now, I'm going to hand it over to our intrepid announcer, whatever that even means.
Keith Bilbrey is standing by.
He's going to tell us about the show that we have coming up tonight.
See if I know what that means.
Up next, Jenny Beth Martin on China's Hacking of America, and later, comedian Clinto Rodriguez, tonight on Huckabee.
Up next, Jenny Beth Martin on China's Hacking of America, and later, comedian Clinto Rodriguez, tonight on Huckabee.
Jenny Beth Martin is the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots.
She's an author, podcaster, filmmaker, and one of Time Magazine's most influential people in the world.
That's a pretty big deal.
She's got a new documentary, it's called Innovation Race, and it exposes how China has hijacked America's economic innovation and national security.
And also how we can take it back.
If another country becomes more innovative than us, they then set the baseline for the creation of these technologies.
We have to go to them for those technologies.
So if another country, I don't know, China, is trying to develop base stations for 5G and other types of technologies and artificial intelligence, then we would have to get those technologies from them.
The Chinese have a repeatable model in addressing our processes.
It's evade, embrace, supplant.
Who's going to be in charge?
Who's going to be on top?
That's what they think about.
An American corporation does not think in those terms.
Please welcome the incredible mind and passion behind Innovation Race and its executive producer, Jenny Beth Martin.
Jenny Beth, great having you here.
Thank you.
I'm so glad to be here.
I am intrigued by this whole idea that most Americans just don't even think about.
And that is we invent something here, we innovate some new technology, and then the Chinese steal it from us.
Yes.
How big a deal is that?
How much is happening?
That is a big deal, and that has been happening in the past.
What's happening right now is that they have strengthened their patent system in China, while America has been weakening our patent system.
And what most Americans don't realize is that patents and intellectual property are actually protected in Article I of the Constitution.
So it is part of the Constitution.
And it's property rights.
China isn't protecting it, or China is now protecting more than America.
Now, you and I both know they don't have the same kind of respect for property rights and human rights, so it's kind of iffy.
But right now, they're doing a better job of protecting patent rights, and we've got people who are no longer patenting here.
They're hiding their new inventions and either going to China or just never letting the world know about amazing new technologies that could change the world.
Well, what should we be doing differently so that we could protect the intellectual property that has been created by American minds?
Well, we need to...
There are several different things.
One is that the first to invent needs to be protected.
We've gotten away from that.
So if you're the first person to invent something, you should be able to be the one to protect it rather than the person who races to the patent office to patent it.
There's injunctive relief, which is a legal term, but it's very important because if somebody's trying to steal your intellectual property, you can stop them through the court system.
Those are a couple of very important things.
Another thing is that...
Right now there is a court, it's not a real, it's a court of experts who come in and after the patent has been given by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, they go over to a court within it and the court winds up invalidating the patents.
And if you're a patent holder, you can wind up with many different threats to your patent in this court, and it doesn't stop.
So once you have the patent and it has been proven that it really and truly is yours, it shouldn't be abused.
The legal system shouldn't be abused to attack it over and over and over.
And we're talking about millions, maybe could potentially be billions of dollars that somebody would lose because someone stole their idea, stole what they invented, and just took it and pretended that they had come up with it.
That is exactly right.
And we've seen that happen.
This is the second documentary we've done on the patent system.
In the first one, we really highlighted the story of a man who invented a bunch of balloons.
They fill 100 balloons in like 90 seconds or 60 seconds.
And his intellectual property was stolen and another company was infringing on it.
Ultimately, he wound up being able to keep His patent, but it's very difficult.
He's the exception right now because of changes to our laws since 2010 and some really bad court decisions as well.
You know, I know this happens because, I don't know, a lot of people don't know this.
I invented the iPhone.
There you go.
Kind of like Al Gore invented the internet.
Exactly.
You know, and Al never got all the money that he should have had, and I've never gotten a royalty from the iPhone.
I don't understand that.
In all seriousness, one of the things you point out in the documentary that I think is important is just how many ways in which people from China have not just spied, but they have stolen the property.
And sometimes one was a UCLA professor and he was working for the Communist Chinese Party.
Jenny Beth, we're surrounded by people who are truly our enemies.
We are.
And that is very alarming.
And this problem with the patent system, it is an esoteric topic that most Americans don't think about.
But we see it as the race between America and China when it comes to technological innovation, just like what we saw in the space race with America and the Soviet Union.
We have to win.
We have to win at this race.
And...
It's fixable.
The problem is fixable.
It was a bad law.
We need to fix it.
And Mike, we're Tea Party patriots, right?
Senator Chris Coons allowed us to interview him.
We have Democrats in this film and Republicans in the film.
It is not a left-right issue.
It's an American issue.
And we need to get this right for America.
Do you have enough traction within the Congress?
I mean, I'm thrilled that both parties realize this is important.
So why don't they do it?
Well, I think that we will have enough traction.
Both Senator Coons and Senator Tillis both committed before the election that regardless of who won the majority in the Senate, they were going to take up a bill and work to strengthen the patent system.
Now, it's Congress.
We have to watch it and make sure it's a good bill.
Yeah.
But it's good that they're both committed to doing that, and we need to be paying attention to that as a new Congress starts in January.
Well, and people need to see this film because, you know, one of the things people want to know, is America really better at creating stuff than the Chinese?
I think that yes, we are better at creating stuff.
And most importantly, because of our respect for property, both intellectual and physical property in America, we protected it in a way that had never been done before our country.
We protected intellectual property in a way that had never been done before our country formed.
And it's part of what has led to so much innovation in the entire world.
Inventors would come here to patent because they knew America would protect their property.
We have to get back to that.
It is an important topic, and I think the film is going to be very eye-opening to people, especially when they realize just how many ways in which people are trying to steal the ideas that people have maybe started on their kitchen table but went to the laboratory and came up with it.
Jenny Beth, thank you for taking on the topic and getting it to Congress.
If you'd like more information on the innovation race and how you can see the film, as well as listen to Jenny Beth Martin's Innovation Race podcast, if you go to Huckabee.tv, we have links to all of the things that we've been talking about.
So please, just make a note, go to Huckabee.tv, and get the connection.
Speaking of connections, Keith Bilbrey, I think he's going to go over there and invent some way to tell us what we still have left on the show.
Well, you mean this microphone?
Sorry, it's already been done.
But I can use it to say Mike is about to show us how to bring the spirit of Christmas to children in need.
It's next on Huckabee.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Well, how about that band over there, Trey Corley and the Music City Connection? Trey Corley and the Music City Connection?
Let's hear it far.
Now, I've given them two big accolades tonight.
That's so great, I don't even have to do it next week.
I'm caught up.
Now, I'll do it again next week because I really do appreciate how much they add to the show.
Speaking of adding to the show, I want to tell you something because you hear about us talking Samaritan's Purse almost every week on this show.
You may not know that every year, Samaritan's Purse brings the joy of Christmas and God's love to children all over the world with a project called Operation Christmas Child.
As a young girl growing up in a Ukrainian orphanage, my next guest knew firsthand just how much those gifts really mean.
Now she's a national spokesperson for Operation Christmas Child.
Would you please welcome Elizabeth Groff.
Elizabeth, thank you for being here.
Thank you so much for having me.
You know, we're all thinking about Ukraine in ways we've never thought about because of all the horrible things that's going on with the Ukrainian people and the assaults that the Russians have done.
I'm sure you have friends and family there that every day you hope are going to make it through the day.
Yes, absolutely.
I have a lot of friends from my orphanage that I still keep in touch with and, of course, some family.
And I just continue to pray that everything's going to be okay.
When you were a little girl in an orphanage in Ukraine, you received one of these Operation Christmas Child boxes.
And we see Franklin Graham talking about this and urged to be a part of it.
What did it mean to you to get one as a kid?
Well, growing up in an orphanage, I felt abandoned, forgotten by the world.
I lost my parents to alcoholism.
And so when Operation Christmas Child came to my orphanage, I was really excited because this was the first gift that I had ever received.
Ever?
Ever in my life.
I was 10 years old.
But more importantly, in that moment, I realized that, you know, I'm not alone.
God is with me.
He's not going to leave me broken and hopeless, but that he's going to come beside me and become my family.
He used that shoebox to say, you are not an orphan.
You are my daughter.
Oh, wow.
You know, we just think it's a box of toys.
Yeah.
But it's much more than a box of just some toys and little articles.
I mean, it's a box filled with hope and affirmation of God's love.
I think we tend to think, oh yeah, I'll get some of those and send them to kids.
Not realizing that when you received yours, it changed your life.
Absolutely.
These shoe boxes are gospel opportunities.
You know, when they go out to children all over the world, they experience the love and hope of Jesus for the first time.
And it's incredible.
I can't think of anybody better to be a spokesperson for Operation Christmas Child.
Now, we figure that there's probably been quite a few of these that have been given out across the world.
You're holding in your lap, you told me how many, this is the which one?
This is the 200 millionth shoebox.
200 millionth shoebox in your lap.
Yes, yes.
That is a staggering amount of Christmas child boxes that have gone to kids all over this planet and given the same kind of hope that you have had.
What was in your shoe box that you still remember?
And that's been a long time ago, but was there anything that when you opened that box, you still remember the feelings of joy that you reached in there and got?
Absolutely.
My box was full.
I mean, there was a lot of stuff in there.
But my favorite item was a yellow yo-yo.
A yellow yo-yo.
Yes.
And I had no idea how to use it, but I was so excited to have something of my own.
You know, we take so many things for granted, don't we?
Yes.
And just to get a yellow yo-yo, was it wooden or plastic?
Do you remember?
It was plastic, and it was kind of clear, but it had a yellow hue to it.
Yeah.
Yes.
That's pretty cool.
I gotta ask you, how can people give a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child?
I can't imagine that anyone listening to us discuss this would not want to say, count me in.
Well, we have this new feature online where you can pack a shoebox online with just a few simple clicks.
You can pack a shoebox for a boy or a girl, and that shoebox will go to some of the hardest-to-reach places in the world.
You see, I think that's so incredible.
I may send one to Keith.
I think, you know, he probably would really enjoy getting a shoebox.
But he'll want the yellow yo-yo.
But Keith will want one that's made out of wood.
And the reason is, is because, have you ever heard the expression, as confused as a termite in a yo-yo?
Yeah.
It has to be a wooden yo-yo or the termite wouldn't be that confused.
So that's the kind we're going to get Keith for this.
You were a little girl and you had a half-sister.
And then you were left to go to the orphanage after one of your parents passed away.
And, you know, that must have been heartbreaking for you at that time to be losing a family, losing that sense of having a sister and then suddenly an orphanage.
Yes, it was very difficult, especially because, you know, my sister was my entire family.
She was my whole purpose.
I really just wanted to give her a better life.
And so when we were separated, I mean, I felt like I lost my purpose in life.
My entire world fell apart and I just felt hopeless, forgotten, abandoned.
You have come to Deep Faith.
Obviously, this is not just a charitable project.
It's a project of faith.
How did you come to Christ in the midst of all the things that you had gone through?
While I was at the orphanage, we were attending a church every Sunday.
And while I didn't know our Lord personally, I started praying to Him on my own.
And I would ask Him, what is the purpose?
Why am I here?
I feel alone.
I feel hopeless.
And so that's when Operation Christmas Child came to my orphanage.
And it was an answer to my prayer.
This was a tangible expression of His love for me.
It's one of those things we sometimes just forget that that little box right there can change a person's life, change yours.
Absolutely.
Well, thank you very much, Elizabeth, for being here.
And there is still time to send an Operation Christmas Child shoebox to a child in need, but you need to hurry.
Christmas is coming up pretty quick.
Please consider going to the Samaritan's Purse website or calling their number right now and giving a simple yet life-changing gift.
Bless you for giving that gift.
Right now, we're going to ask Keith Bilbrey to use his wonderful gift of gab to tell us what's coming up on the show.
Well, get ready to laugh with comedian Plato Rodriguez up next on Huckabee.
Thank you.
We celebrate Thanksgiving in style with made in the USA Huckabee mugs, t-shirts, and more.
or go to Huckabee.tv for 30% off select items this week only.
And welcome back.
Now, tonight's comedian hails from San Antonio, but his clean comedy makes people laugh all over America.
He's worked with such stars as George Lopez, Wayne Brady, and B.B. King.
His dry bar comedy special is called Cleto Is My Real Name.
And to prove it, here he is, Cleto Rodriguez.
is give him a big welcome.
Yes!
Yes!
Oh, thank you so much.
I'm so excited to be here.
I am just celebrating my 22nd wedding anniversary.
Thank you very much!
Yes!
Oh, I married a beautiful Christian woman.
Let me tell you, God will use a beautiful woman to get you to go to church, I found out.
Yeah, that's what happened with me.
I didn't know my wife was in touch with her faith, you know, because me, I was like, nowhere near, you know?
And I remember, because understand something, ladies, if we think you're beautiful, we will follow you anywhere.
We'll follow you to church, prison, it does not matter.
We will follow you wherever.
And I remember my wife asked me, she was so gorgeous, she asked me to go to church with her.
Now, you realize you haven't been to church in a long time and you go back?
For some reason, doesn't it seem like the service is directed right toward you?
I was in my wife's church.
I heard words like, worthless, lazy, weak.
I didn't know what to do.
I just stood up.
Here I am.
I'm sorry.
I thought you were talking to me.
I don't know why I stood up like that.
I told my wife, did you tell him I was coming or what?
That's rude.
And I'll be honest with you, that church service made me cry.
It did.
It had me in tears.
Because out of all the people in the congregation, the pastor looked at me and asked me this question.
Son, is your name in the book of life?
And I was like, well, sir, my name's Glethal.
It's not even in the book of baby names.
I'm gonna burn it out!
Then my daughter, Kletha, thinks she has it bad.
So, and not only that, but the one thing I understood is that that church service, the pastor talked without even talking and made me feel crazy.
Yeah, he went like this.
Mm-mm.
You're not hearing me.
And I'm sitting down like this.
What did he say?
What?
I'm like, man, he's good.
But when he did speak, boy, did people listen.
Couples!
You get in an argument, you make sure you cast that devil out, right?
Scared me too, ma'am.
You know what I'm saying?
I never passed gas that loud in church in my life.
I'm going to be honest with you.
My whole hemorrhoid went, you know what I mean?
It scared me.
He said, you simply look up and say, devil, get the heck out of here.
Folks, when I heard that, that's all I needed to hear.
I went home that afternoon.
Football was on.
I hadn't cut the grass yet.
And I'm sitting there watching the game.
My wife comes in and turns the TV off.
Right there, I didn't get mad.
I remember what the pastor told me.
I looked at my wife and I said, devil!
Get the heck out of here!
And turn the TV on now!
But I don't know how my wife lasted 22 years because our first year of marriage was rough.
We argued all the time.
Our first year of marriage, we were unequally yoked, you know?
And she knew the word and I didn't, you know?
And it's like, let me give you an idea.
We were leaving church on the way to the car.
We started arguing on the way to the car.
We just heard a whole service about love and we're arguing.
So my wife, I got upset.
I said, look, I told my wife, I'm not going to be a hypocrite, okay?
Okay?
We didn't believe in divorce.
So I told her, I said, look, we're either going to heaven together or we're going to hell together.
But either way, we're stuck.
So make up your mind.
What do you want to do?
She goes, I want to go to heaven.
Well, then listen to God, because it was her fault.
And, um...
And not only that, but it was like, I remember our pastor said, make sure you put scripture in everything you do.
Well, what do we do?
The Rodriguez family?
We put scripture in our arguments.
Yep.
My wife was like, you're not loving me like Jesus loved the church.
And I didn't know the word that well, and the only comeback I had was, yeah, well, you're not respecting me like they did him.
Yeah.
She goes, that's not in the Bible.
I go, it's in the book of Eli 419. If I ever, where's the camera?
If I ever see Denzel Washington, I'm going to call him a liar to his face.
There's no book of Eli in the Bible.
Made me look like a fool.
And then, not only then, we found the scripture, never let the sun go down in your anger.
Take care of it.
Fix it.
Well...
We adopted this thing where we prayed for each other at night.
And it was going so good until one of us said something crazy.
Her, that's right.
And no, we were there and she got mad at me because I didn't go to my sister-in-law's house.
And next thing you know, she was just like upset with me.
And she says, you know, we pray together.
This night she goes, I'm going to pray by myself tonight.
I hope that's okay with you.
And I felt God all in that, you know what I mean?
And I thought it was going to be like a silent prayer.
Oh no.
She wanted me to hear this one.
She was like, Lord, Lord Jesus, you know everything, Lord.
And you know, I told somebody in this room to meet me at my sister's house.
And you know, Lord, what you do with liars.
And if you want them to burn in hell, then let them burn in hell in Jesus' name, amen.
I said, what?
That's okay.
Daddy got a little prayer of his own.
Now it's my turn.
Sweet Jesus.
Lord, you told me that you would protect me from all things.
And Lord, you said to me that you'd keep me from evil.
And that is why I didn't go to her sister's house.
In Jesus' name, amen!
My name is Pastor Rodriguez.
God bless y'all.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Plato, that was great.
Thank you, sir.
I appreciate it.
You know, I think one of the reasons that everybody was laughing out here, because they all could relate to what you just said.
They feel like that you were like that pastor talking to them like that pastor talked to you.
They all felt it.
I appreciate it.
Hey, if you want to enjoy more of the clean comedy of Cleto Rodriguez, visit Huckabee.tv.
We're going to hook you up and connect you to Cleto.
Right now, Keith Bilbrey, well, he has something to connect us to, like what else we have on the show.
Well, you bet.
We're about to put you in the Christmas spirit with a special holiday musical performance.
We think you'll agree we need a lot of Christmas, and it's next on Huckabee.
Watch Huckabee next week with magician David McGee and actor and producer Tank Jones.
Music.
Thank you.
Well, my next guest met while performing at Opryland USA, right here in Music City.
They did.
They've been married now 24 years.
They performed everywhere from the Nashville Network to the CMA Awards.
They also produced shows for TV, corporate events, and theme parks like Dollywood.
They're currently starring in their award-winning show, We Need a Lot of Christmas, and it's here in Nashville.
Would you please welcome Barry and Darianne Amato.
It's so good to have you guys here.
Thank you.
I just keep hearing amazing things about the show.
We need a lot of Christmas.
We kind of do, don't we?
We do.
Yes, we definitely do.
In fact, that's how the show actually was conceptualized.
You know, when we were coming off of the pandemic, entertainment was still at a standstill.
Somebody made the remark, this year we're going to need a little Christmas.
And somebody topped it and said...
No, we're going to need a lot of questions.
I like that.
I think that's exactly right.
I mean, you guys have a lot of high-energy performances.
You've performed with, I mean, Alan Jackson, one of my very favorite people, Louise Mandrell.
You've choreographed for Pam Tillis and so many people that, you know, the more I talk about it, the more I'm thinking, we need to just turn you guys loose and light this stage up.
We'll do it.
We are ready to do that.
I think that is a great, great idea.
So that's what we're going to do right now.
All right, Keith, while our guests get ready to help us kick off the Christmas season, why don't you tell our viewers how they can see we need a lot of Christmas.
Well, it's playing through December 23rd at Fiddle Dee Farms, just north of Nashville.
Tickets are going fast, so make reservations now.
Use the link at huckabee.tv.
Now, with Trey Corley and the Music City Connection, here's We Need A Lot Of Christmas!
Hey, Cory, come on, man!
Let's sing one together.
Let's sing it.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
Oh, I find it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Hey, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
Oh, I find it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
I'm nasher, I'm dancer, I'm francer, I'm fixin', I'm comin', I'm keepin', I'm daughter, I'm lister.
Put on your bells, your Christmas bells.
Come on, we're going for a sleigh ride.
Christmas time is here again.
Come on, we're going for a sleigh ride.
To spread your cheer again.
From the top of the chimney to the top of the wall.
Dash away, dash away, dash away all...
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!
Old Saint Nicholas, he took a flight, the moon was shining bright, bring out the bells!
Old Saint Nick was flying through the sky, you should have seen those reindeer fly, bring out the bells!
Ring out the bells, it's the holiday season.
Ring out the bells, it's a happy time.
Ring out the bells, for we have a good reason to ring the bells and hear those pretty bells chime.
Ring the bells and hear the faint of strife.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
Oh, what fun it is to ride a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
What fun it is to ride Sleigh bells ring,
are you listening?
In the lane, snow is glistening.
A beautiful sign, we're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
Gone away is the bluebird.
Here to stay is a new bird.
He sings a love song as we go along.
Walking in a winter wonderland Then, oh, we can build a snowman and pretend that he is Carson Brown.
He'll say, are you married?
We'll say, no man.
But you can do the job when you're in town.
Later on, we'll conspire as we dream by the fire To face ununfraid the plans that we've made Walking in a winter wonderland Later on,
we'll conspire as we dream by we'll conspire as we dream by the fire To face ununfraid the plans that we've made
Walking in a winter wonderland Wonderland Ooh!
Let's break!
Woo!
*Dramatic music* good.
The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.
And since we know a place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
It doesn't show signs of stopping, but our broads of corn are popping.
Lights are turned away now low.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Finally, it's goodnight.
How I hate going out of the storm But if you really hold me tight All the way home I'll be warm Fire is slowly dying And my dear, we're still good-bying But as long as you love me so Let it snow!
Let it snow!
Let it snow!
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