GOP REP gets LOUDLY BOOED and RUNS AWAY from Cameras

What this episode is about

MAGA Republican Congress member Gabe Evans faces intense backlash and public disapproval from his constituents, who have resorted to holding town halls without him due to his repeated absences. He attempts to evade accountability by running away from press questions and pretending to be on phone calls, leaving many to label him as cowardly and out of touch with the needs of his district.

Key takeaways

• Gabe Evans: the only congressman who can clear a room faster than a fire alarm.
• Constituents hosting their own town halls? Welcome to democracy 2.0, where 'run and hide' is the new strategy.
• Less than 500 private sector jobs added in Colorado? Sounds like Evans' economic policies are on a permanent vacation.
• His phone habits suggest a new political strategy: when in doubt, fake a call and dodge accountability.
• In the contest of political integrity, Gabe Evans is running laps around the competition—just not in the right direction.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Ben (Guest) · 9 min speaking
• Manny Rutinel (Guest) · 6 min speaking
• Gabe Evans (Guest)

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Medicaid, Bernie Sanders
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Kyle Clark, Manny Rutinel, Heritage Defense
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Medicaid, Manny Rutinel, US Army Corps of Engineers
4. 12:00 – 15:00: Manny Rutinel, Medicaid, US Army Corps of Engineers, Yale
5. 15:00 – 15:35: Yale

Notable quotes from "GOP REP gets LOUDLY BOOED and RUNS AWAY from Cameras"

• To watch this just to remind you few months back when he was asked questions about his vote to get rid of Medicaid from people and his support of the disastrous Trump budget…

  about Medicaid · at 0:41

• It's horrible for the economy. And just a reminder, AOC and Bernie Sanders in that fight the oligarchy tour and others, they went directly to Colorado's eth congressional district where this MAGA guy, Gabe Evans, is a member of.

  about Bernie Sanders · at 2:35

• Of the things that Gabe Evans also supports is beating children. And he's pro he's pro-child beating. So Kyle Clark is so when in public schools do you want to see children…

  about Kyle Clark · at 4:24

• But by the way I mean this guy still won. It's time to retire him early after he won in 2024. you've got Manny Rutinel the Democratic candidate who's running against him. Manny's a state representative in Colorado. He worked as.

  about Manny Rutinel · at 5:50

• To be able to make ends meet. But when I became an economist with the US Army Corps of Engineers, I took an oath to defend the Constitution against enemies both foreign and…

  about US Army Corps of Engineers · at 8:08

• We'll have to we'll have to check that because he claims he went to Yale, although I think jail. I definitely believe you went to Yale. So, I I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us.

  about Yale · at 15:03

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Manny Rutinel — Person · Main guest (challenger candidate) · 3 mentions · first at 5:59
  Interview guest and Democratic challenger framed as running against Gabe Evans; discusses personal background, campaign fundraising, and critique of Trump/Evans policies affecting Medicaid/food assistance/ACA.
• Kyle Clark — Person · Referenced journalist/moderator · 2 mentions · first at 3:39
  Credited for strong debate moderation; shown pressing Evans on abortion exceptions and corporal punishment in schools.
• Bernie Sanders — Person · Referenced politician (surrogate/ally figure) · 1 mention · first at 2:37
  Mentioned alongside AOC as part of the tour used to spotlight opposition organizing in Evans’ district.

Companies & orgs

• US Army Corps of Engineers — Company · Affiliation · 2 mentions · first at 8:00
  Manny Rutinel's previous employer, highlighting his background and expertise in economics.
• Heritage Defense — Company · Affiliation · 1 mention · first at 4:41
  Mentioned in the context of Gabe Evans' support for corporal punishment in schools.
  Beat? Here, play this clip. You're a vocal supporter of the Christian homeschooling movement, and you're a member of a Christian group called Heritage Defense, which defends…

Concepts & topics

• Medicaid — Concept · Key argument · 5 mentions · first at 0:46
  Central to the discussion about healthcare policies and the impact on constituents, particularly in Colorado's 8th district.

Places & events

• Yale — Place · Background · 2 mentions · first at 14:21
  Mentioned as part of Manny Rutinel's educational background, contributing to his credibility.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Everywhere he goes, this MAGA Republican Congress member gets booed. He's dodged every town hall. His constituents are holding town halls without him. And he just runs away from the cameras, runs away and pretends that he's on cell phone calls to avoid speaking to the press. It is so utterly embarrassing. I'm talking about MAGA Republican Congress member Gabe Evans. You know this guy from Colorado's eighth. This is one of the most vulnerable races where people expect this MAGA coward to lose in the midterms and this guy just keeps running away from the press. I want you to watch this just to remind you few months back when he was asked questions about his vote to get rid of Medicaid from people and his support of the disastrous Trump budget bill. Remember he got booed? Remember this scene right here? Play this clip. Congressman, how many of the 214,000 on Medicaid in your district are cheats

1:04 that need to be kicked off? I'm looking for a number in your district who are in those categories.

1:10 People who are no longer eligible for Medicaid. Do you not know the number? That sounds

1:15 I'm telling you the number right now. You may not like the answer, but that's the answer. Next question. And then whenever this guy's asked questions on Capitol Hill, he pretends he's on the phone with people, but you can see he's talking to nobody. He just puts the phone to his ear cuz he's too cowardly to just tell the reporter, "Hey, I don't want to speak to you." Here, play this clip.

1:35 Congressman, why are you giving so many tax breaks to the ultra rich? Okay. So his constituents show up to Washington DC because he refuses to hold town halls and then he just gives them a bunch of word salad and gibberish. This Congress MAGA, this Gabe Evans, this Trump sickophant, this Trump bootlicker is like uh just watch what he says. It's just a bunch of gibberish to his constituent here who's clearly suffering and saying, "Hey, why do you keep voting against us?" And he's like, "Yeah, I guess you are suffering. All right, I'll see you later, man. I'll see you later, man. Keep suffering. How weird is this?

2:14 Here, play this clip. I'm going through it. I'm actually making less this year than I made last year as a teacher.

2:19 Did you uh did you see the report that said that if you take government jobs out of the equation and non-farm jobs out of the equation, Colorado's added less than 500 private sector jobs in the last year.

2:33 It's it's a difficult time. It's horrible for the economy. And just a reminder, AOC and Bernie Sanders in that fight the oligarchy tour and others, they went directly to Colorado's eth congressional district where this MAGA guy, Gabe Evans, uh, is a member of Congress cuz he refused to hold town halls and they were filling up stadiums. Do you remember this? Just a reminder here. Play this clip.

3:12 Just a few more data points on Gabe Evans right right here because this guy's an utter clown and he's going to lose in the midterms if people come out and he's terrified. He only won in 2024 by like a few thousand votes. It was like less than a percentage point. He beat the Democratic candidate. And just a reminder, you know, this is a guy who says that in all cases, almost with no exceptions, uh, women shouldn't have reproductive rights. And hat tip, of course, to Kyle Clark, who just does an incredible job at these debates. Kyle's the best. Here, play this clip.

3:47 Abortion. Mr. Evans, in 2022, two years ago, you told a conservative group that you support banning abortion except to save the life of the mother. No exceptions for rape or incest. Is that still your view today? And if not, can you explain how your view has changed in the last two years?

4:02 Yeah, so I know the survey that you're talking about, that was a checkbox survey that had two options, one pro-life, one pro-choice option. I'm pro-life, so I selected the pro-life option.

4:10 To clarify, that same survey allowed you to clarify and add comments to your remarks. And in fact, you did on a question that was on the same page. If you felt like an exception for rape and incest was appropriate, why not add that in a comment as you did to clarify and answer a short time later. And then one of the things that Gabe Evans also supports is beating children. And he's pro he's pro-child beating. So Kyle Clark is like, um, so when in public schools do you want to see children beat? Here, play this clip. You're a vocal supporter of the Christian homeschooling movement, and you're a member of a Christian group called Heritage Defense, which defends parents accused of beating their children, or as the group describes, corporal punishment, quote, following biblical protocol in the training and discipline of their children. As a state legislator, last year you voted against a ban on corporal punishment in

4:56 Colorado's public schools. A brief answer, please. When do you believe that it is acceptable to hit a child at home and at school? That answer is already in the law right now. It's in title 18173. So, you can go refer to the law where it talks about the special exception that parents and guardians have when they're uh tasked with the upbringing for a minor. But I want to address something you mentioned.

5:17 How about public school? When is it appropriate for a child to be hit in public school?

5:22 When we need to ensure that we are providing a safe place for our kids uh to be able to learn in our public schools. I was a part-time school resource.

5:31 There was a security exception. This went beyond the security exception when people needed to control children for safety reasons. When should children be hit in school?

5:39 I was a part-time school resource officer for about two years uh at my my law enforcement agency. And so one of the biggest things that I hear from teachers is

5:48 I apologize sir if you're not going to answer the question. We're going to use the time.

5:50 But by the way I mean this guy this guy still won. It's time to retire him early after he won in 2024. Um you've got uh Manny Rutinel uh the Democratic candidate who's running against him. Um Manny's a state representative in Colorado. He worked as an economist for the Army Corps of Engineers. um state representative went to Yale. I mean Manny Rutinel's background is incredible. Um so here's what Manny P posted moments ago or this posted in November rather. Trump and MAGA Gabe Evans are destroying our democracy, economy, and way of life. We have to stop them. Let's bring in Manny Rutinel.

6:35 Manny, it's great to see you. Incredible background story. I mean, you grew up workingass. I mean, your family was on a lot of the programs and services that Donald Trump is ripping away. Single Latino mother. You join the Army Corps of Engineers. You become a state representative. That's the American dream. A dream that Donald Trump and people like Gabe Evans are trying to rip away from people. So before we talk about though just why you know you're entering this race, I just want to reflect for a moment that that 2024 election was so close and I think people in the ETH are seeing what it's like when the person they put in there like is attacking them. Like you you've been traveling the ETH like what are you hearing because this Gabe Evans guy like seems that he hates the people he represents.

7:23 Yeah, that's exactly right, Ben. I've been going up and down the district to these inerson town halls that Gabe Evans refuses to go to. Imagine being so scared of your own constituents. You refuse to go to a town hall. And folks have come up to me and they said, "You know, Manny, after hearing about your personal story, after hearing about the campaign momentum that you have, you must be Donald Trump's and Gabe Evans's worst nightmare." And they're right, cuz like you mentioned, I'm the son of a single mom. I live the American dream because of essential programs like food stamps and Medicaid. the same programs that I've been filling out forms for since I was 10 years old. And I managed to make my way into uh the US Army Corps of Engineers, but I had worked at McDonald's. I had sold my blood at a plasma center over a hundred times just to be able to make ends meet. But when I became an economist with the US Army

8:12 Corps of Engineers, I took an oath to defend the Constitution against enemies both foreign and domestic. And right now, Donald Trump and Gabe Evans have been an absolute threat to everything that America should stand for. And folks have told me that, you know what, I voted for Donald Trump and Gabe Evans in the last election, but now I see that they lied through their teeth. They said they were going to focus on healthcare, and instead they have eliminated the Affordable Care Act, subsidies, Medicaid, and now my insurance rates have gone up twofold. They said they were going to go after groceries, and instead they have eliminated food assistance. and they're doing so many things around the world to distract from the Epstein files and all of the corruption and greed of this administration. So, folks are fed up and they're excited to support, which is why in the last year we've had uh 44,000

8:57 people go to mannyforcol.com and donate an average of $27 and that's helped us raise $2.5 million. So, we're going to take this seat back. It's because of all the folks uh who are listening today.

9:09 You know, you know what they're going to do during this campaign. You see them doing it already. They want to make they want to divide people, right? So they're going to start, you know, trying to talk about, you know, and we've seen this across the country, right? They're going to talk about bathrooms and try to make people hate the Somalian population and somehow connect that to Colorado and, you know, they're going to make their own boogeymen and say, you know, here's what we're doing. Here's what we're doing. And so, you know, how do how do you stay? We know their playbook. So, how do you stay focused and and and avoid all that crap? And and how do we how do you message to people like they that's what they said to you the last time and now what we have are, you know, you look at what's happening across the country. You have mass people ripping people off the streets, not going after

10:02 criminals. You know, that that's not what people that's not what people signed up for at all.

10:07 Yeah. No, it's terrible. I mean, their whole strategy is divide and conquer this. we've seen not just in the last election, but it's a tired playbook for centuries. They want to go after the single mom or the immigrant or the LGBTQ kid when in fact we all know that the only minority group that is destroying our democracy and engaging in mass corruption are Trump's billionaire buddies in the Trump administration. And so we need to focus in and highlight the harms that Gabe Evans and Donald Trump have uh created the corporate greed that they have enabled. And once we do that, once we keep hammering home that message that look at your insurance bill, look at your grocery bill, look at your housing costs, look how much they've gone up in just the last year, and look how much more they're going to go up as Trump continues to engage in all sorts of distractions and invading American cities. And so what we need to do is

10:58 continue to highlight that. And what we've seen in the last elections is that the American people are fed up. If you look at approval ratings across the board from independents, Democrats, Republicans, Donald Trump is failing the American people. Gabe Evans is doing nothing more than doing whatever Donald Trump says. Donald Trump says jump. Gabe Evans says how high boss. And what we need is a representative in this district that represents the interest of the people. And that's exactly what I'll be,

11:24 right? I mean, you think about it. You know, Trump creates secret bank accounts now, well, not secret, he talks about it in Qatar so that he can control the money when his right-wing oligarch friends buy the oil from him. Now, he creates a he calls it a board of peace and has Putin and Lucas Shenko and Orban join this thing and then he asks him for a billion dollars which he then puts in his kind of private bank accounts. The guy whines every day like a loser about the Nobel Peace Prize. It's like, "Dude, just shut up with the Nobel Peace Prize things." Whether it's that, whether it's golden ballrooms, there's the there's no attention at all.

12:09 Like, this is not governing what they're doing. This is not what like and then, you know, connecting it to Gabe Evans, you know, he's like, "Yeah, I guess we need Greenland. Yeah, he needs a golden ballroom. Yeah, Club Mara Lago at the White House. It's like stu it's just it's beyond stupid and and it's like I I can't find even the strong enough words to describe the stupidity going on here and that it's not helping a single person in Colorado or throughout the country.

12:38 Yeah. I mean, the level of corporate greed and greed and corruption that's happening right now is unfathomable. It makes your head spin. The number of things that Donald Trump is doing to distract from his failing economy, from the horrors of his tariffs, from the fact that he is literally taking food from the mouths of children by taking away food assistance, literally taking away healthcare from children by taking away Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. I mean, it is just incomprehensible and it is so tragically sad and like you said, I can't find the words to describe just how horrible this is and how overwhelming it is. That's what he's trying to He's trying to overwhelm us.

13:16 He's trying to instill us with a sense of confusion and fear. And we have to stay focused. We have to understand that we need to take back the House if we want to put a stop to the horse of the Trump administration. And I'm one of the three seats that we need to take back to do that.

13:31 Manny, where can people learn more about your campaign? And anything else you want to say to our 6 million subscribers before we go?

13:39 Absolutely. So folks, like I mentioned before, if you go to mannyforcol.com, if you're able to donate, if you're able to volunteer, you'll be joining 44,000 other folks that have helped us raise over $2.5 million. You can also go on our social media, Manny Rutinel on your favorite platforms. We managed to get over 40 million views in just the last handful of months just because folks realize that this is a personal fight for me. When I talk about the affordability crisis, I'm not talking about it because I read about it in some white paper. I lived it. I was the son of a single mom. I had to sell my plasma over a hundred times just to make ends meet. I managed to make my way as an economist for the US Army Corps of Engineers. But after that, I started getting calls back from law schools and I called my mom who's a single immigrant mom and I told her, "Mommy, mommy, I just got into Yale." And she goes, "You

14:28 just got into jail?" And that's the sort of background I come from. That's the sort of background of so many of the folks across this district that are trying to make ends meet right now, but aren't because Donald Trump and Gabe Evans have decided to sell off our economy and our essential programs to their billionaire buddies uh in the form of a tax break. And I'm here to fight back and I'm so grateful u for this network and all the folks who are paying attention right now to the horrors of this administration and are willing to step up and put their skin in the game.

14:56 So, thank you so much for having me. I'm so deeply grateful. Well, it's possible your mom may have thought she was talking to JD Vance about jail. So, we'll have to we'll have to check that because he claims he went to Yale, although I think I think jail. I I definitely believe you went to Yale. So, I I I I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us.

15:14 Thank you so much, Ben. Appreciate it. Everybody, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our Substack at midasplus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Philipski, ad free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.com.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "GOP REP gets LOUDLY BOOED and RUNS AWAY from Cameras"?

Ben (Guest), Manny Rutinel (Guest), Gabe Evans (Guest).

What is "GOP REP gets LOUDLY BOOED and RUNS AWAY from Cameras" about?

MAGA Republican Congress member Gabe Evans faces intense backlash and public disapproval from his constituents, who have resorted to holding town halls without him due to his repeated absences. He attempts to evade accountability by running away from press questions and pretending to be on phone calls, leaving many to label him as cowardly and out of touch with the needs of his district.

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Manny Rutinel, Medicaid, Kyle Clark, US Army Corps of Engineers, Yale, Bernie Sanders. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "GOP REP gets LOUDLY BOOED and RUNS AWAY from Cameras"?

The episode runs 16 min; the transcript is about 2,978 words in 36 timestamped sections.

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