YouSaid · the spoken record

Fred Upton

lines on the record: 85
first: 2022-06-23
most recent: 2022-06-23
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“A couple things. First of all, climate change is real. It's happening. As we look at issues today, as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I did a lot of things that I think promoted by partisanship. I changed the rules of the committee that are still in place today that bipartisan amendments go first, particularly on health care. I led the fight on 21st century cures, which expedites the approvals of drugs and devices and really was the...”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I like Newt. He was close to Stockman. I knew him from before. He cared about the deficit, which is what I cared about. There are a couple issues that had me side with Newt and Newt won by one vote. So my vote mattered because he won by one. But I was, I actually became one of Newt's deputy whips.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So you had different relationships, but you have different factions. Now, back then as well, though, I mean, the Democrats, you know, I never thought that the Republicans would be in the majority because for my lifetime, they really hadn't been. It was even in some of the Reagan. We didn't even have enough votes to sustain a veto. Some of the races. So Newt was the new guy on the street. He was very confrontational. You know, he took Bob Michael and others out and he moved up the ranks pretty quickly.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Know back then, and you know, you really had some pretty deep relationships. You did have people that traveled together. One thing, you didn't have to spend the money. My first election, even we were outspent three to one. I don't think Stockman ever spent more than $50,000 to get elected. And so now it's, you know, if I had run this time, we probably would have spent $10 million. I mean, maybe more in a district. And who knows what the outside spending would have been. I mean, that's just normal. I mean”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You were on the other side of this deal? You're correct. And so it broke the last weekend, the Thursday before the election. And we gave it to the press and it blew the story up and said, if I can't win now, things are, you know, something's wrong. But so we did.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, he released a tape. He did a cassette tape that he said to the conservative churches throughout our district, asking them, the congregations, to pray and fast to break the back of Satan. And we had a minister give it to us actually.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There were a lot of factors, and we decided not to. I said, you know, I love my job. I mean, I get to be with the president every week, and I got two black labs, a great wife still have her. We've been married down 38 years. Why would I want to, you know, so I said no. And then folks came back to me a few months later and convinced me that, and so we came back, tested the waters, decided that we could win and ran and I beat the only incumbent to lose in the country in a primary in 86. My opponent would certainly confess he made a huge mistake at the end with literally the race in a deadlock, dead heat. He made a crucial mistake that allowed us to win fifty six forty four.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I did. Actually, I had a number of local folks here that had always been involved with Dave, and I know him quite well too. They came to me. I was now married to Black Labs, Wrigley and Gammon. You know, I want to bet on that thing with my cubs. People came to me and asked me to then run for Congress against his successor.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He did. He had some support. You know, Pete Domenici was then the chairman of the budget. Pete and Dave were on the same wavelength.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, I didn't agree with him on the race and the tax side of things, but he did, he cares, still does. I haven't talked to him for a while, but he cares deeply about the deficit and where things are. And of course, the deficit back then was a lot smaller than it is today.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“OMB had a really elevated role that we haven't really seen since then. I mean, literally everything Stockman had a, I mean, I can remember when the budget came out, he eliminated the Small Business Administration. And they showed then the cabinet member for the small business and he was driving down West Exec. That's the drive, you know, that connects. And literally on camera, this small business cabinet member. Takes the budget book, which is, you know, I know almost a foot thick. And he throws it out the window and just leaps it there on the street and drives away. Of course, we still have the small business administration today. I mean, he proposed a lot of things.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Know, I tell you, I learned so much from him. He had a good sense of humor. I remember the first time he saw me, it was in the new executive office building across the street from the White House, and he's like chasing Dave and me down the hallway, like trying to push the hair out of our foreheads. I mean, you guys got to get haircuts if you're going to work for me. I mean, it was. But he was, I didn't start working there until May of 81, but it was a great experience. But the lesson that I learned was this. A Republican president working with a Democratic Congress. He had a wonderful relationship with the people that were there from Tip O'Neill to Bob Dole.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's right. And so make a long story. So I, I, And a few months later, I joined him at OMB, where started as an LA legislative assistant, and then I ended up running the shop weekly meetings with the president, Reagan.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I did not know why. I suspected it. But before, so I called Dave and Dave said, well, did you get his number? Of course, he was very nervous. I said, of course I did. He said, well, what is it? I go, not so fast. I said, you got to call me back. I'm at the office and tell me what he said. He said, all right. I know I said, I want you to repeat that. Remember, I was pretty close to David. I said, Fred Upton, I will call you right back. So I got him to say that. I gave him the number. And Dave called me back and he said, Fred, you cannot tell anyone, but he offered me, he said, you are the only one that beat me in a debate. I did three debates, and Dave had done the prep work for it. He said, as a consequence, I want to reward you with the toughest job in Washington, being director of OMB. I didn't even know what OMB was. Back then.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, yeah, you would too. And he said, Well, I'd really like to talk to him. I said, Well, congratulations, Governor. He said, well, can you get his number? I said, I can find him. He lives right next door to me. He gave me his number. He said, well, I'm at the ranch. Of course, it was Ronald Reagan. And I called Dave.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yep, I did. And I was thinking about law school after that. And so I was actually after he won his election in 1980, Stockman. I lived on Capitol Hill second in D Street. And it was a great little townhouse that a couple of us shared. And I went into the office on Thanksgiving weekend because we had, we still have it. You know what stays with your congressional office, all the equipment. We had a really nice blue selectric typewriter. So I was working on my resume on a Sunday afternoon of Thanksgiving and the phone rang. And I answered the phone and I said, Congressman Stockman's office, how can I help you? And this very familiar voice said, is he there? And I said, no, sir, he's not.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I went to Washington for the first time. I lived with a guy from Niles, and I was in charge, in essence, of constituent service. I was the guy that did the harbor dredging. You don't have a passport, I can get you one. I mean, I was the go-to guy, and it was a great job. And after four years of doing that, I was ready for a new challenge. Wait, before.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Was sort of like a. It would have changed the you wouldn't have had the landslide back in 1974 where the Democrats really moving big time. And so Stockman, back to the story of the original question, he had been the staff director of the Republican conference prior to that. Saw the same story, was not happy with Hutchinson, which is why he ran. I don't think Dave really thought he was going to win in 76 when he ran. So we got Hutchinson backed out a surprise announcement in February of 76 after Stockman had made a number of forays. I'd been on the campaign since the first of the year. And then Hutchinson got five or six people again to get into the race. He endorsed other people, gave him a lot of money, and stock been won with about fifty five percent of the vote with six or seven people in the race.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Ed was also a university Michigan lawyer, came from two counties to the north, Fenville, a little small town. But Ed was got on judiciary, as my uncle would have because they're both lawyers, and come 1974. Ed was then the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee with Rodino on the Nixon impeachment. Had my uncle won, he also would have been on judiciary. He also would have been ranking because the seniority system was really in place back then. My uncle had not a very good opinion of Richard Nixon. It would have been completely different, whereas Hutchinson supported him even after Nixon resigned, even after the smoking gun.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Actually, in the state. He did. He ran for Congress in 62 to take the place of a guy who had been in office for 30-some years who died. And the race was very close. It was an open primary, multiple candidates were in, including the Speaker of the State House and others. And we all thought he was going to win. And he lost by, I don't know, 100, 200 votes, something like that.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I met him I had never been to Washington. He had a good grasp of the federal government and what he wanted to do, cared about the area, came from a big agriculture family here just south of town in Stevensville. And I'll say this. Here's the interesting story, if you let me tell the hotel. So my uncle, his name was Chet Burns. Was very prominent, ended up being a very prominent judge here in town.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I brought my wife back there a few years ago. It's in Ola Pool, which is way up north. And you go, you catch the ferry to the Hebrides. A beautiful spot. You can't get into any trouble, which I did not. But I came back, and here's the interesting story. I met this young guy that was running for Congress. His name was David Stockman.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, I wanted to be a sports writer. When I graduated, I made a quick trip to Europe where I was a head barman at a pub in northern Scotland.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, 10 and a half game lead. I think it was Jimmy Calls or center fielder that did it. Yes. But Ron Sannel or any banks, Don Kessinger, I can still give you the lineup back then, but it was we should have won, and we had the biggest Homer broadcasters you ever saw Jack Brick House and Harry Carey later on. They were something else. But it was an exciting time. It was.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Course, living in southwest Michigan way before cable, we listened to WGN. That was the radio and the TV station. You know back in particular in the 60s when I was growing up every Cup game was on TV. But both my grandparents grew up in Chicago and so it was natural. They became cup fans. It's only an hour and a half to Wrigley and you could sit in the bleachers for a dollar.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You've done a lot of good background I was a sportsman. I'm trying to give you a little boost here, brother. Don't ruin the story.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A couple years ago, I got millions of dollars, and in fact, we're going to have all the homes replaced with their lead lines literally in the next year and a half. On the health side, too, For a couple million dollars in the last, actually this fiscal year appropriation bill that's going to help really reach out to families that are struggling with appropriate health care, working with a pretty major health system now in the state of Michigan, one of the largest in the country. So I'm an optimist. I'm a Cubs fan. Yes, we'll talk about that. Things always get, you know, but we have to work together. And that's what I've been all about.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, well, you know, I worked building washing machines when I was in college here. But for a lot of reasons, they moved that plant, I think, to Ohio or Oklahoma or someplace. They had a screw plant literally making screws and they closed that down. But Whirlpool now, I believe, has more employees, white-collar, engineering, et cetera, than they had back in the 60s or 70s. And again, one of the things that they really wanted to do to recruit folks here was chain is only as strong as the weakest link. Benton Harbor had to get better. And particularly on the tax base, where literally a new house had not been constructed in Benton Harbor for decades, when that water issue changed. And I've been working with EPA actually the last number of years on lead. Of course, we all know about the Flint water lead issue”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I got an earmark a lot of years ago. I worked with EDA, Economic Development Administration. We tore out those lines. We put in regular lines. And Whirlpool, in fact, built a new three-story major complex in Benton Harbor right on Main Street, which has helped generate...”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I wanted to help, so I actually have spent a lot of time trying to make this a better place. Working with law enforcement, working with city leaders, Whirlpool being a community partner, literally as you came to this hotel today, you likely passed $25 million new affordable housing facility that Whirlpool put a lot of money into, working with the Michigan State Housing Authority for affordable housing for folks like law enforcement and teacher families. Benton Harbor for a hundred years, their water main lines were made out of wood. They didn't leak because wood swells, but as a consequence, you couldn't build a building on Main Street in Benton Harbor taller than two stories.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“England 16 generations now. In any case, they started this little company. They made BB guns. Upton BB gums. I got one. Someone asked me if I have a gun. Yes, I do. I got an Upton BB gun. But then it was the 1900 corporation. And they changed to Whirlpool literally over 100 years ago. purchased Maytag and KitchenAid. And it's now the world's largest appliance manufacturer. The headquarters are here in St. Joe-Benton Harbor. And, you know, they care about this community. It's one of those corporations that's really involved to try and make this a better place in large part also because they want folks to work here, to live here.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My grandfather Fred, his brother Lou, and their uncle Emory, who was apparently the smarty pants of the group, he was an engineer. They developed the hand washer machine. Their first contract was with Sears.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No Know I'm going to be retiring, but I'm not going to be a golfer. I need a lot of lessons. But it's really transformed the area.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I worked with our then Governor Granholm and Governor Schneider, and this was a pretty contaminated site, industrial site, for a lot of years. And it's been completely transformed. In fact, we had the senior PGA here at Harbor Shores just a couple weeks ago.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I am, yes. Post Wuch Buchanan in New Buffalo, Southwest Michigan is the place to be in the summer for sure. It's actually not bad in the winter either.”
2022-06-23 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 495 — Rep. Fred Upton · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source