The New York City mayoral race shakeup and the escalating New Jersey governor's race controversy. Eric Adams has dropped out of the mayoral race, leaving socialist Zoran Mamdani as a top rival to Andrew Cuomo. We believe Mamdani will become the new face of the Democrat Party, putting centrist Democrats nationwide in the worst possible position heading into the midterms. In New Jersey, we are discussing the controversy over Mikie Sherrill's Naval Academy records, her changing story about a 1994 cheating scandal, and why Cittarelli's push for transparency is working.

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The current state of media and cable television is undergoing a massive revolution, which is great for the show, but terrible for legacy formats. The lessons learned here are important to understand. For instance, Howard Stern's audience has cratered from a peak of 20 million people down to approximately 120,000 listeners today, according to media reports. This dramatic decline highlights a complete disconnect, especially since he maintains a massive payroll of 95 employees and a staggering annual salary of $500 million. The simple truth is that he alienated and betrayed his own audience by turning on them and condemning them for their political support of Donald Trump.

This lack of respect and genuine connection is why we believe his career is ending in an embarrassing way. As for the broader late-night field, former host Conan O'Brien correctly observed that late-night television, which has been around since 1950, is going to disappear completely. This shift is happening because audiences are now completely accustomed to consuming media on their own schedule and time. From the pain of VCRs and the subscription fees of TiVo to the unlimited options of online streaming and podcasts, an entire generation no longer understands the concept of "appointment listening" or "time-scheduled watching."

Ultimately, the failure of these figures comes down to a lack of authenticity, which can never be saved or repaired once the bond with the audience is broken. A prime example of this in politics is Gavin Newsom, who continues his nauseating, daily attempts to imitate Donald Trump on social media. This political shapeshifting is a transparent attempt to distract from his failed governance in California, including his push to hand out commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens and his obscenely unfair push to illegally redistrict the state. Newsom's performance is utterly inauthentic, which is why we believe he will fail to secure the Democrat nomination, regardless of his party's control over the selection process.

Howard Stern, late night TV, Conan O'Brien, media revolution, appointment listening, podcasting, television's future, woke celebrities, audience betrayal, Gavin Newsom, political inauthenticity, political shapeshifter, California policies, Jack Ciattarelli

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We believe that political success ultimately comes down to authenticity. Whether you love or hate him, Donald Trump is a successful figure because he is genuinely himself; he is one of the most authentic people in politics today. This is precisely why Gavin Newsom's daily, desperate attempts to imitate him on social media are so pathetic, exhausting, and nauseating to watch. His social media team is out there every day tweeting something stupid to try and sound like Trump, but it has gone from briefly funny to just looking old and flat. This incessant, bad impression shows a fundamental lack of genuineness that we think will doom his political future.

We see this inauthenticity as a huge liability, especially when compared to figures like Bernie Sanders or AOC—who, despite our disagreements with their socialist policies, are truly authentic in their beliefs and what they preach. Newsom, however, looks like if artificial intelligence came to life; he is a completely inauthentic scumbag and a political shapeshifter, always trying to mold himself into something else. This utter lack of a genuine core is a major reason why we predict he won't get the Democrat nomination, even though the party leadership will try to control the process and push him forward.

This whole performance, we argue, is nothing more than a desperate attempt to distract from his failed agenda and policies in California. The White House rightly blasted him for offering commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Furthermore, his obscenely unfair push to illegally redistrict California—a move that spits in the face of people who voted for a referendum to take politics out of the process—shows that he is all about self-interest. This move to consolidate power for himself is the real story he wants everyone to forget while he posts his cringey, pretentious memes.

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The official New Jersey campaign season has begun, marked by stark differences in approach between the two leading candidates. Jack's first campaign ad focuses directly on the kitchen table issues plaguing the state, such as rising property taxes and higher electricity bills, accusing opponents like Mikey Sherrill and Governor Murphy of caring more about social issues and national politics. Sherrill, conversely, is attempting to nationalize the race by centering her campaign around the former president. This national focus is a distraction from the real, localized problems caused by current Democratic energy policies, particularly Governor Murphy's push toward 100% renewable energy using unreliable sources like windmills.

The central point of contention remains electricity rates. Mikey Sherrill’s proposal to "freeze energy rates on day one" is labeled as an impossible, illegal political stunt, a claim reportedly acknowledged by Governor Murphy himself. Expert Eric Ford of the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition is cited, stating the true solution is to address the supply crisis by urgently bringing more megawatts onto the grid, rather than freezing prices at a current 20% increase. This supply shortage is blamed on the political decision to close nuclear plants and pursue expensive, job-threatening green mandates that taxpayers are forced to subsidize through hidden fees.

The final segment connects the energy crisis to the cultural hypocrisy of the political left. Zeoli contends that the Democratic base prioritizes climate change, viewing high energy costs as a necessary "sacrifice for the planet." This obsession is now being severely tested by the unacknowledged, massive power demands of AI data centers (like those for Chat GPT), which are far outpacing electric vehicles in consumption and further straining the grid. If New Jersey has low Republican turnout, and Sherrill’s gets in, we will be destined to deal with her far-left Democratic nomination for a potential 2028 presidential run.

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Mikey Sherrill's ridiculous proposal to "freeze energy rates on day one" will crush energy prices. Zeoli talked to energy policy expert Eric Ford, President of the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition, who contend that such a move is illegal and fundamentally misunderstands the problem. As New Jersey has lost 4,100 megawatts of power generation in the last seven years, the current crisis is a simple matter of supply and demand. Freezing rates at a 20% increase, as PSE&G customers in New Jersey are experiencing, merely cements high costs rather than achieving a necessary reduction by generating more power.

The discussion shifts to what Zeoli sees as a core disconnect in Democratic policy: an obsession with climate change that overrides concern for working-class energy bills. This base of "college-educated white liberals" views high energy costs as a necessary "sacrifice for the planet," making the issue more political than practical. This pursuit of green mandates and the shutdown of reliable energy sources like nuclear power in New York and New Jersey has been catastrophic for the grid's capacity to meet demand, leaving customers with strained wallets as prices reflect the high cost of limited supply.

A new, massive energy drain is compounding the problem: Artificial Intelligence data centers from tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft. These power-hungry centers are "far outpacing electric vehicles" in power demand growth, further stressing an already depleted grid. The climate-focused left is totally hypocritical, and should be asked to "put down Chat GPT for the good of the environment," given the immense carbon footprint of these AI technologies. Ultimately, the solution is not an illegal rate freeze but an urgent focus on increasing energy generation to meet the demand, which has been severely restricted by green mandates.

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The Rich Zeoli Podcast- August 22nd, 2022:

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), has conceded that her agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic was littered with mistakes ranging from “testing to data to communications”—ultimately resulting, according to her assessment, in a loss of public trust. If research from institutions like Johns Hopkins University suggests that lockdowns and mask mandates have had “little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality,” then why is it that public officials, even as they acknowledge their failures, are calling for stricter responses and more government control moving forward? The “science” is no longer being supported by hard data. PLUS don’t miss Clarice Schillinger’s M.I.L.F. of the week, Joe Biden’s latest word salad, stupid things said by stupid people, an armless criminal who stabs people using his feet (yes, that actually happened), and Special Guest: businessman and former Republican gubernatorial candidate David White previews Pennsylvania’s biggest 2022 races—Doug Mastriano vs Josh Shapiro and Dr. Mehmet Oz vs John Fetterman.

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