How did we get here? What’s with Holmes ‘stache? - Ruthless Q&A

Ruthless Podcast

News, Politics

4.7 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

🎙️ We kick off our Christmas Day Q&A by answering the burning questions from the audience. We talk through how our careers actually started, how campaign instincts and comms muscle turn into real-world wins, and why the Progrum isn’t just “four guys with microphones,” but four guys who’ve lived the jobs we talk about. ⚡ Then, how the sausage gets made: how messages spread, why creativity beats policy-speak, and how the right phrase at the right moment can take over the conversation. We also talk about the early internet era in politics—how it worked, why it mattered, and what separated the serious operators from the scammy money-grab crowd.️ 🥸 More of your questions in this proper holiday hang: Holmes’ on-again/off-again mustache situation, where ‘Progrum’ actually comes from, and whether we still have day jobs (we do). More Q&A in Part II - coming next week. 00:00 - Christmas Day Q&A - Our gift to you 04:16 - The backstory on the fellas 05:14 - How comms work actually gets learned in the Senate 11:12 - Selling stories to reporters and shaping the narrative 12:50 - Branding moments that stick in politics 17:30 - The road back to winning in 2014 24:58 - Building a real professional partnership 28:37 - Smug’s bio: finance to politics to operating in NYC 30:00 - Inside the financial crisis panic 35:52 - Where “Comfortably Smug” comes from and why it takes off 40:16 - Covid-era Zoom happy hours give birth to an idea 49:52 - Why does Holmes mustache come and go? 53:19 - Where “Grum/Progrum” comes from—dialects, sports, and Senate impressions 59:17 - Do we still have day jobs? What we actually do now Our Sponsors: ➢Beverage America believes in the promise that makes this nation great. Learn more at http://wedeliverforamerica.org/ ➢Unleash American energy to be bigger and better than ever before, because when America builds, America wins. https://permittingreformnow.org/ ➢Want to make a difference in your community? https://takeonesmallstep.org/ Join AFP's grass-roots efforts at https://afpvolunteer.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	And on this Christmas Day, we want to provide a present to you, listener and viewer.
0:04.2	And that is all of your questions.
0:07.6	Yeah.
0:08.3	And hopefully some helpful answers.
0:10.3	Before the policy staff was able to rain on our parade, it was already out.
0:14.1	This is why you always ignore policy people. You should stuff them into the lockers.
0:20.0	It's like your job is here, is you got some ideas. We're going to get so many angry letters. Oh, I them into the lockers. It's like your job is here is you got some
0:22.1	ideas and they give you a good. Oh I know they all listen. No listen I think it goes a long way. I love
0:27.8	it. I would keep it. What I what I like about it is when it goes a week too long and you start to
0:34.0	look like Jack Sparrow from Pirate of the Caribbean. That's funny. It's very funny. When you got like the sole patch and then also the mustache,
0:42.4	yeah, yeah. It's really something. I've worked at Copacola for 21 years. We're delivering Dr. Pepper
0:51.6	from my branded facility in Dallas, Texas. We're really proud to still make Pepsi products in America.
0:56.0	You don't need a college degree to work here, but I put four kids through college by working here.
1:01.0	This is a great place to work with great people and great American brands.
1:05.0	Grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, they all depend on us.
1:09.0	We deliver great paying jobs. We deliver beverages people love. We deliver great paying jobs.
1:11.0	We deliver beverages people love.
1:12.7	We deliver for our community.
1:18.1	Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.
1:23.4	Keep the fate. Hold the line and own the lips.
1:26.2	It's time for our main event.
1:32.3	Merry Christmas, everybody. Welcome back to the Routless Variety program.
	...

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