WEBVTT - Fragile Democracy 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:14.960 Folks. I am so excited to welcome to wok F 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.760 Daily for the very first time Lauren bare who is 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:23.040 a managing partner at Arena, which is an organization that 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:27.080 is working to train a pipeline of Democrats in order 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.800 to be able to run for office, to run campaigns, 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:33.279 to do all of the things that we need them 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.440 to do in order to battle against Republicans. You know, 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:41.040 I feel like Republicans do a much better job of 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:44.440 building a pipeline. And let me be clear, their candidates 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:49.000 are crap. So it's amazing to me that they have 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:54.520 such an incredible infrastructure that their folks can rely on 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:58.800 churning out candidates after candidates. Talk to us about Arena 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:03.480 and why you think that it was important to get 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:05.720 to this place. Why is it important for us to 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:08.640 have this kind of organization and infrastructure. We have a 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.720 few what is it that makes this one different? Well, well, 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:14.680 first of all, Danielle, thank you so much for having 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.440 me here today to talk about these really important issues. 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:21.640 So arenas an organization and whose mission is to convene, 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:26.560 train and support the next generation of Democratic candidates and 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.880 campaign staff, and we were born out of the twenty 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:34.880 sixteen election, but also out of a realization of precisely 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:39.160 what you're pointing out, which is that Republicans for decades 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:46.480 have invested in infrastructure, in im party infrastructure, in organizing infrastructure, 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:51.480 and infrastructure that is enduring year over year, cycle over cycle, 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:56.320 and Democrats simply have not. On our side. In some ways, 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:01.800 we focused on candidates running really care asmatic people for office. 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:07.400 But candidates don't win elections on their own. They require 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:13.079 really strong, robust, well trained teams around them, and teams 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:18.040 who represent the diversity of the country and the communities 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:22.400 that they are running to represent. And so Arena exists 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:26.360 really to try to fill that gap on the Democratic side, 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.919 and we do it through four different ways. We do 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:33.560 it by running training programs. We have a flagship program 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:38.680 called Arena Academy, which trains individuals how to be campaign staff, 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:41.880 how to run campaigns, everything from being a campaign manager 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:47.200 to doing data, digital communications, fundraising. We have a careers 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:51.280 team that works to place everyone we've trained on a 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:55.360 campaign or working with a Democratic or progressive organization and 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:57.720 then make sure that those people stay in the business 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:01.360 cycle over cycle, year over year. We've got a suite 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:06.240 of free downloadable tools our Arena toolbox so that candidates 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:09.800 and campaign staff can have the knowledge that for so 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:13.720 long was held by an exclusive handful of people, to 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:16.280 be honest, you know, mostly white men who had worked 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:19.520 in politics for some time. And then on top of 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:23.680 all of that infrastructure building work, we also support candidates 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:27.520 financially and by providing them with staff. And the kind 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:31.360 of candidates that Arena supports are those who are bringing new, 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:36.240 fresh voices to the party, new perspectives, who are really 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:41.320 running on a premise of generational change and making our 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.920 party and our politics more reflective of the country as 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.400 a whole. I love all the all of the different 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:49.080 parts that Arena brings to the table, and I will 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.440 want to talk for a minute, you know, particularly about 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:54.520 campaign staff and why that's important. I think for too 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:59.760 long we rely on passion right to get people in 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.760 stid and wanting to work on campaigns. It's usually younger folks, 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:06.800 right that have the passion, have the energy, you know, 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:10.400 are going to live on the road pre covid that 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:12.680 was you know, that was the case. In terms of campaigning, 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:17.480 how do you get people interested? How do you draw 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:21.160 people in to say we need you? Because when folks 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:23.520 think about You know, I get asked the question all 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:26.880 the time, Danielle, what can I do? Right? Like we're losing? 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.599 What can I do? And I tell them volunteer, I 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.280 say donate. You know, it depends on your capacity. So 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.200 for those people that say what can I do, and 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:37.520 they want to do more than just volunteer, they want 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:40.159 to do more than just write a check, how do 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:44.479 you connect those folks to these campaigns? Yeah, well, what 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:48.559 you're saying, Danielle is so right, because, like I said before, 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:52.680 campaigns don't just run themselves. And I know this firsthand. 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:56.320 I was a candidate for Congress in twenty eighteen, and 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.960 I entered that race with with a ton of passion, 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.400 a ton of desire to serve my community, but no 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:08.000 understanding of the mechanics of running a campaign, and really 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.480 relied on the team that I was able to build 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.560 around me. But it was hard to recruit that staff. 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.840 And it was doubly hard to recruit a staff that 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.479 I wanted to be diverse, that I wanted to be 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:25.159 gender balanced, that I wanted to have BIPOC representation, that 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:29.880 I wanted to have LGBTQ representation, Because the simple fact 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:34.320 is it's been really hard to break into politics. You know, 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.400 you mentioned that you've encouraged people to volunteer, and I 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:41.200 think that's part of the problem is that, you know, 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.760 political engagement working in politics has been thought up as 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:49.000 a volunteer job for so long, and then by definition, 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.520 that makes it a job for those individuals who can 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:56.760 afford to work for free. YEP. At Arena, we're trying 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:00.919 to up end that because we make politics actually needs 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.719 to be a professional career and it needs to be 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.200 accessible to everyone that the Democratic Party is trying to serve, 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:12.040 which means it needs to recruit more people of color, 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:15.760 We need to recruit more working class individuals. We need 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.280 to make politics a career in which you can earn 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.840 a living wage to draw the kind of talent that 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:26.120 you want to bring to the table in order to win. 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:30.520 And so what I would encourage, you know, anyone who's motivated, 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:33.719 who wants to do something really substantive, you know, think 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:38.200 about going to an Arena academy, spending five days and 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:43.359 learning what it really takes to run a campaign. We 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.920 make a point of making sure that scholarships are available 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:49.839 to everyone who needs them, so you're going to not 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:52.640 be paying a dime if you can't afford to pay 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:56.239 that tuition for training, and then we work very hard 0:06:56.279 --> 0:07:00.279 with every person we've trained to help place them after words, 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:05.560 because it can be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:10.240 to find that candidate who you find inspiring, whether it's 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.000 someone who's running for a school board or mayor, to 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:17.640 investident and then put in the work to get them 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.480 elected and then bring that talent to the next race, 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.400 and the next one and the next one. So you know, 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.360 if there are people out there listening and that sounds 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:30.120 inspiring to you, I really encourage you to start thinking 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.200 about this not just as a volunteer opportunity, but as 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:35.640 a way to make a career path, and we will 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:38.040 do everything we can to help make that possible for folks. 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.960 You know, I'm so happy that you brought up, you know, 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:45.960 the pay because I think, you know to one of 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.560 the issues and I feel maybe this is changing in Washington, DC, 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:52.160 But you know, when I was there as a very 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:55.800 as a very young person, you know, internships who are unpaid. 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:59.280 Working on the hill was unpaid, and you know, and 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.240 I love the fact that your organization is making the 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:06.080 connection between well if you're going to have something that 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:10.200 is not paid or paid poorly, right, then you're carving 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.840 out a certain group of people that can engage right, 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.000 and that may not be the best people, but to 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.120 understand that for young people in particular, or people that 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.520 are looking for a career change frankly right, that want 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:27.520 the opportunity to engage in a way that makes them 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:31.120 feel like they are living and working on purpose. Not 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:34.400 being able to having to make a decision between a 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.160 low paying job putting food on your table and then 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:39.959 wanting to do something of purpose. Shouldn't be a decision 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.160 that people have to be forced to choose between. Right 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:49.120 And So for those BIPOC people in particular and LGBTQ people, 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:51.600 how do you talk to them about why it's so 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:55.839 important to have campaigns that look like the country as 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.120 opposed to just looking like the candidate you know that 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.640 they may like, But why is it's so important you think? Look, 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:05.600 at the end of the day, campaigns are really about 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:10.480 forming a human connection with voters. They are successful when 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:14.319 that candidate connects with a voter, but they're also successful 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:19.520 when that team connects with potential voters. And on any campaign, 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.760 your campaign staff is really an extension of the candidate. 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:27.160 They are representing that individual out in the community. They're 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.040 making the case for why to elect them. And the 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:35.359 fact of the matter is people are more engaged in politics, 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:39.520 more trusting of people running for office when they can 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:44.439 see themselves and in some way reflected in the process. 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.320 So if you're going into BIPOC communities, if you've got 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.040 BIPOC staff who can go into those communities, who can 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.760 speak to the issues from a point of having experienced 0:09:55.880 --> 0:10:01.520 themselves in a way that has authenticity, gains trust, that's 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:03.760 going to take you farther. As a member of the 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:08.240 LGBTQ community, I can say that the number of folks 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.320 who stepped into my campaign office when I was running 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.480 because they knew I was an openly gay candidate and 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.920 because I had openly gay members of my team and said, 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.840 I've never done anything political. I don't often vote, but 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:24.160 in you, I see someone for the first time who's 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:27.640 representing me in politics, and that's what's drawing me in. 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:30.200 And so I think that's the case to be made, 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:34.800 is that so many times marginalized communities don't see this 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:38.600 work as their work because they've been left out of 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:43.720 the process. But we really have an opportunity to open 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.840 up whole new swots of the electorate and bring people 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:52.520 in if we have staff and folks on campaigns who 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:56.240 are more broadly reflective of the community. And you know, 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:58.440 the one thing I would add to that is he 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:00.840 said that arena. You know, we have a toolbox which 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.120 teaches you how to build a campaign. But our tools 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.679 aren't just the nuts and bolts of this is how 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.160 you make a finance plan, this is how you buy 0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:12.640 your digital ads. We also have tools in there like 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:18.440 how to build a racially just an equitable campaign, how 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:23.280 to think about unionization issues on campaigns, how to think 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:27.960 about wage issues and health insurance. Because what needs to 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:33.480 change is the entire mindset that campaigns could somehow be 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:38.360 run in a way that's different than any other employment 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:42.320 environment would be run and they still expect to recruit 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:46.840 top notch, diverse talent. We as a party have to 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:49.600 live up to our own values in the way that 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.040 we run our campaigns as well as in the way 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:58.000 that we deliver on policy once we're in office. You know, Lauren, 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:03.240 many people or the last four plus years have gotten 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:07.120 such a terrible taste in their mouth with regard to politics. Right, 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:12.000 we saw through the Trump administration just how vile, how 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.720 cruel our politics can get. What do you say to 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:19.679 those people that you know because of COVID, Because we're 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.880 all in our homes, we are all paying attention to 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:26.120 the same thing at the same time, which hasn't happened 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:29.960 since the advent of social media. Frankly, right, what do 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:34.239 you say to those people that have a newly recognized 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:38.120 appreciation for the importance of politics in their lives, but 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:41.880 are also disgusted by it, are also like this is 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.440 too toxic and and I don't want any part of it. 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:48.719 What do you say to those folks? Yeah, well, I 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.479 mean the first thing I do is acknowledge that those 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:55.480 feelings are very real. The last four plus years have 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:59.280 been a very challenging time to turn on the television, 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:02.520 to look at the new paper, to ingest what's going on, 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:06.360 and that that vitriol in that hate, and then feel 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:10.000 like that's something you want to jump into. I mean, 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:13.280 it's it's not unnatural that the instinct is to in 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:16.719 some ways want to pull back and pull away from that. 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.880 But at a basic level, I think politics can be 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.880 driven by one of two things. It can be driven 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:26.199 by hope or it can be driven by fear. And 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:31.160 Donald Trump and the Republican Party have very much leaned 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:38.520 into this fear based politics, hate mongering, appealing to our 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:43.840 basis instincts, trying to make people turn against their neighbors 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.600 and think of them as somehow other. And if that's 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:52.200 not appealing to you, it's only going to change if 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:56.400 you lean into the alternative, which is a hope based politics. 0:13:57.120 --> 0:13:59.959 Politics you know of the nature of an Obama or 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.960 Biden or any number of the inspiring individuals who run 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.560 for House or Senate or city city council in the 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:12.400 past four years, and you offer an alternative vision that 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:16.040 is truer to the values on which our country is 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.280 founded and truer to the direction that we hope our 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:23.080 country will will go. So, you know, that's what I 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.920 try to say is to you know, lean into that hope. 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:30.440 And then the other thing that I would say to 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:33.680 folks is, you know, in a previous life, back during 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.920 the Obama administration, I spent six years working as a 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.920 foreign policy official at the State Department, and I focused 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.960 on democracy in human rights, and part of what my 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:48.880 job was was looking at democratic backsliding in other countries 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.680 around the world, pointing out to our own government when 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:56.520 there were red flags being raised that countries that were 0:14:56.640 --> 0:15:01.560 democratic were actually headed in the direction because we know 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:03.840 democracy is in a one way street. Just because you 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.760 got there doesn't mean you stay there, and it doesn't 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.920 mean you're becoming democrat more democratic every single day. And 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:15.720 it was terrifying to me post twenty sixteen to start 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.920 to see those same red flags that I'd seen in 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:23.440 other countries in my own country. I never imagined I 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:27.080 would be confronted with that. And I think, you know, 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:30.560 we saved ourselves from the brink with the twenty twenty 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:34.240 election in getting Trump out of office, but the work 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:40.120 is not over yet. Our democracy is still incredibly unstable, 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:44.040 and you just need to look at voter suppression laws, 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:49.960 restrictions on civil rights, environmental black sliding to know that 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.960 what we have right now is very fragile. And so 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.080 what I would also say to people is that if 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:59.000 you care about our country and care about it living 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:02.720 up to its best ideals, then in some way, engagement 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.880 is not a choice. It's a necessity. I love them 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:11.360 that you have to do to save the vision of 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.440 the country that you believe in. You know, I love 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:17.800 that you said that engagement is not a choice. I 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:22.160 think that we too often pose it right post politics, 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.480 as in something that you can choose to opt in 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:29.400 or opt out of. And I hope you know one 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.040 I have said on WOKA for the longest time that 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.520 I do believe that all we did was hit pause 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.600 on our sliding into authoritarianism. I do not think that 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:42.280 the election hit stop. But what I am hopeful of 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:47.440 is that the historic turnout that we saw in twenty twenty, 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:50.800 the historic turnout that brought us the Biden Harris administration, 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:56.280 will again folks recognize that if I stay home right, 0:16:57.080 --> 0:17:00.680 those Trumpers, those people that are working over time to 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.160 gas slide us into believing the exceptionalism of this country 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:08.439 without the analysis that are trying to take away every 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:12.200 single right that women, LGBTQ people, black folks and brown 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:15.439 folks have fought for since the beginning of time. That 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:19.720 without their engagement right, we will remain on the brink 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.159 and there may not be an opportunity for us to 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.159 be pulled back right. And what happens then, And I 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:28.000 don't you know, I am not a fearmongerer at all, 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:30.879 But I believe myself to be a realist, which is 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.640 all you have to do is see the news. One 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:35.320 of the questions, one of the last questions I want 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.240 to ask you, Lauren, is this. You know you ran 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:45.400 in twenty eighteen in Florida, which is an incredibly complicated 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:49.280 and place of great contradictions. What are some of the 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:53.359 things that you learned in that run that has informed 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:56.480 the work that you're doing now and can inform others 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:59.119 that are interested in either throwing their hat in to 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:04.040 be candidate or deciding that they want to run campaigns. 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:08.000 The first thing that I learned is that if you 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:13.560 are an individual who feels the inclination to get involved 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:16.959 in politics, whether that's putting your own name on the 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.520 ballot or joining a campaign as a member of staff, 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:24.280 don't wait for an invitation because people might not invite you. 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.760 It takes gut, it takes will, But if you've got 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:33.200 that fire in your belly, go on and put yourself 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.280 out there. Deciding to run was one of the most 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:40.439 frightening things that I've ever done, and ultimately probably the 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:45.760 most deeply rewarding and impactful things I have ever done, 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:49.600 and no one was asking me to do it. I 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:53.240 decided to run for office when I was home with 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:58.360 a tiny, infant baby girl and struggling with the realization 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.680 that she was born into a very different world than 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.960 the one I wanted her to be born into. And 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:09.680 I ultimately decided, what am I going to do to 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:12.560 make my daughter proud? How am I going to answer 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.920 her ten or fifteen years ago when she asks me 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.239 what I was doing at that dark low point in 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:24.000 our country's history. And I had to take the leap 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.720 on my own and decide that putting myself in the 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:29.680 arena was the right thing to do. So the first 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:33.840 big lesson is, if you want to get involved, just 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:36.280 do it. Just go for it. And if you don't 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:40.280 know how, come to arena. We will help you out, 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:42.960 you know. The second thing I would say that I 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:49.760 learned is that it is still incredibly, incredibly challenging to 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:53.160 run for office if you are in some way different 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:57.360 than the majority of people that we have elected throughout 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.800 the history of the United States, and let's be honest, 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:09.160 they are almost exclusively white, straight, sysgendered men. Yep, that 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:13.119 doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but what it also 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:17.400 means is that we collectively as a democratic community need 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:22.280 to think really hard about what are the structural barriers 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:27.720 that have prevented us from running and electing more individuals 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:32.280 who are representative of our country as a whole. Are 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:36.920 those economic and class based barriers? Because it actually costs 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:39.960 a great deal of money to run for the office, 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:43.880 It's a full time job. You can't be working. Are 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:49.400 there other forms of discrimination that are affecting BIPOC candidates 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:53.479 or LGBT two candidates or female candidates from fundraising and 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:57.040 bringing in as much money as others? And so one 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:00.400 of the lessons I took away was that is very 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:02.600 fortunate to be able to do what I did, but 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:08.160 that also involved a responsibility to in turn break down 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:12.760 barriers to other individuals who ought to be running so 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:17.240 that our politics could be more inclusive as a whole. 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:19.280 And the final thing I would say I learned is 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:23.080 that you know, as important as the candidate is, the 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:28.240 team they build around them is equally as important. And 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:32.320 that is why I'm so happy to have found a 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:36.480 post candidacy home in Arena, which is a community that 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:39.480 I think in an organization that is really working to 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.840 break down those barriers to running for office, to break 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:45.800 down those barriers for being a member of campaign staff, 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:50.159 and to make our politics as a whole more equitable, 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:56.199 more inclusive, more representative of this country. Lauren, I love it, 0:21:56.320 --> 0:22:02.440 and you're providing this very cynical political with some hope 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:04.800 that there are folks that are putting together the teams 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:08.920 that are necessary for us to win. Tell everyone how 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:13.440 they can follow you, find Arena, get more information so 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:17.800 that they can opt in instead of opting out. Wonderful well. 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:21.600 You can find Arena on Twitter at Arena Summit. You 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:24.400 can find me at Lauren there and if you were 0:22:24.520 --> 0:22:28.480 interested in attending one of our programs, go to Arena 0:22:28.600 --> 0:22:33.119 dot run Slash Academy. Applications are actually open now for 0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:37.359 our next Arena Academy in September, and we would love 0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:41.800 anyone and everyone who is interested about finding their way 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:46.159 into politics as a profession to fill out that application form, 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:49.879 join us for five days and start their political journey. 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:52.240 I love it, Lauren. Thank you so much for making 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:54.359 the time to join woke f and I hope that 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:56.800 you will come back to us in the fall with 0:22:56.880 --> 0:22:59.440 some of some of your folks, some of your new 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:02.880 cohort to discuss what they are learning and how we're 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:06.000 preparing to head into midterms. I would love nothing more. 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:12.879 Thank you so much for having me. That is it 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:16.720 for Today's Woke, a f daily podcast. To hear more 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:20.920 from me, including five full hour long shows every single week, 0:23:21.040 --> 0:23:24.760 exclusive guest interviews, and more. Support me on Patreon at 0:23:24.760 --> 0:23:28.280 Patreon dot com. Slash Woke a F Power to the 0:23:28.320 --> 0:23:31.399 people and to all the people power, get woke and 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:32.800 stay woke as fuck.