WEBVTT - Hanging Onto Our Democracy 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.480 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to bok F Daily with 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:19.600 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the home Bunker, Folks, today, 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:22.880 I am excited to welcome to woke F Daily for 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.279 the first time the new president and CEO of the 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:31.240 Center for American Progress and CAP Action, Patrick Gaspard. For 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.080 those of you who do not know that, haven't been 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.120 listening to woke F since the beginning of time, which 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:39.959 feels like how long I've been recording. I was a 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:44.000 senior advisor at the Center for American Progress, where I 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:48.599 co launched an initiative under lgbt Progress, the Fire Initiative 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:52.199 Fighting Injustice to Reach a Quality, which looked at how 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:59.280 discriminatory LGBTQ policies adversely affected black queer people. And during 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:03.240 my time at CAP, you know, which is the largest 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.720 progressive think tank in the country, I had the opportunity 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:11.480 to be surrounded by some of the biggest thinkers and leaders, 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.840 and at one time, in those glory glory days of 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.839 the twenty tens, there was a pipeline of talent that 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:22.000 was going into the Obama administration, coming out of the 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:28.080 Obama administration into CAP and into creating different policies and 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.600 ways in which we can progress as a country and 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:36.039 as a nation. And you know, during the last I 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.280 would say ten years plus, Patrick will tell us that 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:42.880 CAP is turning twenty years old, which is so wild 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.920 for me to think about, but that a lot has changed. 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:52.240 You know, when Center for American Progress was established, it 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:58.000 was you know, about pushing forward, pushing this country to 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:02.480 reach its possibility. And now we're in a place of 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:06.600 just trying to hold on bare knuckle to our democracy. 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:10.200 And this shift has taken place in the last ten years, 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.200 and it is wild. And so this interview with Patrick 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:18.200 will go into what it is he believes that Democrats 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.280 need to be doing. You know, this interview you will 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.920 hear will be roughly, you know, the day before the 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:30.760 final day to vote in this consequential midterm election. It 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:33.560 is unbelievable to me where the polls are. But like 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:36.880 I've said to you all on Woke f that I 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.480 believe in the bodies that show up at the polls. 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:43.480 I do not believe in the tea leaves being read. 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:47.440 Because understand that the horse race is necessary for ratings, 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:50.120 and what is good for ratings is real shit for 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.120 our democracy. So we will see. But if you have 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.160 yet to vote, and you know people that have yet 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.919 to vote, tell them that this is our last free 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.600 and fair election. If they like their lives, if they 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:04.880 like you know, democracy, if they like freedom, then they 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:07.400 need to go into that voting booth and vote Blue 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:09.880 all the way down the ticket. Because the alternative is 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:14.480 a cult that is looking to not only reverse rights 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:16.520 in this country, but they are looking to create a 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:20.240 climate of violence and misery that we have never seen. 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:23.840 And so it is important for us to understand what 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:27.679 is at stake, which is why I have Center for 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:37.120 American Progress President and CEO Patrick Gasberg coming up next. 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.840 Indisputable with Doctor Rashi Ricci is one of the latest 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:45.440 shows on the TYT network and also the fastest growing 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:49.080 news show in America. On his show, Doctor Ricci plays 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.600 no games regarding policy, delivering a heavy dose of fact 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:55.920 based truth and penetrating analysis on all the top news 0:03:55.960 --> 0:04:01.720 stories focusing on racism, criminal and social justice, politics, police brutality, Karens, 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:06.040 and much more. Listeners can also expect interviews with fascinating guests, 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:10.720 political leaders, commentators, and even fiery debates with conservatives on 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:14.400 a wide range of policy topics. In the bullpen. It 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.440 is an indisputable fact that you will love this show. 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:22.440 Listen to Indisputable with Doctor rashad Ricci on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.279 or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:28.479 you hear, be sure to subscribe so you never miss 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:38.039 a new episode. Folks, I'm very excited to welcome to 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:42.039 woka F Daily for the very first time, Patrick Gaspard, 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:44.480 who is the president and the CEO of the Center 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:49.600 for American Progress and CAP Action Fund and a seasoned 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:53.920 expert on progressive politics and campaigns. Patrick, I need this 0:04:53.960 --> 0:05:01.600 discussion to go well, so so let me let me first. Uh, 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:05.520 let's let's start, you know, Danielle, I hope that next 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.479 Tuesday goes at least as well as as this discussion 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.839 with I meet too, so as folks who listen to 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:17.240 oka F. No, I am a CAP alumni. I was 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:24.720 with CAP under LGBT Progress back in the twenty tens, 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.239 and I'm a big fan of the work that CAP 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:33.440 has done as a former senior advisor. So I just 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:37.039 you know, before we jump into mid terms, Uh, Patrick, 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.719 I wanted to get a sense of your leadership at 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:46.080 Center for American Progress and you know the importance of 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:53.560 this massive progressive organization, particularly in these times. Well, Danielle, first, 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:56.320 thanks for having me on. It can't believe that this 0:05:56.440 --> 0:06:00.440 is my like inaugural moment on your phenomenal show. And 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.200 it's really great to be able to speak with a 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:04.359 CAP alum. Thank you for all the work that you 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.640 did when you were with a CAP, and thank you 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:10.919 for your ongoing and unique and important public service. Look, 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:14.599 it's a privilege of a lifetime to be able to 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:18.680 be the head of this organization as it turns twenty 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:23.520 next year. I'm sure that since you're an alum, that 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:27.480 your listenership understands that the great advantage that CAP has 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:32.159 is that we are engaged across all issues that are 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:36.720 debated and litigated in Washington, DC and in our state capitals. 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:44.360 We have centered racial equity, injustice, economic inclusion, climate, health expansion, 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:49.880 and fundamentally democracy integrity. And anybody who lived through the 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:53.440 last four years under the previous president understand why we 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:58.080 would center democracy integrity in this critical moment in this country. 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:02.599 So CAP turns we have kind of a three legged 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.919 stool at CAP where we have our deep research leg our, 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:11.680 muscular advocacy, leg and our nimble communications and all of 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:16.920 those things work in concert to pass legislation, to land 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:20.280 that legislation in the lives of people in community, and 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.280 then to be able to kind of tell a story 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.360 about it that can hopefully accrue to our benefit at 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:28.400 the moment when people have to make the kinds of 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.960 choices that they're making next Tuesday. I can't believe that 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:39.240 it's been twenty years. I mean, it is. It's it's 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:43.400 wild to me because I I feel like, I mean, 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.960 I wasn't around in the beginning, but CAP was still nascent. 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:52.760 It was still this this new building entity. And so 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.800 you know, you have this this layered approach and the 0:07:56.120 --> 0:08:01.520 tentacles in every place and space at a time that 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:06.080 our democracy is really under attack. You know when I 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.440 feel like when CAPP was built at the beginning, it 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:14.000 was about the expansion of progressive ideals and the expansion 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:19.240 of this idea of equity and justice. And what it 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.080 looks like to take a layered approach to the advancement 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:25.600 of our country and our body politic. What does it 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:29.520 mean for you now though, at a time when the 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:34.040 very democracy, the very foundation of this country is at risk. 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.560 It means that we are in the right place at 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:40.400 the right time to say and do the right things 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:45.000 to advance the common American enterprise forward. Right, So, we 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:51.200 have twenty years now of testing, of researching, twenty years 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:55.480 of some tremendous successes, but twenty years also some failures 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:59.120 to learn from that hopefully should inform our direction of 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:03.160 travel as an organization and then as a country in 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.120 the next several years to come. I'll tell you, Danielle 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:11.080 that in my brief time as leader of CAMP and 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:15.600 my very long history working with the organization, it's clear 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:20.000 to me that CAP always was the thing that should 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:22.680 have existed from their earliest days that some of us 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:26.840 were involved in public policy and in politics. We always 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:30.840 needed a space that could hold the big expansive tent 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:37.240 that is liberal to progressive political actors policy leaders in 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:40.480 this country to be able to find a common purpose 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:44.680 and to understand really profoundly the intersection of all of 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:48.040 these issues with one another and how they ladder up 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:54.000 to this notion of democracy and freedom and fairness. There 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:59.040 are extraordinary organizations in Washington and in the country that 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:02.640 are single issue to focus, and we need them and 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:06.760 their expertise is invaluable. But there is something extraordinary about 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:11.120 caps superpower, which you know, just kind of glums all 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:15.920 of these issues together and tackles them in a way 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:21.920 that always centers equity, and there's always clear about on 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:26.560 whose behalf we're struggling every day and what we think 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:32.480 is needed to develop a stronger nation that brings everybody along. So, yeah, 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:34.679 it's been it's a thrill of a lifetime to do 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.400 this work. And you know, it also helps me to 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:45.240 continue to carry forward the lessons and the skill sets 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.760 that I learned when I was a young activist, when 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.840 I was an organizer for unions, when I became a 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:57.880 political and policy director for the Service Employees International Union, 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.360 all the lessons I learned on both sides of the barricade, 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:05.520 either on the protest side in Lafayette Park or on 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:07.600 the other side of the barricade. Working as a senior 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:12.280 staffer in the White House. Certainly, my working global diplomacy, 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:16.680 given our determination to insert our notion of progressivism in 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.800 US foreign policy, all of that, uh and my time 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.360 in philanthropy working on human rights, all of that has 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.439 come to a head in this moment in the US, 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:30.040 In this moment in cap and Boy what a privilege 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:34.280 to be able to lead on those fronts. You know, 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:38.120 your your background and your expertise is one that is 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:43.520 surely needed because you have a wide perspective and and bandwidth, 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.520 uh that that you've been operating with for for for 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.959 so many years. And I you know, I wonder now, 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.400 um as you're at the helm of of cap and 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:58.160 you're and we're just days we're just days away from 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:00.840 what I believe and what I said on this show 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:05.040 and other programs is the most consequential election of our times. 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.920 And I've said many times without being hyperbolic, that this 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.720 may be very well be the last free and fair 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:17.640 election of our time. And you know, right before our interview, 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:22.800 I get a text from a colleague that's said, Danielle, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.800 I just spoke with a Democratic donor who has their 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:28.800 ear to the ground, and they say, we're in for 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:33.760 a red wave. Patrick, what do you say to that? 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.640 Because I, you know, and I got to tell you, 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.920 I don't believe polls. You know, I believe, I believe 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:43.040 who shows up at polls. I believe hard numbers of 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:46.000 ballots that have already been mailed in. Those are the 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:49.760 numbers that I believe. But when you hear, and it's 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:55.240 been reiterated on cable news in many, many, many, many articles, 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.680 probably too many to count, that we're in for red wave. 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:03.800 What is your response to that? Oh, you know, whoever's 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:09.239 calling you needs to hang out with some better people. 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:14.360 Let's help set them straight about the moment that we're in. Look, 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:18.000 there is always this kind of bad wedding amongst the Democrats, 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:22.120 in particular days out from any election, and let's you know, 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:24.640 let's you and I be really sober about this. We 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.640 know that Americans right now are going to the grocery store, 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.280 they're going to the gas pump, and they're encountering eight 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.760 percent inflation. That is a real thing in the lives 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.800 of average folk. That will matter next The ready matters 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:40.880 in early vote, will matter next Tuesday as well. But 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:45.520 you know what else matters, folks recognize that with President 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.800 of Bio's leadership, with the leadership of Democrats in the 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:54.000 House and Senate, we managed to pass real consequential stimulus 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:59.079 bill that redounded to the average spoken community. That saved 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:02.680 a small business, is that saved our ability to maintain 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:06.120 community and education and public safety. And we did it 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:11.720 without votes from Republicans. They know that this administration passed 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.280 an infrastructure build the likes of which has been spoken 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:19.040 about for decades from one administration to the next. I 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:24.200 think that the previous it's hard to even call him 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:28.040 a president, and previous occupants of the White House, you know, 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.440 talked until he was blew in the face about how 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:32.880 he was going to do this, made an America infrastructure 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.240 never got it done. Republicans didn't get it done. Jill Biden, 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:40.120 Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats who have been 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:43.440 toiling with them got infrastructure done, and they got it 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:48.920 done in a fashion that center's fairness equity that reverses 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.560 some of the structural racism that we've had in infrastructure 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:57.800 development for decades in the US. Democrats did that. Following that, 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:02.520 after you know, a long set of negotiations, they passed 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:07.680 the Inflation Reduction Act, that is the largest expansion of 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:13.520 here that we've seen in a decade. It has done 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:19.400 most consequential climate bill that's ever been passed in the 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:23.160 history of the United States, with real sources going towards 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:28.600 climate mitigation and energy transformation. And they also passed the 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:33.400 most consequential economic bill we've seen in a generation that 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:38.560 comes with meaningful reforms in taxes that's going to compel 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:42.720 and force largest corporations, richest folks to pay their fair share. 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.320 And then on top of that, just for you know, 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:48.040 just to kind of flawed the bingo card, they also 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.600 managed to push down the costs of prescription drugs. So 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:55.520 folks know and feel the benefit of these things. Plus 0:15:55.600 --> 0:16:00.240 a student debt measure that was passed by the by 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:04.840 by President Biden. But then on top of that, we 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:09.680 have this reactionary maga extremists six three majority in the 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:13.680 Supreme Court that took away a fundamental right that was 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:17.440 assured for the last fifty years in the DABS decision 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:21.359 when they rolled back access to a worsen in this country. 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.360 So folks understand that they feel that we've seen that 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:28.120 in the uptick in voter registration, particularly from women and 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:34.680 young people in places like Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, following 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:43.840 the DABS ruling, following the education debt relief from the President, 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:47.680 and following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.040 I know, Danielle, and you know what the historic trends 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.960 look like. More often than not, with very rare exceptions, 0:16:55.720 --> 0:17:00.000 those who occupy the White House during a midterm elections 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.760 and losing seat. The historic trend, the Democrats are bucking 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:07.160 that trend right now, and in state after state, from 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:10.400 the special elections that we've had to the numbers we're 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.639 seeing in the early vote period, Democrats and key battleground 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:21.919 states are outpacing President Biden's approval numbers. And they also 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.320 are benefiting from the fact that the Republican Party has 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:29.919 gone off the rails. Seventy percent Republican believe somehow that 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:34.760 the twenty twenty election was rigged against them. Instead nominated 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:37.800 campidates who are deeply flawed. Right we have Blake Masters 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:42.600 in Arizona, Doctor Oz in Pennsylvania, Tutor Dixon in Michigan, 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:48.679 Tim Michaels in Wisconsin, Herschel Walker in Georgia, who barely 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.800 believes that the earth is around, and who all won 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:57.680 a role social Security Medicare, and they want to continue 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:02.320 to give encouragement to the proud boys, to the old keepers, 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:07.520 to the kind of people who visited violence on Paul 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:12.000 Pelosi a week ago. So all that to say, we've 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.639 given ourselves a fighting chance more than a fighting chance, 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.359 and we're going to have some success in even some 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:30.520 difficult places next Tuesday. 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I'm so thankful one 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:27.240 for the list of accomplishments that you have laid out, 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:31.359 because I think that in this time of great anxiety, 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:36.320 of great inflation, which you also named, of political the 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:40.200 rise in political violence. I think that what this administration, 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:43.959 first of all, we forget what they inherited from the 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:48.000 prior occupant, as you said, which was an absolute disaster 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:52.159 a sewer is is what they inherited, and that what 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:55.400 they have been able to kind of move this country 0:19:55.440 --> 0:19:59.720 out of My issue with Democrats and this question is twofold, 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.719 and is that all of the things that you named. 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.680 I don't believe a majority of the country actually knows, right, 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:09.560 I know, I do know that they remember that they 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:12.919 remember the stimulus. I do know that many people, you know, 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:16.400 remember the covid AID that they received as well because 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:19.159 of you know, the million plus people who have died 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:23.480 in this country that we continue to kind of, you know, forget, 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:27.080 right then a million We lost a million souls, over 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:30.760 a million souls to this global health pandemic, and that's 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:33.240 something that we have we just kind of gloss over. 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:39.200 And the prior occupant was responsible for at least half 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:43.520 of those deaths. And so, you know, in that way, 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:48.600 I ask about first, you know, the messaging. We have 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:52.720 all the right policies, Patrick, We have all the right policies. 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:56.760 We believe in the foundation of democracy. We believe in equity, 0:20:56.800 --> 0:21:00.040 we believe in justice. And so how is it that 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:04.080 when you have what has what has turned into a 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:10.840 very rabid, racist, misogynistic cult telling you very clearly that 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.400 they want to strip away entitlements, they want to take 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.600 away social Security, they want to take away Medicare, they 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:20.040 want to take away public education, they don't believe in 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:23.479 climate change, even as this country is being ravished by it. 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:28.760 How is it that Democrats are not messaging, not just 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:33.320 in reaction to the Republicans, but about what they have 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:37.359 done and what they're willing to do. Danielle, that was 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:42.639 a woke af takedown. I know, I know about the 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:50.360 right show. Look, I narrative is always a really difficult thing, 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:55.159 and usually you need hundreds of millions of dollars focused 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:58.760 around very very specific messaging in order for things to 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:02.200 account of Landhole for folks as they get repeated over 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:05.960 and over on their TV sets, on their social media, 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:09.119 on the door when somebody's knocking there from a canvas, 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:10.919 or as I'm going to get to do this weekend 0:22:10.960 --> 0:22:15.400 in Georgia for Stacy Abrahams and Raphael Warnot. It takes 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:18.840 a while. You know, messaging. You know, I remember somebody 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:21.720 once telling me a long time ago that messaging is 0:22:21.720 --> 0:22:24.080 like a dagwood sandwich where you just got put those 0:22:24.160 --> 0:22:28.119 layers and layers and layers, and hopefully, I hope that 0:22:28.160 --> 0:22:32.240 at all you can taste all of it in one 0:22:32.280 --> 0:22:34.720 bite and then have them come back again for more. 0:22:36.840 --> 0:22:38.440 You know. Of course, I'd worked in the White House 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:41.680 and their President Obama and his first term as the 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:46.040 White House Political Director, and messaging was the bane of 0:22:46.080 --> 0:22:49.480 our existence in that moment. After we passed what was 0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:56.360 then record stimulus, after we saved Americans from the foreclosure crisis, 0:22:56.359 --> 0:22:59.119 we saved your mobile industry. Yeah, oh, and then we 0:22:59.240 --> 0:23:03.680 got healthcare form done. Even despite all of that, we 0:23:03.760 --> 0:23:08.640 struggled with messaging in the mid term election, and folks 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:10.840 were you know, it's it's interesting. There are some interesting 0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:14.720 comparisons here. You have historic accomplishments, but those accomplishments can 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:20.040 get swamped in them and the media ecosystem that we're in, 0:23:20.359 --> 0:23:22.520 if if, if there if folks are just hearing about 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:25.320 one issue over and over and over again. Back then 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:29.760 in two and ten, it was still overwhelmingly about unemployment, 0:23:29.760 --> 0:23:33.640 which was at double digits. So irrespect of all the accomplishments. 0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:37.240 Folks just wanted to hear and understand and wanted to 0:23:37.240 --> 0:23:41.000 see the impact immediately overnight of the policies on unemployment. 0:23:41.280 --> 0:23:45.520 It wasn't until two thousand and twelve that all of 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:50.480 that landed in people's community, in their homes in a 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:56.080 way that was transformational enough for us to win reelection 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:58.760 in two twelve and then win back the majority in 0:23:58.800 --> 0:24:01.480 Congress some years later. We had to have proof points 0:24:01.920 --> 0:24:04.200 not just in being able to say we passed the legislation, 0:24:04.480 --> 0:24:08.320 but how it was landing effectively in people's lives. Right now, 0:24:08.680 --> 0:24:11.159 despite all the great things that I just listed that 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:14.560 President Biden Democrats have been able to achieve, they have 0:24:14.640 --> 0:24:18.280 the challenge of inflation hovering at about eight percent now. 0:24:18.280 --> 0:24:20.800 It's been going down, and there are some very real 0:24:20.840 --> 0:24:24.320 things that have been done by this administration to kind 0:24:24.320 --> 0:24:27.280 of turn that around, but that's still a really stubborn 0:24:27.359 --> 0:24:29.880 metric and that comes with a whole set of anxieties. 0:24:31.119 --> 0:24:33.480 They're being clear that they intend to go right at 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.600 sour security and medicare by either gutting them or sun 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:41.840 setting them. They're playing Russian Roulette with our economy and 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:45.000 They're gonna hold a debt limit hostage to get whatever 0:24:45.160 --> 0:24:49.159 policies they want. They're gonna go back and reinstate Donald 0:24:49.160 --> 0:24:53.840 Trump's tax cuts, which were for the wealthiest corporations and Americans. 0:24:54.000 --> 0:24:56.000 And they're gonna follow a set of policies that are 0:24:56.000 --> 0:25:00.159 really similar to what this trusted in England after she 0:25:00.240 --> 0:25:03.399 thanked their economy and got roundly bounced out after a 0:25:03.400 --> 0:25:07.040 couple of weeks. And they're going to work no matter 0:25:07.080 --> 0:25:09.160 what they say now. They're going to work to pass 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:13.440 a national abortion ban like the well proposed by Senator 0:25:13.480 --> 0:25:16.760 Lindsey Graham earlier this year. They are going to do 0:25:16.800 --> 0:25:18.959 these things. You know. The one thing I will say 0:25:19.000 --> 0:25:21.959 about magor Republican extremists, when they tell you that they 0:25:22.000 --> 0:25:24.120 intend to do something, take them out. They do it 0:25:24.440 --> 0:25:28.119 because they do it, including up to you know, violating 0:25:28.119 --> 0:25:33.200 the Capitol on January sixth and almost bringing great harm 0:25:33.720 --> 0:25:36.600 to members of Congress and indeed bringing harm to police 0:25:36.640 --> 0:25:39.560 officers a number of other people. You know, I'm thinking 0:25:39.640 --> 0:25:44.320 right now, Danielle of the sisters in Georgia who were 0:25:44.720 --> 0:25:50.400 the election workers who testified January, how terrified they were 0:25:50.600 --> 0:25:53.640 just because they did their civic duty, and I worry 0:25:54.280 --> 0:25:58.480 that if Republicans are successful next Tuesday, that we're going 0:25:58.480 --> 0:26:04.680 to move increasingly to a nation towards a democracy where 0:26:05.280 --> 0:26:09.760 folks life shamas are not safe just helping to basically 0:26:09.760 --> 0:26:12.159 count votes. That's not the America that I want to 0:26:12.160 --> 0:26:15.080 wake up to on Wednesday. So I hope your listeners 0:26:16.119 --> 0:26:18.800 going out of participating an early vote where that's available 0:26:18.880 --> 0:26:21.439 to them, but certainly are going to take the time 0:26:22.400 --> 0:26:25.760 on Tuesday to go out and cast their ballot, but 0:26:25.800 --> 0:26:28.520 will also knock on a few doors of their neighbors 0:26:28.520 --> 0:26:32.320 to get them out as well. Patrick, last question for you, 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:35.879 you know, oh no, no, I know, but you'll have 0:26:35.960 --> 0:26:38.760 to come back. This was your inauguration. But you're you're 0:26:38.840 --> 0:26:40.440 you will, you will be back on woke a f 0:26:41.000 --> 0:26:45.040 But um, you know, political violence UM is at an 0:26:45.040 --> 0:26:48.600 all time high in this country but also around the 0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:53.080 around the world. UM. And my own mother, after the 0:26:53.160 --> 0:26:57.840 attack on Paul Pelosi, said Danielle, I'm really worried. I'm 0:26:57.960 --> 0:27:03.120 I'm worried for you who speaks out and writes. I'm 0:27:03.160 --> 0:27:06.560 worried for representatives because I think that good people will 0:27:06.600 --> 0:27:10.000