WEBVTT - Democrats MUST Evolve To Stay Relevant

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<v Speaker 1>You are one of the people that's going to be

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<v Speaker 1>a really important future leader of the Democratic Party. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>and so at some point for people that are watching this,

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna become a person who is much better known

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<v Speaker 1>in the country. It's much better better known to them,

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<v Speaker 1>more widely seen on television. I hope Leader Jeffries, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>is more visible than than he's been in laying out

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<v Speaker 1>that that alternative vision. Where do you think things sit

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<v Speaker 1>right now?

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<v Speaker 2>How how do.

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<v Speaker 1>You observe them? Donald Trump has one. It's not a landslide,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is a sweep. Uh. It's a plurality victory,

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<v Speaker 1>not a majority mandate. But it is a significant repudiation

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<v Speaker 1>of the Democrat parties case on a decade basis that

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<v Speaker 1>Trump is an existential threat to all of these things

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<v Speaker 1>that we Democrats stand in favor of that are of

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<v Speaker 1>the utmost importance. It was just it was just rejected

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<v Speaker 1>wholesale by the country, I think for a bunch for

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<v Speaker 1>a bunch of different reasons. When you observe this moment

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<v Speaker 1>process it thirty four days out from Donald Trump raising

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<v Speaker 1>his hand taking the oath the military aids with the

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<v Speaker 1>nuclear football sliding away from Biden towards Donald Trump, all

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<v Speaker 1>the powers of state back into Donald Trump's hand, with

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<v Speaker 1>a control of his party of the Senate, narrowly in

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<v Speaker 1>the House, the courts, and nominating some of the most

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<v Speaker 1>unqualified people emotionally, temperamentally, character wise that we've that we've

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<v Speaker 1>that we've ever seen nominated for office. Where are we

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<v Speaker 1>and how did we get here?

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<v Speaker 2>That's a big question, Stevid. I'd be curious on your thoughts.

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<v Speaker 2>I'll tell you where I think people are at. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>there are a lot of places in America, a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of communities in America that have seen stagnancy decline, just

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<v Speaker 2>a sense this country hasn't been working for them for

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<v Speaker 2>forty fifty years. I mean politicians selling jobs off store

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<v Speaker 2>for the cheapest wages and highest profits. You drive through

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<v Speaker 2>America and you go from town to town, and I

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<v Speaker 2>know you've probably done this, and if there's a town

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<v Speaker 2>that doesn't have a prison or a hospital, a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of times it's just economically devastated. And then the most

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<v Speaker 2>heartbreaking to me is when they say, oh, there used

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<v Speaker 2>to be a manufacturing plant here, but now there's a prison,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's where the economy is coming for a local

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<v Speaker 2>community people sensing the costs have gone up. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>they look at the district like mine twelve trillion dollars

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<v Speaker 2>in the coast and Silicon Valley, and they say, how

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<v Speaker 2>can you have a country that's producing all this wealth

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<v Speaker 2>and we're not participating and we're stagnant, and America just

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't seem to be working. Hey. You know, I think

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<v Speaker 2>the core of Trump's message was very simple. I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to get America to win again. I'm going to get

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<v Speaker 2>you to win again. I'm going to get you to

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<v Speaker 2>move again. And of course there's in my view, not

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<v Speaker 2>much substance there. I don't think he's going to revitalize Johnstown, Pennsylvania,

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<v Speaker 2>or Gelsburg, Illinois, or bring new industry or bring the

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<v Speaker 2>new modern economy to people who have been struggling.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think the way to.

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<v Speaker 2>Counter him is one to show the hollowness of the

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<v Speaker 2>actual vision that it's not getting America to move, and

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<v Speaker 2>then to convey for us that we're actually the party

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<v Speaker 2>that can bring together this country business leaders, venture capitalist,

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<v Speaker 2>labor leaders, community leaders, faith leaders, and give it a

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<v Speaker 2>purpose of getting this country to move and win. And

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<v Speaker 2>I really think it's about conveying to people that we

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<v Speaker 2>get it, that there's this kind of stagnancy there and

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<v Speaker 2>that we have the vision to get them moving again,

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<v Speaker 2>give their kids a shot again. And I think we're

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<v Speaker 2>going to get that opportunity in twenty twenty six and

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<v Speaker 2>then again in twenty eight. And I believe we've got

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<v Speaker 2>a great bench of talent for the House, Senate then

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<v Speaker 2>presidency that's going to be succeeding in doing that.

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<v Speaker 1>We live at a time where, uh yeah, I chok

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<v Speaker 1>around about this right, where even the adults need trigger

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<v Speaker 1>warnings now, right. So you know, any time I write

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<v Speaker 1>anything that is oppositional, say to the party line, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>and I look back over my last two years, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>when I said, for example, that Biden's candidacy is a

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<v Speaker 1>real threat with regard to electing Donald Trump, and just

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<v Speaker 1>the idea expressed, right, there's a lot of shouting down

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<v Speaker 1>right that goes on in the Democratic Party that that

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<v Speaker 1>I observe as something that's new that didn't used to

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<v Speaker 1>be there in the fabric of the party. And the

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<v Speaker 1>sooner it goes away, uh, where there can be honest

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<v Speaker 1>discussions that are reality based, I think the better the party,

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<v Speaker 1>the party will be. But for the people that are

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<v Speaker 1>watching this that have taken away from the election result

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<v Speaker 1>that the racists have won and Trump seventy seven million

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<v Speaker 1>voters are unfixable, broken, unrepentant, bad people, racist all. What

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<v Speaker 1>is it that you want to that you want to

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<v Speaker 1>say to them as part of the party and a

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<v Speaker 1>leader in its future, right about about why they lost

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<v Speaker 1>and why Donald Trump is about to be sitting in

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<v Speaker 1>the White House with a Republican House and a Republican Senate.

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<v Speaker 1>You listen to some of the voices out of the campaign,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they I think they're very sincere when they say,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they've assessed it, they've taken stock of it,

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<v Speaker 1>and they ran a flawless campaign pretty much. And so

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<v Speaker 1>what would you say right beyond just a blanket indictment

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<v Speaker 1>of the of the people who voted for Trump. Democrats

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<v Speaker 1>lost because why and something that has to change that

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<v Speaker 1>specific that the party does is what?

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<v Speaker 2>So I only see that this is still a very

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<v Speaker 2>decent country, open country, and the most open political system

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<v Speaker 2>in the world. And I guess that's based on my experience.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I'm the son of immigrants. My grandfather spent

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<v Speaker 2>four years in jail alongside Gandhi for India's independence. My

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<v Speaker 2>father came here to Michigan to study there in engineering.

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<v Speaker 2>I was born in Philadelphia in nineteen seventy six, our

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<v Speaker 2>bi centenary. I grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at

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<v Speaker 2>a time where Bucks County was probably ninety eight percent white,

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<v Speaker 2>as an Indian American of Hindu fay. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the coach said, I played Little League even though I

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<v Speaker 2>couldn't hit. And I had teachers who said, go publish

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<v Speaker 2>a local Bucks County current Times. And we celebrated Christmas,

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<v Speaker 2>and we also on my street celebrated the valley because

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<v Speaker 2>the neighbors were curious. And I had people who said,

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<v Speaker 2>you can do anything in America. And at the age

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<v Speaker 2>of forty, this country elected me, a first generation Indian American,

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<v Speaker 2>to represent arguably the most innovative, economically powerful place in

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<v Speaker 2>the world, if not in human history, in terms of producing. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>that is an American story. And by the way, I

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<v Speaker 2>went back to Bucks County with a journalist and met

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<v Speaker 2>my favorite tenth grade social studies teacher who I really

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<v Speaker 2>was inspired by. And guess what it turns out. Halfway

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<v Speaker 2>through the interview, he tells the journalists that he's going

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<v Speaker 2>to be voting for Donald Trump. And the journalist I said, well,

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<v Speaker 2>what if it was Trump versus Kana? And you could

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<v Speaker 2>tell he's so pained. He's like, well, I respect Rocanna.

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<v Speaker 2>I really like Rocanna. You know, it'd be a tough decision.

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<v Speaker 2>And the journalists like, he's voting for Trump. And my

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<v Speaker 2>point is more people need to actually go figure out

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<v Speaker 2>why and talk to people who voting for Trump. You

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<v Speaker 2>can be George Wallace being a racist. You don't become

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<v Speaker 2>president of the United States if there are not a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of people voting for you. And I think the

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<v Speaker 2>fundamental thing that Trump did was tamp in to an

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<v Speaker 2>anger with people feeling left out of modern economic prosperity,

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<v Speaker 2>feeling that the political system was not working for them,

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<v Speaker 2>the economic system is not working for them, and we

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<v Speaker 2>have to come in and say we've got a better,

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<v Speaker 2>more compelling vision. And by the way, it's not going

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<v Speaker 2>to be politician driven. It's going to be assembling a

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<v Speaker 2>team of business leaders, of labor leaders, of local community leaders.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is we've talked about this before.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what FDR did.

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<v Speaker 2>FDR he wasn't great in and of himself. Maybe he

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<v Speaker 2>was temperamentally, but he said, I'm going to bring the

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<v Speaker 2>best of American talent and we're going to solve this

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<v Speaker 2>issue of the Great Depression. We're going to win the

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<v Speaker 2>World War. Guess what. The Democratic Party has the opportunity

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<v Speaker 2>to be that convening force. We can be the unifiers.

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<v Speaker 2>We can put everyone on the field and talenty to

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<v Speaker 2>help revitalize this country. But we need to realize it

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<v Speaker 2>needs revitalization. It's not just about the defense of the

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<v Speaker 2>current status fun institutions, because they're not working for a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of people.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Steve Schmidt. This is the warning and I invite

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<v Speaker 1>you to join. Subscribe on our sub stack on our

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<v Speaker 1>Uti channel, follow us. Welcome to the community.