WEBVTT - Work in Progress: Rep. Eric Swalwell & Jordan C. Brown 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:14.920 Hey, everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to work in progress. Hi, 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:19.200 friends and listeners, welcome back to another work in progress. 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:24.320 It is definitely a week for the whips murtys. I 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:26.840 know y'all are engaged. I know you care about what's 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.240 going on in the world, and let's be frank, she's 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:35.160 been wild. I decided to call two of my absolute 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.520 favorite men in America to ask them what the hell 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:42.760 is going on? And I feel so lucky that they 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:47.000 are both joining us today. Congressman Eric Swalwell is here 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:49.280 and one of my best friends and one of the 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:53.680 most brilliant Democratic strategists I know. Jordan Brown is here 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:59.560 as well. Eric is an absolute legend. He represents the 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:03.480 people of California's fourteenth congressional district up in the East Bay. 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:08.240 He has served on the House Intelligence Committee, overseeing the CIA. 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:11.560 On that committee, he has helped lead the House in 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:15.240 their investigation into Russia's interference in the twenty sixteen election, 0:01:15.720 --> 0:01:19.120 the first and second impeachments of Donald Trump. He was 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:23.080 on the House floor on January sixth and has done 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:27.440 incredible work standing up for our law enforcement officers who 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.440 were harmed on that day. He currently serves on the 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:33.600 House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, which is why I 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:36.320 really wanted to talk to him about Signal Gate. And 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.520 he is the chairman emeritus and founder of Future Forum, 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:43.039 a group of young Democratic members that are focused on 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:47.960 issues and opportunities for millennial Americans. He's also a dad, 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:52.720 a husband, and an absolute lovely friend. And then we 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:55.800 get onto Jordan. He is one of the most brilliant 0:01:55.840 --> 0:02:00.000 political strategists that works at the intersection of politics, technology, 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:05.240 and entertainment. He really works to drive progressive social change 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.520 and for more than fifteen years he has advised local, state, 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:13.359 and national political campaigns, from Secretary John Kerrey's campaign in 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:16.239 four the Obama campaign in two thousand and eight and 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:20.600 twenty twelve, and for a few years even advising Hillary Clinton. 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:26.920 He is absolutely brilliant at gathering people to ensure that 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:29.280 everyone in our country has a seat at the table. 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:34.040 He's helped advance legislation and advocacy campaigns for issues that 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:39.320 run such a diverse spectrum, cancer prevention, self esteem, LGBTQ rights, 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.639 gun violence, mental health, poverty, immigration, HIV prevention, and more. 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:46.880 And as if he's not busy enough, he is a 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:50.079 member of the Policy and Advocacy Committee of Global Citizen 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.280 working to end Extreme Poverty by twenty thirty. He is 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:57.200 an advisor to represent US, a bipartisan organization that brings 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:02.240 together conservatives and progressives to pass anti corruption laws, and 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.960 he's on the board of Lyft Communities, an organization that 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:08.239 partners with working parents to break the inter generational cycle 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:12.760 of extreme poverty. He is also a husband and a 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:19.320 father to a new baby boy who is so sweet oof. 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.079 I can't wait to talk to both of these gentlemen 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:27.239 about how they balance it all and what the we're 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.359 all supposed to do. Two months in to this new 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:35.840 administration and you know, the daily horrors. Let's dig into 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.200 what's really happening, what deserves our focus, and how we 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:53.360 remain both engaged and hopeful With Eric and Jordan, gentlemen, 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:57.480 I am so glad you are both here today. Jordan, 0:03:57.640 --> 0:03:59.760 you are one of my best friends, always one of 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:04.680 my first calls, whether about life or certainly democracy. And Eric, 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:10.320 you have become not only are you someone in the 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.600 political landscape that I look up to, whose takes I 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.880 always know I can trust, who tells your voters and 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:21.040 Americans around the country the truth. But thanks to Jordan, 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:24.120 you've also become a friend, and the fact that I 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.400 get to text you and I have questions still makes 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:30.720 me feel like deeply cool. I think about twenty year 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:36.000 old me in journalism school at Annenberg, knowing that this 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.440 is my life now, and it's pretty crazy. So bless 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:44.800 you both for coming. Obviously, everything's nuts. We are two 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:48.039 months into an administration that seems to be taking a 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:53.039 slash and burn approach to everything that is holy about America, 0:04:53.240 --> 0:05:00.880 our constitution, our morals, our values, our not only even 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.159 our power, but our soft power, which I think has 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:09.880 changed the world for the better in recent decades. Certainly, 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:13.880 I have so many questions for you guys about how 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.640 we got here. But quickly so our friends who are 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.080 listening can get to know a little bit about you. 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:22.920 Will you each tell us a little bit about your 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:26.400 jobs today. You know what you do, what keeps you busy, 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.359 and how you two first connected. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:34.520 Yeah, buddy, I work in Congress. I've been doing this 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.480 for about thirteen years. I guess I was a child 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:43.240 sent to Congress, but before that I was a prosecutor, 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:45.360 and before that I was a Congressional intern. When I 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.400 was twenty years old and was here September eleventh. Happened 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:50.960 kind of opened my eyes and led me to leave 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:56.400 like an athletic scholarship after interning here for a summer, 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:00.000 and never thought I'd spend this much time. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:00.400 I'm here. 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:04.400 Actually have thought a couple of different ways that I would, 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:09.080 you know, maybe be doing something else. But Donald Trump 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:13.080 and is just threat to all of our freedoms and 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:18.680 what I think makes this country so special just makes 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:21.240 me think I can't leave. I can't leave the fight. 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:24.000 Like you're in the fight, You're in the fight. We're 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:27.000 all in it in our own unique way, and this 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.599 is the most effective way I think that I can 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:31.880 help the people I represent my districts in the East 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:39.680 Bay up in northern California, everything from essentially Fremont, California, 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:42.919 up to San Leandro and then out to wine country 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:47.400 in Livermore. And Jordan and I met as everyone meets 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:49.839 when they don't know each other in southern California, which 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:56.360 is over pickleball, and we've had some pretty spirited, intense 0:06:56.839 --> 0:07:01.120 pickleball matches. His husband Colton, has been a part of 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:05.240 that as well, and then my wife Brittany you know, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:09.400 has also been able to meet Jordan and Colton, whether 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:11.160 at the DNC or just through friends. 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:12.200 But Jordan. 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.080 What I admire about Jordan is he's a doer, Like 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:18.760 he is a let's get shipped done kind of person, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:23.200 and it only wants to use active verbs as far 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:26.760 as like what are you going to do to fix things? 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:27.760 I love that. 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:30.720 It's a It really is an honor and I don't 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:32.240 use a word likely to be with both of you. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.560 And so if you know, I adore you, and it 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:39.520 has been so much fun even during the toughest times 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:41.360 that you know, I think for both of us being 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:45.480 the same age and sort of growing up together, we 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:48.960 never really thought that we would go backwards like this. 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:52.600 And you know, we were at the Obama inauguration together 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:54.800 and I still laugh at those photos of those two 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:57.880 kids who were like, everything's just going to keep getting 0:07:57.880 --> 0:07:59.360 better all the time, and you know. 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.760 Half the day we did it. Yeah, And now. 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.480 I think, you know, we know that nobody really gets 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:09.200 you a full lifetime without this kind of backwards thing, 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:11.120 and so this is the fight. And I think the 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.240 wisest people among us sort of know that and have 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.560 taught us how to do this. And Congressman It's an 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:22.040 honor to call you a friend, and I've admired you long. 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:23.000 Before we met in person. 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:27.120 And there's youth is not something that comes up a 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.800 lot when we talk about the people running this country. 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.880 And for all of the wisdom that we're grateful for 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:37.520 among our elders, we have seen in so many painful 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.040 and sad ways over the last five or ten years 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:44.040 in both parties, what happens to our country and how 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.320 it can grind to a halt or have really awful 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:49.320 consequences when people who are not healthy and in their 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:51.040 prime are. 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:52.240 In positions of great power. 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:56.800 And so for somebody to have gotten to where you 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:59.400 are as young as you were and still are and 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:01.920 to be a leader in this fight means so much. 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:05.480 And there's just a handful of people like you that 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.000 are kind of in that bucket. One of them we 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:10.720 were just talking about before we started recording is on 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:14.520 the Senate floor right now. You know, our friend and 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:18.200 someone we all love, Senator Booker, And you have been 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.840 a really clear clarion voice in the last seventy something 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:28.040 days since Trump returned to the White House in saying 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.000 this is not right, this is not normal, and here's 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:31.720 what we got to do. 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:34.080 So he was plain Jordan Sophia. 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.920 I ran when I was thirty one, and I ran 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.679 against a guy who had been in Congress for forty 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:41.760 years and he was eighty one. 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:42.800 And I was. 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.760 Probably a little in some of the ways that I was, 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:50.640 you know, trying to contrast the age, showing my energy 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:55.240 against like someone who completely had checked out, like didn't 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:58.600 show up for votes in Washington, didn't pay any attention 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:03.040 to his constituents. And I learned in that campaign that 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:06.559 he had run when he was forty and he had 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.440 beaten somebody in their eighties. 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:09.400 Wow. 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:13.440 So as I look at it, like my district for 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:17.200 essentially eighty years before I got there, was represented by 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.040 people who stayed way too long. So to me, it's 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:22.400 like it's staring me in the face. Jordan is like 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.800 what you just said, like, don't be the guy that 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:30.160 sticks too long, Like get in there, get stuff done, 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:32.960 get out. And I think that's the hardest part of 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:37.920 like this job is that you don't know when that 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:42.760 is and people around us don't feel that they have 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.960 the permission struggle to tell you that. 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:51.840 Yeah, and not only is it so important, I think 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.800 for folks in our peer group to see these trends 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.120 and to say, oh, I'm not going to do that thing. 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:01.760 I'm going to make sure that I'm helping with turnover. 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:05.520 I'm going to make sure that I'm fostering spaces where 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:10.839 new ideas or evolving ideas can be heard. I also 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:13.440 think it's so important to make sure you're training the 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:18.920 next generation of leaders alongside you, people who can learn 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:23.360 from your expertise. Like listen, there there have been negotiations 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.560 that nobody could have gotten done, but Nancy Pelosi and 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.440 I want to know who is being trained to be 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:34.600 our Pelosi. I want to know you know who you're 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.680 going to have your eye on in the next ten years, 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:40.760 to say you should you should have your you know, eyes, 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:45.160 ears and future on this district. It's so important, I 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:49.240 think too, not that it's a stigma even but in 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:53.200 a way to destigmatize the idea that politics is someone 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:53.880 else's job. 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.800 Yeah, I love that you brought that up, because in 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:03.360 my the end my first term, speak a Pelosi told 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:05.000 me she wanted to speak to me on the floor, 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:08.640 and I remember being so nervous and going over to 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.800 talk to her and didn't really know if I was 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.800 being called like to the principal's office, like what was 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.760 this about? And she told me, she said, you know, 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:23.240 there are enough young members now in Congress that I 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:27.120 think you should bring them together as a group and 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.840 go lead them and go around the country talk to 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.000 young people and then come back and tell your colleagues 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:33.600 what you've learned. 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:34.360 Wow. 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:38.560 And then the next term she would appoint me to 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:45.959 be the youngest, like least junior person on the Intelligence Committee, 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:50.000 and then she would make me what's called the Steering 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.000 and Policy chair, like the person who chairs the committee 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.000 that puts everyone on committees. 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:57.679 And so I had the opportunity to sit next to her, 0:12:57.720 --> 0:12:58.000 and I. 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:04.960 She you know, there's still such a deep power divide 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.120 between like what she was able to do and what 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:11.320 I was able to do. But I saw in Speaker Pelosi, 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:15.960 not just with me but others, that if you wanted 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.360 to learn, she would meet you there. 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.440 Yeah, learn, that's really cool. 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.520 Her her advice was always if you don't ask, you 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:28.920 don't get, And she often would say, if you don't 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:30.840 buy a lottery ticket, you're never going to win the lottery. 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.880 So that was kind of telling me, like, you have 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:37.560 to seek these opportunities and then when you're around people 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.680 like her and others like you can't help but learn. 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:45.880 But that was a pretty like that was a big 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:50.200 disparity and like my nior status in the Congress and 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:52.560 like the leader of our party and I and I 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:54.199 soaked it up as much as I could, but I 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:58.200 didn't really have anyone between myself and Speaker Pelosi. And 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:00.640 so what I have tried to do with the newer 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:04.120 members is to be the person between them and Hakim, 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:06.679 who is our leader. Because Hakem has like limited bandwidth. 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:11.199 He can't do that with every member. And so Congress, 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:13.560 for example, I went out of my way because I 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:17.240 saw this young talented member of Congress who was just 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.000 lighting up these congressional hearings. 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:22.040 And her name is Jasmine Crockett. 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:26.240 And Jordan's smiling because I've since introduced Jordan to Jasmine 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.840 and took her out for dinner one night, and I said, like, 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.200 let's not even talk about Congress the job. Let's talk 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:37.120 about like life and how you do life, because that's 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:39.360 what no one taught me when I had. 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:39.960 First gotten here. 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:41.520 Oh that's so special. 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.720 I do feel like a responsibility to try and not 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.280 just use one hand to reach up and find mentors, 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.280 but use the other hand to you know, reach down 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:53.560 to people who have just arrived at you know, where. 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:55.320 I've been, and try and help them. 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.240 And I don't know about you, but I find that 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:02.040 I still learn and grow find fulfillment in trying to 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:02.640 help others. 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:06.280 Of course, And now a word from our sponsors, who 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:20.280 make the show possible. I think there's such value to 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:27.080 intergenerational friendships and to having intergenerational mentors, you know. And 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:31.280 we're all in this really sweet spot of our lives 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:33.360 right now where we have both. You know, I have 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.000 folks who are older than me and wiser than me 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.040 that I call on, and I have folks that are 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:41.600 younger than me who I learned so much from, and 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:48.040 they really, you know, transcend industry political spectrum. And I 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.680 think that's really important, and I'm curious about it. For 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:55.240 you in particular, Eric and Jordan, even you know, knowing 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:59.800 what I know about how you grew up. This willingness 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:04.840 to reach across divides and learn and with new information 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:10.240 change your mind, but also to require that things we 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:14.360 know to be true are treated as such really stands 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.280 out to me. For you Congressman, because I know you 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.000 were raised in a very Republican household. You know, your 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:24.920 dad was cop. You grew up in that space, and 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:30.880 I'm really curious how you felt free enough to change 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:34.400 your mind and to say, oh, you know, I agree 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:37.800 with policies that take care of people, and that's happening 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:39.800 in a different party than the one I was raised in. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.280 How did you make that shift? How did that go 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:45.640 over with your family? And then, Jordan, can you talk 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:49.120 to us a little bit about your own experiences, you know, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.920 as a kid, and how you found your way into 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:54.120 this democratic space. 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.760 My parents would say that the reason I'm the only 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:00.760 Democrat in the family is because I'm the first one 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:02.240 in the family to go to college, and that I 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:09.280 was watched by those liberals. But frankly, I don't think 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:15.840 my parents' values are that much different than mine, except 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:19.679 that what I observed in them. And I talk to 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.919 my parents every week and visit them as often as 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:27.600 I can. But they, very much, I think, are Republicans 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:32.280 who kind of lead with what they don't like about 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:38.080 Democrats as the Republican party that they loved in the eighties, 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:43.000 like the Reagan Republican Party completely changes, and as a 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.800 bandon that I just hear from them and other family 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:51.080 members more of what they don't like about Democrats, and 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.960 so just by default they're not voting for Democrats, They're voting. 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:57.200 Republicans. 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.439 And I thought, well, what I like about our party 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.640 is like, who were four and is someone who grew up, 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:08.320 you know, going to eleven different schools and living in 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.880 thirteen different houses before I graduated college. I saw two 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:15.239 parents who worked hard and expected that they would do 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:17.359 better and dream bigger. But I only saw one party 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:21.440 that actually sought, you know, to advance that like in education, 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:26.160 you know, in like ultimately you know, cost to college 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:30.200 and to work in retirement security. And I had Republicans 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.760 offering anything on that. But what I learned by being 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:35.359 raised by Republicans, one thing I've learned, and I think 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:39.600 this is something that I think my colleagues need to understand, 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:44.560 is we often say as Democrats that, you know, Republicans, 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:48.480 any appeal they make to you know, working class Americans 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.040 or blue collar Americans or poor Americans is asking them 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:54.280 to vote against their interests. We say that all the time, like, 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:56.680 why would they want to vote against their interests? Yeah, 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.360 my parents would tell you that their interest was not 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.560 being poor, and their interest was not being in the 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.320 middle class, and whether that was realistic or not, like, 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:10.360 their interest was being like wealthy, and they didn't want 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:13.320 to like be renters. They wanted to be homeowners and 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.480 to have like, you know, nice vacations and not have 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:20.239 to worry about money. And I think sometimes democrats are 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:23.920 seen by people like my parents as like, we want 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.800 to keep people in the status that they're in and 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:29.240 will support you there, but we don't want you to 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:32.720 be ambitious. And so I have tried in my own 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:36.120 like to talk about issues is to say, you know what, 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.920 I root for success. I want you to be wealthy, rich. 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:42.320 I just want everyone to have the same chance at 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:45.199 doing it. I want a free market economy, not a 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:48.159 free for all economy. But I think that helps us 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:51.280 connect with you know, working class folks like my parents 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:55.720 who aspire to get out of like the status that 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:56.280 they were in. 0:19:56.720 --> 0:20:00.600 Yeah, gosh, I've never really thought about it in that 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:03.360 way because it seems so obvious to me that if 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:07.400 we're fighting for social programs and free education and making 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.040 sure kids can eat in school and making sure you're 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:12.919 drinking water is safe like, it's because we want you 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:16.359 to be healthy enough and supported enough to advance in 0:20:16.400 --> 0:20:21.280 your life. It's wild to hear that to so many people. 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:28.040 The policies we're trying to enact that allow for advancement 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:31.639 make people afraid that they might stagnate. Yeah, and I 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.480 think it's not because that's a feeling that you just 0:20:34.520 --> 0:20:34.840 want to. 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:38.919 Keep me here and you don't want to see my 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:44.440 advancement or well against the you go on a crusade 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:47.080 against the rich, and so therefore, like you want when 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:48.560 you say you're for the middle class, you want me 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:49.840 to always be in the middle class. 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:54.120 Wow, that's so interesting. I'm like, no, I want everybody 0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:55.960 to do well. I just want rich people to pay 0:20:56.000 --> 0:21:01.800 their taxes. Correct, that's like literally all I want. Was 0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:04.480 it really eye opening for you, like, you know, being 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:07.879 a kid in the Bakersfield area and then having jobs 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:09.560 that you know take you to DC and you live 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:11.080 in LA and you have to be on the East 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:16.920 coast all the time, Like, do you feel like understanding 0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:23.320 smaller city sector life so personally helps you remember the 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:25.439 kinds of things the congressman's talking about. 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:29.119 Yes, is the short answer. The longer answer is I 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:33.280 think you know, it's more informed by the people I 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.159 grew up with and the place I grew up. And 0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:38.639 so I grew up in a small town in the 0:21:38.680 --> 0:21:42.200 Central Valley near Bakersfield, and it's I grew up in 0:21:42.240 --> 0:21:46.160 a very you know, conservative Christian household. But I think 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:48.240 it's important to point out that in the eighties and 0:21:48.320 --> 0:21:50.720 nineties that looked much different than it does now. My 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:55.320 parents went to church and they voted, but there was 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:57.159 not twenty four hour news on in the house. There 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.000 were not breaking news alerts, and between elections, they didn't 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.440 think much about who was president or Speaker of the House, 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:06.159 and it was not something that dominated my childhood or 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:11.160 our lives. And I also have these really clear memories 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:13.080 of coming home in high school when, you know, before 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:16.440 my own political identity had formed, and before I sort 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:18.880 of came to terms with being gay, and I had 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:24.320 gotten yard signs from a friend's house for these propositions, 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:26.880 two of them that were in the late nineties. 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:28.240 On the ballot in California. 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:32.640 One was a really draconian measure that was anti immigration 0:22:32.800 --> 0:22:36.760 but really inhumane and awful, and the other was that marriage, 0:22:36.920 --> 0:22:38.600 you know, was between a man and a woman putting 0:22:38.600 --> 0:22:41.600 that in the Constitution, and my mom said, I don't 0:22:41.640 --> 0:22:44.359 want those in my yard. And this is a Republican 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:47.240 Christian woman, and I was like, wait, what do you mean, 0:22:47.400 --> 0:22:49.439 Like I got it from this friend's house, and like, 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:51.800 isn't that what we believe? And she's like, I don't. 0:22:52.119 --> 0:22:53.680 You know, people can live how they want to live, 0:22:54.359 --> 0:22:57.280 and we you know whatever, like I don't want to put. 0:22:57.119 --> 0:22:58.200 Those in my yard. 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:00.400 And I was like, and it was my first I'm 0:23:00.440 --> 0:23:03.120 kind of remembering, and you know, this is my mom 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:07.560 who has since left the Republican Party because you know, 0:23:07.640 --> 0:23:09.760 she didn't agree with with where it was going. And 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:13.679 I think, you know, my story is part of this 0:23:13.760 --> 0:23:16.640 like larger journey where like you now have a lot 0:23:16.640 --> 0:23:18.440 of people on the right, I think, who are confused 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:22.400 that this country was founded as a Christian country, because 0:23:22.480 --> 0:23:25.439 we're really headed that way to the point where I 0:23:25.480 --> 0:23:28.120 find myself getting in debates on social media with people 0:23:28.119 --> 0:23:30.880 who were like, yes, we're getting back to our Christian roots, 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:33.280 and it's like you missed the entire point of why 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:37.320 the people who founded this country did so. Yeah, so 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:39.560