WEBVTT - Voting with your Heart with Katy Stoll + John Olds 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.280 My name is Alex, and even though he's not my 0:00:02.320 --> 0:00:05.440 first choice, I'm still voting for Joe Biden and Kamala 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:27.280 Harris in election. Nor will be alright forever nor alright. 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.159 So I think you guys can assume that since this 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:32.240 is the second political episode of the podcast, I'm an expert, 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:35.200 I'm a politics expert. Like I I am, I think 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:39.120 I know everything there is to know. Obviously I'm joking, um, 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:42.239 but I really did have a good time and a 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.479 very educational time doing the last episode, and I'm just 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:47.880 so happy to be back having in another episode to 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:50.080 talk about politics. And this one's going to be actually 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:54.520 really really important to me. I originally in this election, 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:57.320 and you'll know if you follow me on Twitter, I 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:01.960 was originally a massive supporter. Met the guy, enjoyed it, 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:05.120 donated to his cause, and uh, and that person is 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:09.560 Mayor Pete Pete Bout. I thought that when I scanned 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:13.240 all of the presidential candidates, I I liked him a lot. 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:15.640 I had the opportunity to meet him. I actually sang 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:18.200 for him, which was super fun. So from that day 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.120 I had always supported him. I knew it was an 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:24.360 uphill battle supporting somebody not only who was young, UM, 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:28.039 but was also gay and was not really was kind 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:30.600 of the odd one out in the group of the 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:34.760 big rat race that is becoming the president. UM. But 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:36.759 I supported him and I liked him, and I knew 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:38.880 that he wasn't perfect. There were some things that I 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.520 wasn't super happy with, but I loved that in the 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:44.160 debates he talked about it and he said that he 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:46.160 had messed up and he wanted to do something about it, 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.040 and there was just something about him that made me 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:52.280 feel like he was probably the most understanding of where 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:54.880 we needed to go as a country. None of that 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:58.760 matters because he didn't he dropped out. Uh. He he 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.720 did not make the cut and uh and ended up 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.200 ultimately um pulling out of the race. And that was 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:07.000 kind of shitty because I didn't really know where to go, 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:09.560 you know, I didn't know who to support after that. UM. 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:11.840 I knew that I knew there were a lot of 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:14.400 definitely knows, you know, like there were there were a 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:16.320 few people that I was like, man, this would really 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:18.320 be cool, and then there was a few people there 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.240 were definitely some candidates I was like, no way. I 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:25.520 ended up gravitating towards Elizabeth Warren. Again, I didn't love 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:27.920 some of the policies she had, but it was something 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:31.160 that actually, uh, we talked about in the last episode, 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:35.040 which was that you're never going to find the perfect candidate, 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:36.920 And there was something that always resonated in my head, 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:38.880 and it was something even then that resonated in my 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:42.200 head that's like, look, I don't think she was the 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.440 perfect candidate, but compared to everything else, I thought that 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.080 she had the um. You know, she was the big 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:52.240 the best match for where I stood again doesn't matter 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.720 because she didn't make the cut. And now we're here 0:02:55.880 --> 0:03:00.520 and we're here with Um. Realistically, two people who have 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:05.280 the chance to become the president. And it's really hard 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:12.160 because as much as I don't love Biden as the president, 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:14.440 as the head of our country, as the as the 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:18.560 leader of our country, the the commander in chief, there's 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:20.880 no way in hell that I would ever vote for 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:26.720 somebody who you know, openly doesn't denounce racism and doesn't 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:31.880 denounce racial injustice and obviously doesn't support so many things 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.120 that in the past I've talked about that I support, 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:37.920 from the lgbt Q plus community to global warming and 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:40.680 climate change. But there's also no way that I'm going 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.040 to throw my vote away, because if there's anything we 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.440 learned from the last election is that every vote counts. 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.720 Including if there's anything that we learned from the last 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.480 episode on our podcast, is that every vote counts, and 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:55.240 we're going to continue to understand that as we go 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:59.720 forward with these political episodes. I actually had another conversation, 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:02.760 but or we get into it, I had a conversation 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:04.640 with a good friend of mine that that made me 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:08.400 think about humanity. I guess I was having a conversation 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:12.000 with a friend and this friend doesn't have the same 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:15.280 beliefs as I do, and we stand differently on a 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.480 few things, um including who we plan to vote for 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:24.640 this election. And instead of deciding to be mad and 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.080 hate this friend and called and say this friends, you 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.000 know this, that and the other, I decided to try something. 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.680 And that thing that I tried was I asked him. 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:38.520 I said, let's take away the candidates. Let's take away 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:43.240 the parties, Let's take away the name calling and slander, 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:46.479 let's take away the fats, even, let's take away everything, 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:48.680 and let's just say, what does this country look like 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.839 in an ideal sense and other than two or three things. 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:57.760 We actually had the exact same thoughts. But I think 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:00.919 the thing that's interesting is that as disappointed as I 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.960 am in the Democratic candidate, as disappointed as I may 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:08.480 be in our own country, in our own government, in 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.839 many ways, if we strip it all down, are we 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:16.200 really that far off? Are we really that different? So 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.640 that got me thinking, when you don't support what your 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:24.920 party is doing, what do you do? No? Welcome back, everybody. 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:27.240 This is Alex Iono here, this is my podcast. It's 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.039 called Let's get into It and really, uh, nothing is 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:32.359 off limits. And we proved that last week when we 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.320 started talking about politics. You know me, I grew up 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:37.880 in a family that said don't talk about politics and 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.120 public but I got to follow my heart and that's 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:42.400 actually what this whole episode is about, is voting with 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:46.359 your heart. I have two amazing guests here. I have 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:48.839 one is an actress, producer and the co host of 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:52.359 the podcast Some More News and Worst Year Ever, the 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:56.279 one and only Katie Stall. How are you, Katie? I'm good. 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.080 I'm good. Alex Sorr, I'm I'm doing really really well. 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.800 I'm also excited. We have the co founder of gen 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:03.920 z go Op and the co host of the gen 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:07.200 Z go Op podcast, the One and only John Olds. John, 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:10.400 how are you, brother, Well, I'm really really excited about 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.279 this topic. Again, I want to restate that this is 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:16.800 by no means a debate. It's really three people who 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:20.040 come from different walks of life with one cohesive idea, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:21.800 which is you have to get out and vote. You 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:25.520 have to utilize your right to vote. Um And so 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:27.880 we're gonna have some great topics. First, John and I 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:29.719 are going to talk about what gen Z would do 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.560 to the political right, and then Katie and I are 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:35.080 going to talk about Bye Bye Bernie. And then lastly, 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.240 all three of us are gonna talk about why we 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:39.800 should be voting anyways, which leads me to my first 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.039 question that I have for both of you. Usually I 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:43.880 asked my guests and what are you doing to improve 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:47.240 yourself this week? But because we've been having these election 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.000 lead up episodes, the question has changed and it has 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.160 become why do you vote? It's a loaded question. I've 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:55.840 answered it a bunch of different times, but this one specifically, 0:06:56.040 --> 0:07:00.479 I vote because with the news of Brianna Taylor case 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.159 and and the outcome of that, with none of the 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.760 police officers being charged for the murder itself and one 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.240 in one of the police officers only being charged with 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:11.960 endangerment of the neighbors. It really sparked a fire under 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.160 me and inspired me even more that I have to 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.240 get out there and if I want to make a change, 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:17.800 the best way that we can make a change as 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.760 a citizen in the United States is to vote. That 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.119 being said, John, do you have an answer for us? Yeah? 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:25.360 So I like your first question, what are you doing 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:28.720 to improve yourself? This week I went back on the 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:33.280 keto diet. No um, so that you would be surprised 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:38.239 that's actually been an answer. Really, Keto is fine anyway. 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.920 So why do I vote? The simplest answer is, there 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:46.120 are so many candidates out there, um And we talked 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:49.480 so much about the presidential race and maybe senate races, 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.600 but there are so many different leaders. There are so 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:56.400 many like service oriented people, and I think we do 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.559 them a disservice when we don't vote. When we don't, 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.560 you know, engage with them and and get involved on 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:07.040 the local level, because that's where ultimately so much of 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:10.800 the change is needed that will actually affect our lives. 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.600 So that's why I vote. H I love that Katie 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:16.160 what do you have to add to that? Actually, my 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.120 answer is is very much in line with John's. I 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:22.800 vote because it's the first step in taking control. And 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.640 if you're feeling powerless, if you're feeling overwhelmed, if you're 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:28.400 feeling like this is not right, that you want to 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.040 see some actual changes in your life, the very first 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:34.480 step is showing up and doing this and voting for 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:38.440 the candidates that you think reflect what you want to see. 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.520 And I agree with what he's saying about the local level. 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.080 It's I think we'll get into this later on when 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:46.960 we talk about the election more, but it's about so 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:50.800 much more than the presidential election. The vast majority of 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.760 improvements you're going to see in your life are happening 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:56.280 at the local level. You want to talk about how 0:08:56.320 --> 0:09:00.760 your city is handling climate change, that's star with your 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:04.480 city council representatives, and it's so easy to overlook that. 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:06.840 It's so easy for that to get lost in the shuffle. 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.120 I mean, partly because they don't have as much attention 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:12.040 and funding, so you know, they slipped through the cracks 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:13.679 and we show up and we don't know who we're 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:15.880 voting for. But if we can get engaged on that level, 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:18.040 you can start to see tangible differences being made in 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:20.240 your community. I love both of your answers because I 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:23.280 think it plays perfectly into today's episode, which is Voting 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.760 with your Heart. Katie will talk with you in just 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:27.280 a bit, but John, it's time for us to go 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:29.600 one on one. I want to start off. We did 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.720 a little bit of research off of your podcast and 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.800 the gen Z go Op um. You've said before you 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.440 feel politically homeless, and I think that that's a great 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:39.520 place for us to start. I just would love to 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.280 hear more about you and why it is you feel 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.839 that way and why it is that in turn helped 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.720 you start something like gen z go Op. So when 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:53.000 when we started gen z go Op, we basically realized 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.480 that there were two things going on at once and 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.960 we needed a way to kind of harness them together. 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.880 So the first is that Republican Party is sort of 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:04.640 gone off its moorings from where it used to be 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.360 the party of John McCain, the party met Romney, and 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.920 it's no longer that's the party Donald Trump. And this concurrently, 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:16.520 gen Z was disaffected by both major parties. You know, 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:18.880 most gen Z people when they registered to vote they 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:21.960 register is unenrolled. They don't choose the Republican or Democrat. 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:25.000 And we said to ourselves, you know, there are a 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.800 lot of issues that are important to gen Z, whether 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:31.600 it's racial justice, whether it's income inequality, whether it's climate change, 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:35.240 and there's only one party that's talking about them. So 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:38.480 we said, you know what, we need to change the 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.680 course of our party. At the same time, harness the 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:46.880 apathy and the disaffectiveness of the gen Z voters and 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.280 kind of bring them into a party that they can 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:51.760 be proud to be a part of. I mean, I 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.640 think that that's so incredible getting gen Z, you know, 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.720 on this show, and I can't say it enough. Go vote. 0:10:57.760 --> 0:10:59.319 Go if you're listening to this podcast right now and 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:02.120 you're not registered, vote, Literally pause this podcast and go 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.480 and register. Register while you're listening to the podcast. That's cool. 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.400 This election, the Pew Research Centers told us twenty four 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:10.680 million teams will be voting for the first time, making 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:15.400 them ten of eligible voters. On top of the basics, 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:17.880 right on top of like you mentioned climate change and 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.839 racial justice. Why do you think it's important for gen 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:22.920 Z to be paying attention to politics so much so 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:25.760 that you you started a gen z g OP, so 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.640 this answer should start with a little bit of context. 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:32.319 I come from Massachusetts, which is a very dark blue state, 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:36.080 and I'm a Republican in Massachusetts. So part of what 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:40.760 we have done to help Republicans get elected in Massachusetts 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:44.679 is instead of using the word conservative, using the word competence. 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:49.480 You know, Republicans need to be about results, not necessarily 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.880 about partisan ideology. We've talked on a couple of episodes 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:58.120 on our podcast about the deficit for example, and why 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:02.559 America being in such bling debt is actually super important 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:04.800 for young people because it might not affect them up front, 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:06.839 but it's going to affect them down the road if 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.320 certain entitlement programs aren't there. So we need to get 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.360 our for example, are spending under control. But what I 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:15.920 was talking about earlier about results and Republicans being about 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:19.000 the party of results, like that's where we need to be. 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:23.280 The environment is not a partisan issue, but if you 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:26.960 have one group that might have a plan for it, 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:29.320 but it might not be politically tenable. But then you 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:32.760 have the Republicans that have hypothetically they could have a 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.920 plan that actually gets results to lower emissions and clean 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.040 the water and clean the air. That's what we need 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:42.760 to be about. So gen Zars, I actually think they 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.080 do care about a lot of things. They care about 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.760 the issues that I mentioned earlier. I don't think there's 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.120 a sense of apathy there, but there's a lack of 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:55.080 results coming from our leaders on those issues, and Republicans 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.000 need to be the ones to provide those results. I 0:12:58.040 --> 0:12:59.800 love that. There's a lot that I in my re 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.400 search of of you and gen z Gop. You know, 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.920 even in an article in Newsweek, you and some of 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.120 the co founders are actually wearing masks. Why do you 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:09.720 think it's important for you as as the people of 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:12.800 the party, especially the young people of the party, to 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.240 stick with science and speak out about it, even though 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.959 the party doesn't typically stand behind those things. So number one, 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:21.760 to your point about masks, I mean, I know that's 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.640 become a partisan thing, but it's honestly the least you 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:29.200 can do. Like, I mean, for God's sakes, Like I 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:33.559 can't believe we're still talking about this. It's just so ridiculous, 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.560 Like come on, Like, no one likes to wear the mask. 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:40.440 It's obviously an inconvenience, but I'd rather have things be 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.560 open and wearing a mask than not wear a mask 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:46.640 and have everything to be closed. But okay, climate change 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:50.560 and environmental issues. You know, everyone talks about it like 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.160 it's some sort of liberal dog whistle that you must 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.000 be some sort of quasi communist if you care about 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.880 the environment, which is just such an absurd logical leap, right. 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.560 You know, when I think of cleaning up the environment, 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:06.560 I think it actually really runs quite in line with 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:11.840 what I would consider traditional Republican and conservative ideals. You know, 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:15.000 think about what's gonna reduce emissions At the end of 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.800 the day, it's going to be the use of cleaner energies, 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.680 and whether we like it or not, we will get 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:26.600 to that renewable energy future faster if those energy sources 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:30.680 are competitive, if they're cheap, and if they're efficient, and 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.080 that's going to be driven by the market. That's going 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:36.000 to be driven by the free market. So I don't 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:43.680 understand why Republicans are so averse to this issue, because solar, wind, nuclear, hydropower, 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:48.040 geothermal energy, all of those are huge job creators, and 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:52.040 we need to equip our workforce to actually get those 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:55.840 jobs and bolster those sectors. But that's all the free 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.400 market that's all capitalism, that's creating jobs. Those are all 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:04.000 things the Republicans up until apparently the environment gets involved, 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:07.440 they love. And we need to really focus on that 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:11.560 because the next generation of engineers, the next generation of 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:14.960 workers in the energy sector, they're going to be focused 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:17.520 on renewables. So we need to be making sure that 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:21.400 the American energy sector is a part of the twenty 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.320 one century and has a skilled workforce that's ready to go. 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:26.680 I think the other thing that's interesting is that you 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:28.920 know the current lawmakers right now, they're not going to 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.040 see the worst effects of the climate change if we 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:33.680 continue on the path that we're on. Uh, it's more 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.680 people of our age group. And again I'm going to 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:37.840 come back to this gen Z group, who are going 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.200 to really have to be dealing with it. What do 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.000 you think we can do right now to make our 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:43.800 voices heard? What do you think we can do to 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:45.920 get that voice in their heads saying, Hey, you guys 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:47.640 might not have to deal with it, but we are 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.760 and we want to make some real change. Yeah. So 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.960 number one, you should go to gen Z GOP dot 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:59.240 organs to be a part of our organization. We're trying 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.200 to create this plat form and there are a number 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:03.240 of organizations just like it on the right and on 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:08.560 the left where it's so incredibly important that you get 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.840 involved with these organizations. And you know, this is something 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:14.440 that I've spent the better part of my summer working on. 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:17.960 But other people, you know, go to like a meeting 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:21.080 a week, or spend a couple hours on a Friday 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.480 afternoon before you go out with your friends, or go 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.800 on your Zoom happy hour or whatever it is. There 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:29.680 are so many ways to get involved. Uh, and it's 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:33.280 not really that hard. The second thing I'll say, and 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.680 I have to give credit to my friends on the 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.040 left for doing this. They've created a lot of organizations 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.720 to actually get people to run for office. It doesn't 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.200 have to be the Senate or the House. It could 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.040 be a state legislative seat, it could be a city 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:47.760 council seat, it could be a selectment race, and and 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:51.400 those races, as we mentioned earlier, are so important and 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.160 it's a way for us to have our voices be 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.760 heard directly. You know, if you have a message that 0:16:56.800 --> 0:17:00.240 you believe in, like you should stick your neck out. Basically, 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.360 what I'm trying to say is that for three years 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:07.320 basically since I was so frustrated with what was going 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.040 on in my party, and I said to myself, well, 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.480 I could just scream into the void on Twitter or Instagram, 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.960 or I can vent to my my buddies about how 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.520 terrible things in the Republican Party are. But at the 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.520 end of the day, I wasn't doing anything. So that's 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.800 why we started gen z GOP because we wanted to 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:26.879 stake our claim in this on this So you, you 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.120 and your organization, you guys have actually been really really 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.240 opening open about like you just were, about the shortcomings 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:34.760 of the current president and your party. Um, and you've 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.560 gotten involved with down ballot campaigning. I'm not gonna lie. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.119 I don't know what that is, and I think a 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.080 lot of my listeners don't know what that is. And 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:44.840 so I would love for you to tell us a 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:46.600 little bit more about that. In the importance of down 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.800 ballet campaigning, Well, I personally have gotten involved. I think 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.080 we should make that distinction. So, for example, part of 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:57.080 being home during the quarantine and in the COVID crisis, 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:00.320 you know, I go to school at George Washington University. 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.919 I'm now back in Boston on a whim, you know, 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:08.080 locked in my house. In April, I sent a Facebook 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.359 message to my state rep who I had kind of 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:14.840 known but not super well, and ultimately we got connected 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:17.800 and he goes, do you want to manage my reelection campaign? 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:21.440 He's my state legislator, and I'm sure i'd be honored. 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.480 And for the last six months, five months, I guess, 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.280 I've been running my state representatives reelection campaign. And he's 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:31.440 a Republican in Massachusetts running for re election in a 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:36.000 district that's pretty competitive, and he is kind of an 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:39.040 example that there are Republicans out there that are talking 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:42.320 about issues that matter to young people. He's got a 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:46.000 great environmental record cleaning up the river, making sure that 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:51.200 the water treatment plants upriver aren't dumping raw sewage into 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.080 the river. Yes, that's a real thing that happens. So 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:56.359 what I'm trying to say is to circle back to 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.920 your point about down ballot campaigning. There are so many 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:04.760 races that never make the news that are competitive, and 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.680 it might be in your backyard, and it's so important. 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.080 You know, I got lucky. I happened to be politically connected, 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:13.720 and I had certain privilege in that in that regard 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.600 that I got to manage a campaign. But these campaigns 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.679 are looking for volunteers to go door to door, to 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:21.040 make phone calls, to write letters to the editor, and 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:24.200 that's down ballot campaigning. That's really cool. I mean, I 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:26.960 really like again, and I said it in my earlier episodes. 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:30.639 I didn't grow up super politically educated, and so a 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:32.240 lot of these things are really new to me. And 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:34.480 so getting to use this podcast not only as a 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:37.399 platform for us to spread information about this election and 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:39.720 about voting, but also I get to just like learn 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.280 new things, which is which is really really cool. So 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:45.560 it seems right now that that the right is at 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.600 a turning point and you have Trump supporters and you 0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:51.920 have Republicans, and that's kind of like increasingly becoming two 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:54.240 different things. What does that say to you? How do 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:57.840 you feel about that concept? I wish I had a 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:00.800 better answer for you, because we're trying to figure out ourselves. 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:05.399 No matter what win or lose, the Republican Party is 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:07.679 going to have to figure out where it's going to 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:12.159 go after November three, and that's the point of our organization. 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:16.040 We're trying to get our party to change its course 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:18.879 a little bit, to be a party that's going to 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:21.600 be competitive in the twenty one century because we're increasingly 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.840 becoming the party of old white men. And I know 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:27.080 that might sound rich coming from me, who is a 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:30.159 straight white guy, but it's important for us to be 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:32.240 a part of that debate for where we're going because 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:36.320 you better believe this, the Republican Party has and I'm 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:40.960 not saying this as an oxymoron, there's an intellectual Trumpism 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:43.679 that's like waiting in the wings. You see it with 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:48.159 Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, you see Josh Holly of Missouri. 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.120 These are kind of more populous Republicans. They don't really 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:55.879 even call themselves conservatives. They call themselves market skeptic conservatives, 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:59.480 and they're very socially conservative. And I think that. You know, 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.639 as a young person, I say, I know what people 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:04.760 in my high school and my university want to hear 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:08.199 from their leaders, and it's definitely not that. So we 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:10.359 need to be involved with this debate for where the 0:21:10.359 --> 0:21:13.720 party goes because we're loose, We're gonna have that debate. Well, John, 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:16.439