WEBVTT - Former Congressman Colin Allred Talks No Kings, Government Shutdown

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the first time in history that we've been

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<v Speaker 2>in this situation. There has never been a party that

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<v Speaker 2>shut down the entire government, or a party that shut

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<v Speaker 2>down over a clean cr for nothing but political partisan purposes.

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<v Speaker 2>Their rally illustrated exactly what we've been saying for the

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<v Speaker 2>last twenty days. It's about politics and it's disgusting.

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<v Speaker 3>And that was House Speaker Mike Johnson on the twentieth

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<v Speaker 3>day of the government shutdown, now the third longest in

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<v Speaker 3>US history. Johnson's comments came forty eight hours after one

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<v Speaker 3>of the largest demonstrations in recent memory, with the so

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<v Speaker 3>called No King's protest happening in cities and towns coast

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<v Speaker 3>to coast as demonstrators made their voices heard protesting against

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<v Speaker 3>the president and his supporters in Congress. One voice that

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<v Speaker 3>was there joins us now callin All Red, former Democratic

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<v Speaker 3>Congressman from Texas and now US Senate candidate. Congressman, thanks

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<v Speaker 3>so much for being with us.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 3>Millions of people were in these dubbed No King's protests

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<v Speaker 3>this weekend. You were one of them in Houston. You

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<v Speaker 3>saw the images, the pictures just the large crowds. The question, now,

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<v Speaker 3>Congressman all Read, is how do you turn that into votes?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, first, let me just say that I was really

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<v Speaker 1>proud of the folks who came out to protest the

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<v Speaker 1>protests that I was at, and Houston had a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of families there. I took pictures with, you know, moms

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<v Speaker 1>and dads with their kids. There were some pretty clever signs,

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<v Speaker 1>as you can imagine, and I thought it was about

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<v Speaker 1>as American as apple pie. To be honest with you,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I'm a believer that you know, sometimes protests

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<v Speaker 1>is necessary in this country. Certainly as a civil rights

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<v Speaker 1>lawyer in an African American I know that history. But

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<v Speaker 1>you're right, we have to take that not just in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of protests, but then make it into action in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of voting, and then try and get policy to

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<v Speaker 1>try and respond to whether I think folks are going

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<v Speaker 1>through and what they're worried about, and what I saw

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<v Speaker 1>you at the things protesting Houston was a bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>folks peacefully protesting, but also with an idea in mind

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<v Speaker 1>that they weren't just going to stop there. They're going

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<v Speaker 1>to take that into the next election.

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<v Speaker 4>We just talked to Senator Ted Cruz about this, and

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<v Speaker 4>he said, unquestionably, we should take political peril seriously. President

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<v Speaker 4>Trump said, nobody showed up, and those who did looked

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<v Speaker 4>whacked out. And I don't know if you saw folks

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<v Speaker 4>wearing t Rex costumes or if they were dressed like

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<v Speaker 4>hot dogs where you were, Congressman, but we did see

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<v Speaker 4>quite a bit of character and color out there. The

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<v Speaker 4>idea though, that as the President suggested that they did

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<v Speaker 4>not represent America, says, what's you Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, you know, it's pretty hot in Houston still, so

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we might not have as many of the

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<v Speaker 1>full on costumes as you would in other places at

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<v Speaker 1>this time of year. But there were definitely some colorful

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<v Speaker 1>folks out there. But like I said, I saw folks

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<v Speaker 1>also breaking their kids in little red wagons, So I

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<v Speaker 1>thought it was a very organic and folks I think

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<v Speaker 1>came and they were thanking me for coming, quite honestly,

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<v Speaker 1>because they were just looking to have some way to

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<v Speaker 1>express themselves outside of just I think dooms strolling on

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<v Speaker 1>their phones. And I think they felt a sense of community.

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<v Speaker 1>I think they felt a sense that they were not

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<v Speaker 1>alone and that their concerns were shared. By others, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was something that there are some things

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<v Speaker 1>that you don't plan for that are much more organic

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<v Speaker 1>and just happen. You can try and have a rally

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<v Speaker 1>or response to something, but what really happens is when

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<v Speaker 1>folks are fed up, then they show up with they

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<v Speaker 1>vote with their feet. And to spend part of your

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<v Speaker 1>weekend walking around the heat in Texas for thousands of

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<v Speaker 1>folks to do that, and to do it peacefully, I

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<v Speaker 1>think says a lot interesting.

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<v Speaker 4>Senator Cruz, I think referred to it as astro turf

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<v Speaker 4>in this case. So, Congressman, we've got a government shutdown

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<v Speaker 4>that's now on day twenty, and we'd love to ask

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<v Speaker 4>you about your campaign for Senate in this case, would

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<v Speaker 4>you be one of those Democrats who broke ranks to

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<v Speaker 4>vote to reopen the government if you were in the Senate.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, listen, I hate downs as a rule. When

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<v Speaker 1>I was in Congress, my first I was sworn in

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<v Speaker 1>during a shutdown. We introduced a bill pretty quickly thereafter

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<v Speaker 1>called the Seas Act. It was called the Shutdown to

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<v Speaker 1>End All Shutdowns Act, and we were trying to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that if this did ever happen again, the members

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<v Speaker 1>of Congress and senators would feel the same pain as

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<v Speaker 1>working people out there who are not getting paid. But

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<v Speaker 1>in this case, Republicans have the power, and the Speaker

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<v Speaker 1>of the House has spent a month not calling the

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<v Speaker 1>House back into session. They have the power to negotiate

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<v Speaker 1>this and say, listen, we know that we need your votes,

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<v Speaker 1>and we want to make sure that we are in

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<v Speaker 1>consultation and negotiation the way things have always been done.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm sorry they have not used the power that

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<v Speaker 1>they have to try and protect folks' healthcare, which is

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<v Speaker 1>what I think Democrats are standing up for. We have

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<v Speaker 1>four million Texans, four million here who are in the

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<v Speaker 1>Affordable Care Act exchanges. I just got an email from

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<v Speaker 1>some of the associations that I'm a part of saying

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<v Speaker 1>that with open enrollment is going to be starting next

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<v Speaker 1>month and saying to expect dramatic increases in your costs

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<v Speaker 1>in your premiums. In some cases, we may see those double.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you see costs go up that much for

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<v Speaker 1>your premium, that's basically the same thing as not having

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<v Speaker 1>health care at all. And so I think this is

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<v Speaker 1>very clear and very straightforward. I hope Republicans will come

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<v Speaker 1>to the table and negotiate and try to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>we get in this shutdown as soon as possible.

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<v Speaker 3>Congressman, Before we let you go, we do want to

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<v Speaker 3>talk about your race. You know the statistic as well

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<v Speaker 3>as anyone. No Democrat has won statewide in the state

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<v Speaker 3>of Texas since the early nineties. You ran, you did

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<v Speaker 3>not win last time, and you raised a lot of money.

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<v Speaker 3>So what makes you think this time around it's different.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, listen, what I've been trying to do is make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that we reorient ourselves around what I think working

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<v Speaker 1>folks are going through. And I think there were a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of promises made to working people in the last

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<v Speaker 1>selection about their costs were going to go down, that

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<v Speaker 1>inflation was going to go away on day one, and

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<v Speaker 1>we've seen the opposite. And I've been going around the state.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not just going around. I'm trying to find areas

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<v Speaker 1>where I can go directly to working folks because I'm

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<v Speaker 1>constantly thinking about my mom, who was working two jobs

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<v Speaker 1>and was watching me in the evening and she couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>come to one of our town halls that we have,

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<v Speaker 1>or to a political rally. But if I go to

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<v Speaker 1>them on the job, then we can have those conversations.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I was in grocery stores and construction.

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<v Speaker 4>Sites, and I talked to us. More time to talk

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<v Speaker 4>about your race. Congressman, it's good to have Colin Hall

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<v Speaker 4>read with us. This is gloomy.