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Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Wide

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Speaker 1: Open with Ashlyn Harris. So, my son, it, you know,

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Speaker 1: is obsessed with dinosaurs.

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Speaker 2: So here we are.

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Speaker 1: We're in his room and I'm like, it's so cute

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Speaker 1: and i love being a mom, so I'm not going

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Speaker 1: to hide it or take it down. We're just here

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Speaker 1: and we're I'm gonna take you on a safari during Christmas.

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Speaker 1: So this weekend, I'm really excited. Uh, Sophia has the

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Speaker 1: has been given the opportunity to uh sit down with

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Speaker 1: Kamala to do one of her book tours in Toronto.

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Speaker 2: So I'm really excited.

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Speaker 1: I know Sophia is super excited, and yeah, we're both

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Speaker 1: going to go to Toronto this weekend and get some

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Speaker 1: get some time with her and Doug and the family,

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Speaker 1: and yeah, just re energize because it's been one hell

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Speaker 1: of a year, especially the current landscape of policy. So

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Speaker 1: it'll be really nice to be around familiar faces. To

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Speaker 1: say the least. Sophia is very close with Kamala, and

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Speaker 1: Sophia has been campaigning and you know, being such a

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Speaker 1: servant to you know, America and politics for a very

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Speaker 1: long time, and that's like her passion is democracy and justice,

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Speaker 1: and I love supporting her and how how happy and

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Speaker 1: excited she gets to kind of serve her country and

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Speaker 1: in a different way than I served my country being

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Speaker 1: a professional soccer player for the US team. So Saturday night,

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Speaker 1: a bunch of us leslies, all my cute little gay girlfriends,

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Speaker 1: we had a date night and we went to Hannah

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Speaker 1: Berner's comedy show and it was so much fun. I

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Speaker 1: laughed my ass off. Ali opened for Hannah and her

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Speaker 1: whole like set was about lesbians, and I was fucking

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Speaker 1: cackling so hard.

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Speaker 2: At one point she could hear.

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Speaker 1: Me, and I was like up in a box and

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Speaker 1: she was just like making everyone gag, just gag over

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Speaker 1: her content.

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Speaker 2: So we had a really good time, and then.

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Speaker 1: A few of us drove upstate to have a little

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Speaker 1: gay little weekend. Especially with the ruling of the Supreme Court,

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Speaker 1: it was such a good time to just celebrate with

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Speaker 1: my queer little friends. And we watched the holiday and

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Speaker 1: we made fires and ate good food and set up

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Speaker 1: all the Christmas decorations. So we have I think we

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Speaker 1: have in total five or six Christmas trees. It's absolutely obnoxious.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, we set up three Christmas trees upstate and

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Speaker 1: then brought back two Christmas trees here in New York

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Speaker 1: in the city.

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Speaker 2: So we're just gonna have a big old It's just

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Speaker 2: it's fun. We have two kids. You have to go

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Speaker 2: hard in the paint. So that's what we commit to doing.

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Speaker 1: Oh I am absolutely a fake tree kind of bitch,

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Speaker 1: Like I don't have like my version this is yes,

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Speaker 1: I am so not high maintenance. And my version of

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Speaker 1: a Christmas tree is literally get the pre lit one,

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Speaker 1: get the one that changes like.

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Speaker 2: Colorful, up warm, white, up this, up that, and then

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Speaker 2: I don't have to decorate it.

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Speaker 1: I literally pop that thing up, plug it in, and

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Speaker 1: I fluff it and keep it pushing. And it drives

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Speaker 1: Sophia crazy. She's like, absolutely not. She's vientage shopping on

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Speaker 1: Etsy and god knows what else. eBay, all these all

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Speaker 1: these ornaments that are like beautiful and heavy and m

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, good, enjoy this for two point three seconds,

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Speaker 1: because as soon as Ocean sees that, he's gonna grab

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Speaker 1: it and check it across the fucking bedroom and the

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Speaker 1: room and everything else and roll it down the stairs.

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Speaker 1: Like it's so funny because I know exactly how my

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Speaker 1: toddlers operate, so everything is like shatter proof. We don't

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Speaker 1: paper cardboard ornaments like we keep it simple and basic.

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Speaker 2: And she's like, I want my vintage glass this and that,

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Speaker 2: and I'm like, it's all gonna break. Give it one week,

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Speaker 2: one day, it's gonna break.

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Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, welcome back to Wide Open. I'm your host,

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Speaker 1: Ashlyn Harrison. Today I'm sitting down with someone who's redefining

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Speaker 1: what it means to lead both with backbone and with heart.

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Speaker 1: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is here. She's a civil rights attorney

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Speaker 1: turned political powerhouse, known for speaking truth to power and

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Speaker 1: standing her ground with grace, humor, and more importantly fire.

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Speaker 1: What I of most about Jasmine is that her voice

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Speaker 1: comes from a real place, a place built on faith, family,

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Speaker 1: and lived experience. In this conversation, we talk about her

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Speaker 1: father's presence as a pastor has shaped her ability to

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Speaker 1: command a room, how her law degree prepared her to

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Speaker 1: fight for justice, and what it really takes to stay

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Speaker 1: grounded while pushing for change. We also dive into the

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Speaker 1: state of gay rights in this country, including the huge

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Speaker 1: Supreme Court win this week keeping gay marriage legal, and

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Speaker 1: of course, the weekly question does the Democratic Party have

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Speaker 1: a backbone. Jasmine is sharp, funny, honest, and full of

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Speaker 1: the kind of conviction this country needs.

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Speaker 2: Right now, let's get into it.

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Speaker 1: Congresswoman Jasmine Crocket, the oneted only, Oh my gosh.

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Speaker 3: One of my favorite humans.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for taking the time, because holy shit, everything's

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Speaker 1: on fire. I can't imagine, I mean, what you're doing

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Speaker 1: all around the clock at this point.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, first of all, it's great to see you.

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Speaker 5: I wish I was saying you in person, I know,

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Speaker 5: but I am definitely in DC ready to do my

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Speaker 5: black job.

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Speaker 6: Yes you are, honey, And yeah, you know, I just

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Speaker 6: want to say to all your listeners that I'm sorry,

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Speaker 6: like I'm sorry that government is failing everyone.

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Speaker 4: No matter like.

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Speaker 5: How you affiliate yourself, there's no way to believe that

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Speaker 5: this is how government is supposed to function. And it

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Speaker 5: is my sincere hope regardless of kind of what policies

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Speaker 5: and who's getting to put what bills on the floor,

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Speaker 5: I just hope that we can get to the point

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Speaker 5: that we can actually do the very basics that government

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Speaker 5: is supposed to do, which is to keep the lights on, right, Like,

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Speaker 5: I just hope that we can at a very minimum

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Speaker 5: get back to basics.

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Speaker 1: But what I love so much about you, Jasmine, is

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Speaker 1: the way you care yourself like you're so real. Like you,

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Speaker 1: there's no question why everyone says or hopes that you

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Speaker 1: are our.

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Speaker 2: Future because you're just You're.

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Speaker 1: The way you show up for us and the way

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Speaker 1: you serve us is something like I've never seen in

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Speaker 1: our party, which even more now than ever, where everyone's

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Speaker 1: questioning if we if we even fucking have a backbone,

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Speaker 1: like you've been that backbone for us, and you know,

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Speaker 1: as much as the last however many I'm not even

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Speaker 1: saying week, So I'm gonna say the last year has

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Speaker 1: been a fucking shit show. It's been a win for

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Speaker 1: us this week with the Supreme Court because a lot

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Speaker 1: of people tuning in at least my viewership or either

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Speaker 1: allies of the gay community or a part of the

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Speaker 1: gay community. And you know, we'll take the wins when

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Speaker 1: we could take the wins at this point for our community.

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Speaker 2: So I'm curious of what you think right now.

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Speaker 1: It you know, what was that a big you know,

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Speaker 1: can we breathe a little bit?

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Speaker 4: Or is it just I think it was monumental?

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Speaker 5: Okay, I had just done the black tie dinner in Dallas,

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Speaker 5: and as I was there, I was talking about here

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Speaker 5: it is that we are on the edge of our

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Speaker 5: seats wondering whether or not marriage equality will be a

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Speaker 5: thing right, And I'm like, why is it that we

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Speaker 5: have spent so much time going back, right, like, instead

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Speaker 5: of going forward.

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Speaker 4: This is what we're doing.

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Speaker 5: And the reality is that whether you know, people that

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Speaker 5: are members of the LGBTQIA community get married or not

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Speaker 5: has nothing to do with whether or not they have

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Speaker 5: food on the table. It has nothing to do with

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Speaker 5: whether or not they are able to build generational wealth.

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Speaker 5: It has nothing to do with the fact that we

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Speaker 5: are missing over a million jobs that have been lost

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Speaker 5: in less than a year since this man is worn

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Speaker 5: in the number of availability of jobs for the first

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Speaker 5: time in a very long time is less than what

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Speaker 5: we have as it relates to able bodied workers that

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Speaker 5: are looking for work. And so you know, like, none

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Speaker 5: of this has anything to do with anything. And I

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Speaker 5: hate that the entirety of the community has been escapegoat

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Speaker 5: to distract from real issues, the real governing things that

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Speaker 5: we should be focused on governing somebody's bedroom or their love.

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Speaker 4: It's not really like I mean, it's not my priority.

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Speaker 4: It's not my business.

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Speaker 6: It's not my.

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Speaker 4: Priority unless it is to open up freedom. And you know,

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Speaker 4: I think that when.

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Speaker 5: You talk about what it is to be a patriot

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Speaker 5: or an American, at the core of everything is our freedom.

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Speaker 4: That is what separates us.

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Speaker 5: From every other non democratic kind of nation. And so

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Speaker 5: the idea that we are now kind of wavering on

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Speaker 5: what freedom looks like, who gets freedom and that kind

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Speaker 5: of stuff, that is when we honestly should have all

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Speaker 5: band together. You know, I talk all the time about

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Speaker 5: like as say it this very callous way, but I'm

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Speaker 5: not being callous where I'm like, I don't really care

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Speaker 5: what you think about reproductive freedom. I don't really care

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Speaker 5: what you think about the LGBTQUIA community and the freedom's

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Speaker 5: they deserve. Like, if you consider yourself an American, if

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Speaker 5: you consider yourself to be a patriot, then the most

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Speaker 5: patriotic thing that you can do, it has nothing to

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Speaker 5: do with whether or not you agree, has to do

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Speaker 5: with the fact that you respect it. Right, you say, listen,

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Speaker 5: we believe in freedom. I ain't gotta like it. I

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Speaker 5: can tell you my religiousy is these I say, whatever

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Speaker 5: your thing is, right, it's not about whether or not

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Speaker 5: you approve like it, love it, or even hate it.

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Speaker 5: It's about whether or not you believe in freedom. And

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Speaker 5: so I would tell people all the time because people

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Speaker 5: get it real confused because I've got a district that

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Speaker 5: is heavily African American, but I live in what we

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Speaker 5: call the neighborhood in Dubtless, so I represent the Oakland

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Speaker 5: area right as well as this kind of So they're like,

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Speaker 5: wellw you deal with black preachers, And I'm like, very easily, right,

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Speaker 5: It's not about you know, what you believe, It's not

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Speaker 5: about any of that. It's about the fact that I

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Speaker 5: am a civil rights lawyer. I believe in the civil

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Speaker 5: rights and liberties of all people. And if I ever

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Speaker 5: get to the point that I'm like, well, I'll only

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Speaker 5: fight for the civil rights of this group and not that,

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Speaker 5: then I'm failing myself. And the best example that I

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Speaker 5: can give you of how seriously I take the work

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Speaker 5: that I've done as an attorney is even as a

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Speaker 5: black woman, I have represented.

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Speaker 4: I had a defendant. There was a member of the

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Speaker 4: Rian Brotherhood.

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Speaker 5: And when you get a quarter pointed attorney, you don't

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Speaker 5: get to say, hey, I'm racist. I can't take the

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Speaker 5: black one like you get what you get right now.

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Speaker 5: Granted I could have got off of it right and said, hey,

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Speaker 5: I feel like I can't do this, but I believe

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Speaker 5: in the Constitution.

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Speaker 4: I believe that everyone is entitled to their due process.

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Speaker 2: I believe that.

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Speaker 5: If the justice system works the way that it is

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Speaker 5: supposed to work, then somebody that needs to be held

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Speaker 5: accountable will and somebody who's not supposed to be held

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Speaker 5: accountable hopefully they won't write. But I did not not

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Speaker 5: defend him to the best of my ability, to the

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Speaker 5: extent that it was one of those times that I

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Speaker 5: felt like I could show him better than I could

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Speaker 5: tell him, because the idea of hating somebody with my

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Speaker 5: amount of melanin just because and then ultimately kind of

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Speaker 5: the universe turning everything on its head and you're now

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Speaker 5: being represented by one of these people that you hate.

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Speaker 5: You know, it's one thing to say you're a Christian,

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Speaker 5: it's another thing to actually show it in your works.

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Speaker 5: I think one of the best things that I could

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Speaker 5: do to show that I believe in the Constitution, to

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Speaker 5: show that I believe in the work that I was

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Speaker 5: doing as an attorney answers show that I really am

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Speaker 5: a I am a Christian is to defend somebody that

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Speaker 5: I know hates me, who doesn't even know me. And

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Speaker 5: after it was all said and done, he was not

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Speaker 5: full of hate for me. Now, he still may have

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Speaker 5: hated black people, who knows, but he was not full

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Speaker 5: of hate for me directly. And I think that, you know,

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Speaker 5: that was a really important lesson. When I think about

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Speaker 5: the number of people that walk around talking about they

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Speaker 5: hate certain groups and that kind of stuff, most of

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Speaker 5: them have failed to actually interact right They somehow have

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Speaker 5: used their lack of interaction to basically justify the fact

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Speaker 5: that they look at us as less in human. And

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Speaker 5: I think that the real cure is not going to

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Speaker 5: be sitting on social media going back and forth with

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Speaker 5: keyboard warriors or bots or whomever. I think it's going

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Speaker 5: to be getting back to real connections and getting to

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Speaker 5: know people because again, you can show them better than

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Speaker 5: you can tell them. Instead of believing that you know,

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Speaker 5: these are second class citizens, whether it's because of their race,

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Speaker 5: or it's because of the country they were born in,

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Speaker 5: or because they remember the LGBCQI a community. How about

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Speaker 5: you actually just interacts because you may learn that honestly,

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Speaker 5: we're all just people. We're all just and we are

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Speaker 5: all just trying to live a spool as possible.

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Speaker 2: Stay tuned.

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Speaker 1: I'll be back in just a moment after this brief

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Speaker 1: message from our sponsors. I have to ask, because I'm

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Speaker 1: so curious. You're You're an incredibly smart but you're incredibly

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Speaker 1: You're an EmPATH, You're just you get it. And I

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Speaker 1: wonder where this comes from because you're so in your

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Speaker 1: body with who you are and how you show up,

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Speaker 1: and you're you can be in a room with you

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Speaker 1: for thirty seconds and you can feel that it's electric you.

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Speaker 1: You make people want to be better. And I'm I'm curious,

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Speaker 1: where did you find this voice and this passion and

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Speaker 1: this fearlessness when you hit the floor and you're just

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Speaker 1: like in your element?

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Speaker 2: Why politics?

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Speaker 3: Like I have so many questions.

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Speaker 4: I ask God all the time, Why politics? Lord in Mercy?

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Speaker 5: You know, as I've said so many times, I never

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Speaker 5: had to worry about death threats when I was representing

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Speaker 5: actual killers. It was only once I decided that I

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Speaker 5: wanted to be a representative of the people as a

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Speaker 5: whole that I ended up having to deal with death threats.

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Speaker 5: And needing security and all that kind of stuff. I

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Speaker 5: literally in jail sales with actual people that had killed people,

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Speaker 5: and I was like, I'm good, like I you know,

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Speaker 5: it is what it is. But I think that you know,

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Speaker 5: we all interpret our experiences through whatever lens we do, right,

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Speaker 5: and so I look at everything that I've experienced as

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Speaker 5: the things that have shaped me. And you know, one

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Speaker 5: of the things that I consistently hear as I travel

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Speaker 5: the country is that you know, I was built for

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Speaker 5: such a time as this, and it is a heavy

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Speaker 5: burden to have to know that we're really at a

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Speaker 5: historically low place in our country, and to really a

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Speaker 5: lot of days because I am very much human, just

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Speaker 5: want to give up.

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Speaker 4: You know, I don't have to do it.

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Speaker 5: You know, I get harassed and people say crazy stuff

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Speaker 5: like I'm becoming a millionaire doing this. I'm like, bro,

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Speaker 5: like the same way it is because I'm also not

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Speaker 5: gonna play with these people. You're not gonna find me

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Speaker 5: doing none of this nonsense that Trump is up to.

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Speaker 5: I already know they will put me under the jail.

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Speaker 5: Also is just wrong, you know obviously, you know, for me,

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Speaker 5: it's about you know, what is your purpose? And I

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Speaker 5: think that I feel so confident in the fact that

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Speaker 5: this has nothing to do with me. You know, there

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Speaker 5: are people that were born into certain political families. They

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Speaker 5: knew forever that they would be in politics. They you know,

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Speaker 5: charted their every move, what they majored in, and you

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Speaker 5: know whether or not they went to law school, whose

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Speaker 5: offices they worked in.

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Speaker 4: That wasn't me.

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Speaker 5: I never worked on the hill, I never interned on

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Speaker 5: the Hill. I never thought about the Hill whatsoever. You know,

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Speaker 5: from a state level or federal level, like, this wasn't

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Speaker 5: It wasn't anything that I aspired to. There were so

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Speaker 5: many people, because my predecessor had been in the seat

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Speaker 5: for thirty years, that had been tracking her down, trying

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Speaker 5: to get the nod like, trying to figure out what

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Speaker 5: is it going to take. That wasn't me, Like I like,

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Speaker 5: it was none of that. And so I have no

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Speaker 5: reason to be fearful because I am so confident that

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Speaker 5: this wasn't my plan. It was God's plan all my life.

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Speaker 5: And I think that's the only way to explain.

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Speaker 6: You know.

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Speaker 5: I was talking to one of my friends the other

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Speaker 5: night and I was like, you know, sometimes I just

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Speaker 5: sit back and I think about all that I've done,

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Speaker 5: and I literally have not been in Congress for a

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Speaker 5: total of three years, like crazy, not at three years yet, right,

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Speaker 5: And I was explaining that as I was on my

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Speaker 5: flight coming back to DC. I was like, yeah, there's

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Speaker 5: some old Republican that was on my plane. I was like,

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Speaker 5: I have no idea who it is. And it's someone

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Speaker 5: in my delegation, right, I'm like, no clue, no idea

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Speaker 5: who he was, whatsoever. But the guy that was sitting

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Speaker 5: next to me on the plane was like obviously very

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Speaker 5: into him.

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Speaker 4: So I was like, huh, that's gonna be interesting, right,

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Speaker 4: you know, because to.

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Speaker 5: Me, but you know whatever, and so but I thought

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Speaker 5: about that, and I was like, he's probably been in

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Speaker 5: Congress for a very long time, and I, as a

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Speaker 5: sitting member of Congress, have no idea who he is.

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Speaker 5: From the delegation of thirty eight people in Texas, I have.

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Speaker 4: No idea who he is.

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Speaker 5: And so I was like, you know, it's crazy because

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Speaker 5: some part of our bubble makes us believe that everybody

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Speaker 5: knows all the elected officials. They know all four hundred

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Speaker 5: and thirty five in the House, they know the hundred

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Speaker 5: on the Senate side.

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Speaker 4: And I was like it's just fake and false.

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Speaker 5: More importantly, the fact is that, like while he had

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Speaker 5: on a jacket, I didn't pay attention to his name,

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Speaker 5: Congress and all that kind of stuff. You know, it

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Speaker 5: was the flight attendants they knew exactly who I was.

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Speaker 5: It was other passengers they knew exactly who I was.

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Speaker 5: And to think about the fact that I'm able to

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Speaker 5: have such an impact in less than three years, which

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Speaker 5: is more than some people that have been here for

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Speaker 5: a very long time, it really only continues to reaffirm

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Speaker 5: that this has never been anything that I did, but

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Speaker 5: it's been the real purpose on my life. And so

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Speaker 5: I am very confident that if for some reason my

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Speaker 5: district said, hey, you know what, we don't like the

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Speaker 5: right way that you represent. We think we want somebody else,

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Speaker 5: I'm cool with that because I've in democracy. I believe

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Speaker 5: that people should have the voices that they feel like

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Speaker 5: are reflective of their will. And I'm completely confident that

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Speaker 5: I will have life after Congress, Like I am like planning, plotting,

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00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:09,400
Speaker 5: and like excited about life after Congress because definitely the

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Speaker 5: more I do this, the more anonymous I actually.

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Speaker 4: Want to be.

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Speaker 3: I can imagine and went into private life.

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Speaker 4: I get a little bit of a reprieve.

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Speaker 1: I have to ask this question as an athlete because

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Speaker 1: when you are on the floor, it's something I've never experienced,

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Speaker 1: And like, you make politics enjoyable now for people like me.

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Speaker 3: I say that genuinely, Like you know, I fuck with.

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Speaker 1: You like hard and I got your back, and like

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Speaker 1: what a privilege it is to call you a friend.

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Speaker 1: And the way you show up for your people and

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Speaker 1: the people you don't even know or may not identify

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Speaker 1: with or but you support, you respect, you hear people,

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Speaker 1: you see people, and it is an absolute gift. And

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Speaker 1: I'm lucky to be a part of that small group

380
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Speaker 1: in your circle. But I have to fucking know as

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Speaker 1: an athlete, like preparation is key and everything I've ever

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Speaker 1: done representing my country, playing my role, showing up the

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Speaker 1: way I show up. How do you prepare when you

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Speaker 1: go to battle, babe?

385
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Speaker 2: Like what are you doing? What are you listening to?

386
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Speaker 1: Because it is like you're taking us to church in

387
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Speaker 1: a way I've never been. I mean, it is it

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Speaker 1: is something out of this world. I love it.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Now, I think that that's such a great question, because

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Speaker 5: you know, when you talk about representing our country. You

392
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Speaker 5: didn't just get to wake up one day and start

393
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Speaker 5: kind of training, right. You have been training your whole life,

394
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Speaker 5: and then your training kind of hits a new level

395
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Speaker 5: when it's time to like, okay, we got to represent

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Speaker 5: the United States. I look at my life in a

397
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Speaker 5: very similar way. I think the skills that I was

398
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Speaker 5: able to use and fine tune in the courtroom really

399
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Speaker 5: helped me, especially as a public defender.

400
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Speaker 4: As a public defender.

401
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Speaker 5: It's always you know, David and Goliath, right, Like, you know,

402
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Speaker 5: the state has everything, and you are limited on your resources,

403
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Speaker 5: but you've got to make sure that you can put

404
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Speaker 5: put on a vigorous defense of really the underdog, right.

405
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Speaker 5: And I look at so many people that are in

406
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Speaker 5: the working class that are struggling right now as the underdogs,

407
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Speaker 5: especially right now because it seems like this administration is

408
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Speaker 5: picking winners and losers, and they want everyone who is

409
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Speaker 5: not a NEPO baby, everyone who didn't somehow manage to

410
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Speaker 5: get their hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank

411
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Speaker 5: before they made it into the White House. They basically

412
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Speaker 5: are beating up on us, right. So I look at

413
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Speaker 5: it like, Okay, I've been a criminal defense attorney. I've

414
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Speaker 5: been a public defender. I've been the underdog, and I've

415
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Speaker 5: had to make a way out of no way, and

416
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Speaker 5: I've had to come up with the creative arguments. And

417
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Speaker 5: people don't understand the skill set that you need as

418
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,560
Speaker 5: a defense attorney is a lot different than as a prosecutor.

419
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Speaker 5: As a prosecutor, you got all the information for the

420
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Speaker 5: most part right. Obviously, a witness can always go left,

421
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Speaker 5: but you've got so much information. As a defense attorney,

422
00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:23,640
Speaker 5: you're kind of sitting there like you don't know what

423
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Speaker 5: that witness may say, and you've got to stay ready.

424
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Speaker 5: So you have to study that witness. You can't just

425
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Speaker 5: look at what they've given you. You got to look

426
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Speaker 5: beyond that. So we do deep dives into their social media.

427
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Speaker 5: Sometimes you put a PI on them. You get people

428
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Speaker 5: that are around them and find out kind of you

429
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Speaker 5: try to get into their heads to understand who they are.

430
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Speaker 5: So when I'm preparing for committee, I don't just look

431
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Speaker 5: at what the committee memo says.

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Speaker 4: I have my team do.

433
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Speaker 5: Some deeper diving outside of what's giving to me. And

434
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Speaker 5: then as I'm listening, which I am thankful that I'm

435
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Speaker 5: so low in seniority that I don't go first.

436
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Speaker 4: I start to see the theme of like what it

437
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:04,959
Speaker 4: is that they're trying to argue.

438
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Speaker 5: And because I have always had to be able to

439
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 5: think on my feet, I'm able to adjust in real time.

440
00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:14,200
Speaker 5: And luckily my team is able to adjust in real

441
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,640
Speaker 5: time too, and print things out and that kind of stuff. So,

442
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,960
Speaker 5: you know, one of my more viral moments was when

443
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,360
Speaker 5: they were going after President Joe Biden and they were like, oh,

444
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,000
Speaker 5: he's corrupt, the Biden crime.

445
00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,440
Speaker 4: Family, blah blah blah.

446
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 5: And so I decided, based on some things that I

447
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,439
Speaker 5: heard to talk about the documents at Mary A Lago,

448
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,280
Speaker 5: And if people will remember, I held up this sheet

449
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,200
Speaker 5: of paper and I talked about our national.

450
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 4: Secrets and the shitter.

451
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:45,800
Speaker 6: And so.

452
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:47,440
Speaker 5: But it was a sheet of paper, and it was

453
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,000
Speaker 5: a sheet of paper because I had just told myself,

454
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,159
Speaker 5: I'm like, hey, go print this, do this, you know,

455
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,280
Speaker 5: like I had remembered that I had seen the images

456
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,439
Speaker 5: that kind of stuff. So I was texting it in

457
00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 5: real time, and it was more so in response to

458
00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:04,560
Speaker 5: things that they were trying to say about Joe Biden

459
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,119
Speaker 5: in that moment, whereas I would have had it printed

460
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:09,679
Speaker 5: out on a big poster board.

461
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 4: It was part of it.

462
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:13,879
Speaker 5: So you know, some of my most viral moments I

463
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,080
Speaker 5: think have been viral because they have been authentic in

464
00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:22,159
Speaker 5: the moment and meeting the moment versus super prepared. I

465
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:27,920
Speaker 5: don't know that I've ever really gone viral for my actual, specific,

466
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:34,520
Speaker 5: prepared remarks. It's always been just the total preparation, including

467
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,280
Speaker 5: me being a trial lawyer. That has led me to

468
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,920
Speaker 5: be able to pivot really fast and really hanging them

469
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:41,719
Speaker 5: up on some stuff.

470
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 3: I love it. I love it.

471
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 1: This is wide open and I'm your host, Ashlyn Harris.

472
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:50,880
Speaker 3: Thanks for listening.

473
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:51,879
Speaker 2: We'll be right back.

474
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:57,560
Speaker 3: I have to say, today's a big day for you.

475
00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:59,919
Speaker 3: I know you have very little times.

476
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:05,560
Speaker 1: I have to ask these eight dems who caved, who

477
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:11,160
Speaker 1: sold sold out, and now you know, like I said earlier,

478
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,199
Speaker 1: it feels like the backbone of our party is just

479
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 1: like what are we doing after all of this?

480
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:18,600
Speaker 3: So what is your thoughts?

481
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,040
Speaker 1: I mean, I know what you said, you know on

482
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,679
Speaker 1: your social media, but I'm curious now walking into this dance,

483
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,679
Speaker 1: like what is what does it feel like? You know,

484
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,200
Speaker 1: these are supposed to be our people showing up for us,

485
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,720
Speaker 1: representing us and doing the right thing. And it's been

486
00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 1: a hard few weeks for a lot of people in

487
00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:40,480
Speaker 1: this country, and we just fucking throw the towel in

488
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,479
Speaker 1: now now, yeah.

489
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,800
Speaker 4: I agree. My deal is Listen, if you were going cave, you.

490
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,920
Speaker 5: Should have just went ahead, caved early on and save

491
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:53,840
Speaker 5: everybody all the drama. But to build a movement and

492
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:59,520
Speaker 5: to get people to understand are why, I mean that

493
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,200
Speaker 5: was huge because everybody talks about how Democrats are terrible messengers.

494
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,080
Speaker 5: But it's like we laid out our why, but then

495
00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,720
Speaker 5: you folded and you didn't get the why, so were

496
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:13,200
Speaker 5: you lying? Like this gets me to those voters that

497
00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:15,120
Speaker 5: look at the parties and say that they're the same.

498
00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,000
Speaker 5: For the longest, I could not really understand what people meant,

499
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 5: because you know, I don't think you'll ever find a

500
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:25,000
Speaker 5: Democratic president that's saying, oh, I've got money to feed

501
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,359
Speaker 5: people on snap and I won't, Like, I just don't.

502
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:28,680
Speaker 4: I don't think you'll ever find that.

503
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,840
Speaker 5: But to the extent that they can't be trusted with

504
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,679
Speaker 5: their word, I get that, and I think that any

505
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,919
Speaker 5: rage or disappointment that anybody feels, I think it's absolutely warranted.

506
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,960
Speaker 5: I will tell you that it sucks when you're part

507
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,639
Speaker 5: of like a team, right, Like you talk about representing

508
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,600
Speaker 5: the United States, Like yeah, you know if you are

509
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,480
Speaker 5: on a team, or even for those of you they've

510
00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:56,439
Speaker 5: never had to be in a team type setting, but

511
00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:00,200
Speaker 5: like you're working on a group project and it's like, well, damn.

512
00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,600
Speaker 4: We over here, like we are dragging the whole light team.

513
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:07,720
Speaker 5: Like that's tough. Yeah, I do want people. I'm not

514
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,880
Speaker 5: asking anybody to give a pass to the eight dem senators.

515
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:12,920
Speaker 5: I am asking you to look at the numbers as

516
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:18,880
Speaker 5: a whole. We have forty odd Democratic Senators and of those.

517
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:20,080
Speaker 4: Forty something eightfolded.

518
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,600
Speaker 5: As we go in and we vote, I think we're

519
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 5: at I don't know if we're at two twelve or

520
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:25,600
Speaker 5: two thirteen.

521
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:27,400
Speaker 4: I don't know our numbers. Our numbers are all jacked

522
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,280
Speaker 4: up because people keep dying and I don't know.

523
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 5: But anyway, we've got over two hundred Democrats in the House,

524
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,680
Speaker 5: and you know, I think it's a matter of you

525
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,320
Speaker 5: when you ultimately look at how many no's we have

526
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 5: between the House and the Senate. I just want the

527
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 5: American people not to hold what those eight Senate Dems

528
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:54,080
Speaker 5: did against all of us. I think that it gives

529
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,280
Speaker 5: us pause to make sure that we don't just vote

530
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 5: for Democrats, but we take our time and we figure

531
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,280
Speaker 5: out who is the right Democrat for this moment, and

532
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,520
Speaker 5: that's what we need to do. I don't think we

533
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 5: throw in the towel because of those eight because listen.

534
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,440
Speaker 4: I'm still sitting here now. My one vote is not

535
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 4: half as powerful.

536
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,560
Speaker 5: As any one of their votes, because my body is

537
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:18,800
Speaker 5: four hundred and thirty five.

538
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:23,680
Speaker 4: But I am fighting, and I can promise you there

539
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:25,120
Speaker 4: are many.

540
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,920
Speaker 5: Other people that are ready and willing to get into

541
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,320
Speaker 5: this fight and fight just as vigorously as I fight.

542
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:32,920
Speaker 4: If not harder.

543
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,920
Speaker 5: So my thing is, don't give up, but make sure

544
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,200
Speaker 5: you do your research, don't mut us all together. Make

545
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,360
Speaker 5: sure you're not only getting a Democrat, but you're getting

546
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,120
Speaker 5: the right Democrat that part.

547
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:49,400
Speaker 1: And then today I can't pass over it. Clearly, kind

548
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,840
Speaker 1: of news came out about the.

549
00:29:51,880 --> 00:30:00,280
Speaker 2: Dog that has embarked, So some emails.

550
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 1: Have been, yeah, coming out and I'm curious what you're

551
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,720
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like, of course we're not surprised by it,

552
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 1: but what are your thoughts on this?

553
00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,200
Speaker 5: Yeah, So, first of all, kudos to the Epstein Estate

554
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:19,240
Speaker 5: and no kudos for the FBI director Patel, and no

555
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 5: kudos for the director of the DOJ Pambondi.

556
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:26,640
Speaker 4: No kudos. They get nothing from us.

557
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:32,160
Speaker 5: Yeah, they've had subpoenas for months and somehow nothing, whereas

558
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:38,200
Speaker 5: the Epstein estate obviously understands what a subpoena is and

559
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,240
Speaker 5: has decided that they're not trying to play around with

560
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 5: it now. Whether or not there's still so much more

561
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,760
Speaker 5: to give us, who knows, but at least they are

562
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:48,160
Speaker 5: turning over documents to the oversight Committee. Was in receipt

563
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:52,760
Speaker 5: of approximately twenty thousand documents that we've now released. That's

564
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,320
Speaker 5: from the Epstein estate. I just want to clarify that

565
00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:00,240
Speaker 5: this ain't coming from the people who we actually oversee

566
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,880
Speaker 5: at the DJ and so there are many more communications.

567
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:10,360
Speaker 5: These communications obviously pre date Epstein's death because he died

568
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,600
Speaker 5: in twenty nineteen. Obviously can't be sent emails from the

569
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:18,680
Speaker 5: other side. So these are our contemporaneous thoughts. And the

570
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 5: reason that I bring that up is because I want

571
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,080
Speaker 5: people to understand, because you know, he about it is

572
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,560
Speaker 5: a hoax, This is Latin, This was a real time.

573
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,760
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, this is not created out of thin air.

574
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:35,200
Speaker 5: This was at the time, right, So there were communications

575
00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:40,880
Speaker 5: about the investigations as relates to Trump, and basically Gallain,

576
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,680
Speaker 5: Maxwell and Epstein are going back and forth and basically

577
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,400
Speaker 5: the portion that you reference was that they were like,

578
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 5: no law enforcement has mentioned that Trump has said anything

579
00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 5: about him, which in THINGU waits he knows something because

580
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,680
Speaker 5: an email that says that Jasmine ain't saying nothing, I

581
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 5: mean nothing, I mean because I don't know anything to say,

582
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,920
Speaker 5: there would never be an email that says that, right, yeah,

583
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,760
Speaker 5: So and and it was it was in context of criminality,

584
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,160
Speaker 5: So you got that one that you're referencing.

585
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:16,760
Speaker 4: Then you have.

586
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:22,240
Speaker 5: And and and there was mention of a victim being

587
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:27,480
Speaker 5: at a home with Trump or whatever on that particular occasion.

588
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,360
Speaker 5: And then there was this email. So you know, if

589
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 5: you've been really following like intently, then you know that

590
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:40,360
Speaker 5: there's been a lawsuit against a gentleman an author who

591
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:47,160
Speaker 5: has had been in communication with Epstein. So there's emails

592
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 5: between them and they are talking about basically the CNN

593
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:58,800
Speaker 5: may ask about Trump's relationship with Epstein at one of

594
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,640
Speaker 5: the forums. So this before he's elected the first time,

595
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 5: and basically it was like, you know, Epstein trying to

596
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,760
Speaker 5: strategize on how to deal with this because he's like,

597
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,760
Speaker 5: if Trump wins, then this is great because he'll owe

598
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:19,280
Speaker 5: us a debt. Now, why would Trump owe a debt

599
00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:23,520
Speaker 5: if he wins? He didn't do anything wrong, right, So

600
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,360
Speaker 5: that's what these emails were revealing in real time. These

601
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:31,480
Speaker 5: were the thoughts that Epstein was having without any influence

602
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 5: of Trump and talking about say, oh, I'll let you

603
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,880
Speaker 5: out of jail for free, as he's doing with Gleigh Maxwell,

604
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:44,280
Speaker 5: Like we don't need like unfiltered raw communications in the time.

605
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,400
Speaker 5: We know that these are the things that Trump doesn't

606
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,760
Speaker 5: want out. And the final point I'll make on this

607
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:56,320
Speaker 5: whole nonsense is that you know, we knew that the

608
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,080
Speaker 5: Speaker shut the house down so that he would not

609
00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:03,320
Speaker 5: have to move forward on the release, the full release,

610
00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:06,760
Speaker 5: because now we're talking about what the doj ain't done.

611
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:07,240
Speaker 4: Okay.

612
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 5: In addition to Treasury, like we need to get at

613
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:14,440
Speaker 5: Treasury with these bank documents about all the money that

614
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,000
Speaker 5: was going and where it was going and all this stuff.

615
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,120
Speaker 5: So there's a lot of other places that we can

616
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 5: dig for information as well and potentially conduct a more

617
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:26,160
Speaker 5: thorough investigation than what was conducted by the DJ at

618
00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:31,840
Speaker 5: that time, but the Speaker kept us out so that

619
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,600
Speaker 5: we wouldn't take the vote. There's only four Republicans to

620
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:39,919
Speaker 5: sign onto the discharge petition, and it's our understanding through

621
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,839
Speaker 5: reporting that he's been leaning hard on those four Republicans

622
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:46,960
Speaker 5: to come off the discharged petition to keep us under

623
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:48,080
Speaker 5: the two hundred and eighteen.

624
00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:54,000
Speaker 4: We're about to go in and repelect. Grhava will become Rep.

625
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,000
Speaker 5: Grahava in a minute, and she's going to sign the

626
00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:01,360
Speaker 5: discharge petition and if the name doesn't come off before

627
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,400
Speaker 5: she signs it, that is enough. That is enough, and

628
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 5: we move forward. So we'll see if he's been effective today.

629
00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:10,680
Speaker 3: Wow, well, I know we don't.

630
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,359
Speaker 1: We don't have much time on our hands right now

631
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:15,560
Speaker 1: before you go into this, but I have to I

632
00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:18,319
Speaker 1: have to ask what are you doing to take care

633
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,839
Speaker 1: of yourself? Like, what are you doing right now? I mean,

634
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,120
Speaker 1: I know that your whole life is dedicated to this,

635
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,560
Speaker 1: and I just what are you doing to take care

636
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:28,360
Speaker 1: of Jasmine?

637
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:29,080
Speaker 3: Right now?

638
00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:31,520
Speaker 5: I'm not doing very well, but I will tell you

639
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,600
Speaker 5: that that's another reason that I won't be doing this

640
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,640
Speaker 5: for forever. Yeah, at the pace that I run it's

641
00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:42,960
Speaker 5: just not healthy yet, and I think it is with

642
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:47,480
Speaker 5: this moment requires but it's not sustainable to do this

643
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:49,120
Speaker 5: for years and years and years.

644
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:50,640
Speaker 1: You know.

645
00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:52,279
Speaker 5: I wish I had known that we were going to

646
00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:56,479
Speaker 5: be on vacation for a number of weeks almost an yeah,

647
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:59,800
Speaker 5: because maybe I would have taken a vacation instead. I

648
00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,480
Speaker 5: was constantly back and forth thinking, we're about to go

649
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:05,880
Speaker 5: back in and you know, really working and obviously working

650
00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,800
Speaker 5: on stuff for the elections, but I am hoping and planning,

651
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,799
Speaker 5: like I'm trying to be more intentional about taking some.

652
00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:14,320
Speaker 4: Time just to be with friends.

653
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,319
Speaker 5: Honestly, that's usually my biggest refuge is being around the

654
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:21,000
Speaker 5: people that I know love me regardless of the headlines,

655
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,200
Speaker 5: and have my back regardless of the headlines, and.

656
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,799
Speaker 4: Really do the things that you do. Ask the question, yeah,

657
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:29,160
Speaker 4: you want to take care of yourself.

658
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,160
Speaker 1: Well, we're so grateful for you, and thank you for

659
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Speaker 1: rolling your sleeves up and doing the right thing for.

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Speaker 3: All of us, and good luck today.

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Speaker 1: You know we're always with you, and I know you're

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Speaker 1: going to always do the right thing, and that's what

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Speaker 1: separates you from a lot of other people. So you're

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Speaker 1: my favorite. Thanks for taking the time today.

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Speaker 5: Yes, thank you, and I'll see you in persons and

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Speaker 5: dinner soon.

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Speaker 1: Please, I need to feed your soul with my energy

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Speaker 1: to I'll be there. I can't wait. Have the best day.

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Speaker 1: I'm always thinking about you, you know that. And we'll

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Speaker 1: see you soon, all right. Thanks, Thanks Jasmine. Congress Woman

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Speaker 1: Jasmine Crockett, thank you for showing up with such honesty

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Speaker 1: and strength.

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Speaker 3: What I love most about this conversation is.

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Speaker 1: How real you are about the fight, not just in politics,

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Speaker 1: but staying true to who you are in the middle

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Speaker 1: of it. You remind us that having a backbone doesn't

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Speaker 1: mean losing compassion, and that leadership, grounded and purposed still exists.

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Speaker 1: To everyone listening, keep paying attention, keep speaking up, and

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Speaker 1: keep supporting the people who are doing the work with

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Speaker 1: integrity and courage. I am Ashland Harris and this is

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Speaker 1: Wide Open, where we meet people who move the world

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Speaker 1: forward just by being themselves.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for listening. I'll see you next week.

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Speaker 1: Wide Open with Ashland Harris is an iHeart women's sports product.

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Speaker 3: You can find us on.

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Speaker 1: The iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Our producers are Carmen Borca, Correo, Emily Maronoff and Lucy Jones.

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00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:19,280
Speaker 1: Production assistants from Malia Aguidello. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz,

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Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan

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Speaker 1: and Emily Rudder and I'm Your Host Ashlyn Harris