WEBVTT - Sustaining the Rage 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.440 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wika F Daily with 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:19.800 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the Long Island Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:24.720 as we close out this Pride Month on woka F, 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.800 I want to share some of my thoughts and reflections 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:33.520 on our theme that we started the month with, which 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:38.520 is that Pride is a riot right. Pride started out 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:46.880 as a activation point when you know, Marsha P. Johnson, 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:53.440 black trans woman, and others had had enough of being 0:00:54.320 --> 0:01:01.120 bullied by police, of being beaten, of being oppressed, of 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:05.559 having their just basic human dignity stripped away because they 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.679 had the audacity to be out and queer in a 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:13.880 world that refuses to see them. And what is unfortunate 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:16.200 is that, for the first time in my life, and 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:19.679 I'm sure for the first time in your lives, we 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:24.280 are living at a time when it isn't about progression anymore. 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:29.920 It isn't about expansion of rights that were denied marginalized 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:33.440 people because at the writing of this constitution you had 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:36.400 the white men that were in power who owned other people, 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.280 telling us what the laws should look like in a 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:44.000 democratic land. I mean, let that just sink in. And 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:48.240 now you have a radicalized, corrupt Supreme Court who is 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:51.920 deciding that there is no precedent and they are going 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.760 to be the originalist. So essentially, I don't know what 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.640 the Clarence Thomas is doing on the Supreme Court, because 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.520 you know, if they want to be that original then 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:04.320 maybe I don't know. Slavery should come back, right, and 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.760 so he should have no voice and have no place. 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:14.480 I think about how hard the LGBTQ community has fought 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.280 over the last several decades, and the part, the small 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.920 part that I have played in the fight for marriage equality, 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:26.120 in the fight for dignity, respect and humanity as a 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:33.239 voice of the community. And I think that for a while, right, 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.399 and I've said this before on this show, that during 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:39.520 the Obama years, we all got comfortable because we had 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:43.919 felt that there had been decades of fighting, decades of blood, 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.680 decades of loss. I mean, if you would think about 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:51.080 the first pandemic to hit this country was the AIDS epidemic, 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.760 and because of who it was killing initially, the Reagan 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.080 administration didn't give a fuck, right, they wouldn't even utter 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:02.600 the word AIDS. So let it wipe out the queer 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:05.920 community that we think is an abomination anyway. That tells 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:11.680 you who these people are, that regardless of their sexual 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:16.079 orientation or gender identity, they were human beings that were 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.760 dying literally in the streets, and the President of the 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:24.080 United States could have given a shit right. During the 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:27.480 Obama years fast forward, we thought that we had arrived, 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.280 that we had gotten to this place where equity and 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.040 justice was going, was it within our reach, and that 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.480 we were seeing it. We were celebrating, And then we 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.520 got complacent because we believe that once things were codified 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.800 into law, which they are not, but once the Supreme 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.560 Court had made this decision to respect the rights of 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:49.960 human beings, that we would never be living at a 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:54.200 time when that same body would be the body to 0:03:54.400 --> 0:04:01.119 take away constitutional rights that are earned. So I sit 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:03.920 here today on the last day of Pride, and I'm 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:12.440 thinking to myself, we have to riot, we have to 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:16.960 get out into the streets. We have to recognize that 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:23.279 the powers that the supposed founding fathers of this nation 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:26.560 granted the people was that the will of the people 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.719 were going to move the representatives of this country and 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:32.880 not the other fucking way around. And the thing is 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.800 is that I think that our representatives have gotten way 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:39.480 too fucking comfortable right that, I've gotten a series of 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:43.600 emails and text messages from the Biden administration, from Nancy Pelosi, 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.320 and I'm like, miss me with your bullshit. I don't 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:49.280 want you all in power anymore, and I don't want 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.680 to give you power anymore. As a matter of fact, 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:56.159 I'm reclaiming my motherfucking time and my mother fucking energy, 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.200 and I'm going to put that into state and local 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.800 work right into doing the best that I can to 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:07.080 protect my little community, my hub, my space, because you 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:09.440 all don't do dick with the power that is given 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:13.479 to you. And so unless the people decide that we 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:17.080 have had enough of feckless fucking leadership, until the people 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:20.240 decide that we have had enough of people giving us 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:23.599 lip service and then doing nothing with the power that 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:25.520 we have given them, you know, I want to tell 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:31.280 you this. Kamala Harris went on and did an interview 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:36.599 with Dana Bash on CNN following the Roe v. Wade decision, 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:44.039 and Dana Bash asked a very basic fucking question, what 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:50.880 do you say to Democrats who voted to get you 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:56.279 in office, who voted for a democratic House, who voted 0:05:56.320 --> 0:06:01.200 for the democratic control of the Senate and are saying, 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:06.440 do something, do something now. Vice President Harris's response to 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:14.560 that very clear question was do what now? You're the 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.480 vice president of the United States. The last time I checked, 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:22.640 this wasn't just a figurehead position, right that the president 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:26.120 and the vice president of these United States have the 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:29.160 power to get things done, but need the actual will 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:33.760 to do so. The democratic establishment is sitting around, and 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.719 even Republicans, as my colleague on the other show that 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:41.159 I do democracy Ish said, even Republicans are saying in 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:44.560 quiet like, I can't believe Democrats aren't pushing back more 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.280 as to what is happening right now? Yeah, so are 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:52.400 the rest of us sending a fundraising fucking email about 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:55.760 Roe v. Wade instead of putting it together an action plan, 0:06:56.120 --> 0:07:01.640 instead of putting abortion clinics on, like stay fucking lines 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:06.160 right so that people don't have to figure out how 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.680 they're going to travel cross state lines, get plane tickets, 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:15.200 and do all of these things. Figuring out the strategic, creative, 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:19.800 innovative ways to fucking protect the very people that voted 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.440 for you, instead of throwing up your hands and saying, 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:25.520 do what now, then get the fuck out of the way, 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:30.680 Because I am coming this close to starting to actively 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:35.000 call for Democrats who actually give a shit, like Alexandrio 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.760 Cassio Cortez and Cory Bush and the others, to fucking 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:42.480 mobilize the Third Party, because I am so tired of 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:47.000 being told what Democrats can't do and what they're unwilling 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:50.920 to do because those that are in leadership are wealthy, 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.320 and they are white, and they are protected, and they 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.600 think that the rest of us, oh, you'll get another 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.440 shot at some point. But what is how opening in 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:02.760 this country? Now? What we the rest of us are 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:04.920 going to have to live with for the next thirty 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:08.400 forty fifty years, they'll be long dead and gone, so 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:14.760 they could really care less. So without the actions of 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.640 people recognizing that it is time for us to hit 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:21.080 these streets, It's time for a national fucking work boycott. 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:25.320 It's time for us to shut this ship down and 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:29.080 to remind these elected officials who exactly they work for. 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:34.440 And I'm saying, you know, I don't advocate for violence 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:37.680 at all. I don't advocate for violence, but I want 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:42.400 to be very clear that the right does that they 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:45.600 are advocating for violence. That each and every measure that 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.800 you are seeing coming out of this Supreme Court. Each 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.240 and everything that you're seeing coming out of the mouths 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:55.360 of Republican candidates is a flare. Is a signal to 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:57.600 what they are willing to do and how far they 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.840 are willing to go in order to control this country 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.280 and everyone and everything in it. So if we're not 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:08.480 ready and willing, right, everyone needs to start thinking about 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.520 what they're going to be willing to sacrifice and stand 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.240 up for in order to fight for our freedom, because 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.880 it's going to be us on the front lines, not 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.280 these elected officials that are sitting up in their fucking 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:24.880 ivory towers, praying and wagging their fingers at their opponents 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:27.920 that literally seventeen months ago tried to fucking kill them. 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:30.679 If that wasn't a wake up call, I don't know 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:32.640 what the hell is, but I know the rest of 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:37.080 us are not hitting snooze anymore. Coming up next, my 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:43.120 conversation with Representative Liz Bennett, who will be who just 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:48.000 won her state Senate primary and if she wins come November, 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.680 will be the first out LGBTQ member of the Iowa 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:55.160 State Senate. We get into a conversation about how important 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:59.040 states are right now and what she sees as she 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.000 is campaigning on the ground in Iowa about the sense 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:10.319 of urgency that people have. That conversation is coming up next. 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:15.080 Indisputable with Doctor Rashid Ricci is one of the latest 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:18.720 shows on the TYT Network and also the fastest growing 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:22.360 news show in America. On his show, Doctor Ricci plays 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.800 no games regarding policy, delivering a heavy dose of fact 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:29.600 based truth and penetrating analysis on all the top news stories, 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:35.000 focusing on racism, criminal and social justice, politics, police brutality, Karens, 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:39.280 and much more. Listeners can also expect interviews with fascinating guests, 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.960 political leaders, commentators, and even fiery debates with conservatives on 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.600 a wide range of policy topics in the Bullpen. It 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.679 is an indisputable fact that you will love this show. 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:55.680 Listen to Indisputable with Doctor rashad Ricci on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.520 or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:00.920 you hear, be sure to sub all right so you 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:10.400 never miss a new episode. Hey I'm David, Plots of 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:15.480 slates political gabfest. As another election season accelerates, it can 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.280 be tricky to sort through all the noise and the news. 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.520 Each week on the gap Fest, John Dickerson, Emily Bathlon 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:24.240 and I decipher the headlines, break down the races, and 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:28.600 tell you what issues really matter. We do not always agree, 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:32.199 We definitely do not always agree, but we always deliver 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.880 thoughtful debate and we always have a good time. So 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:41.040 subscribe to Slate's Political Gapfest, new episodes every Thursday, Folks. 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:44.520 I'm very happy to welcome to woke f Daily for 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:49.560 the first time, Representative Liz Bennett, who is running for 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:55.800 State Senate in Iowa and is the will be let's 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:59.079 speak good things into the universe, will be the first 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:05.840 out LGBTQ woman to be in the state Senate if 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:10.959 you win your the general election. Has been a representative 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:14.680 in the House of the Iowa House since twenty fourteen 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:21.040 when you were first elected, Representative Bennett, tell me the 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:27.440 significance of that historic win for you and also for 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:31.880 the state of Iowa. Absolutely. You know, Daniel, only think 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:36.160 representation matters, and I don't think I realized that as 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:40.520 much until after I got elected. You know, when you 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.920 are a queer woman and you're running for office, you 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:48.400 can often be reduced to certain aspects of your identity. 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:50.800 So I felt like when I was running, I had 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:56.679 to extra extra lean on other things, you know, other 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.600 aspects of my identity. You know, of course I inhabit 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.680 the space of a queer woman in Iowa. But really 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:06.040 I was running. I was running on more economic issues. 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:08.679 I was running on raising the minimum wage, I was 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:13.840 running on climate change, I was running on early childhood education, 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.160 et cetera. But I felt like I had to be 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.480 extra conscious of, you know, kind of quote unquote not 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:23.480 making an issue of the queer thing. We'll just say, 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:26.720 you know, So the first year that I was there, 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.040 I mean, I mean I was out and everything, but 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.920 I just really hardly talked about it. That started to 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:36.640 change for me when school counselors who were bringing field 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:39.720 trips to the capitol would reach out and say, hey, 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.640 I heard that you are a member of the LGBTQ community. 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.240 I have some students who I think would really benefit 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:50.440 from speaking with you. And so just as that started 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.679 to happen over time and I started to speak as events, 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:56.480 I started to see how important it really was, you know, 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.400 to be out and proud in that role, especially in 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:03.240 the state of Iowa. You know, was it initially the 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:07.120 desire not to make it front and center. Was it 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:12.679 because of fear right that you know, the folks, the 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:15.400 hetero folks in Iowa would say, oh my god, we 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:19.600 can't possibly have this out queer woman, you know, representing us. 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:23.120 Or did you just not see it as necessary? Because 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:26.600 there there are there are different reasons why, you know, uh, 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.200 candidates make the decisions that they do. So I just 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.760 want to understand what your initial thought was and then 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.520 the and then the shift. Yeah. Absolutely so, No, it 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:40.359 wasn't necessarily a fear on issue at all. I'm very lucky. 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.440 Um I got my start in politics, really, um my 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:49.560 real start, you know, as a Stonewall Stonewall Democrat, Um, 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:51.720 I worked to protect marriage of quality in the state 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.360 of Iowa. So really the network that I had built 0:14:54.640 --> 0:15:02.359 was built around that training, mobilizing, voter identification, old fundraising 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.600 and stuff like that. So it wasn't that you know, 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:06.600 I was afraid or anything, because I you know, I 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:10.560 was a small place. You know, everybody knew. But it 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:13.840 was more of the feeling that, um, you know that 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:19.360 aspect of a person's identity, it can just really become 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:24.520 front and center in a person's mind. And unfortunately, you know, 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.680 there's certain issues for which a person would not be told, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.520 m oh, well that's less important or people don't really 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:37.000 care about that, you know, but I think issues pertaining 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:42.000 to marginalize people are still given that treatment. So I 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:46.680 felt like I really had to prove and remind people, Hey, 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:50.080 I am a female trainer for a technology company here 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.560 in Iowa. You know, I'm working with people. Some of 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:56.040 these folks this is going to be their first family 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.640 sustaining job. You know, I've competed in this environment. I'm 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:03.120 taking the perspective of a young professional to the state legislature. 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:07.120 I'm taking the perspective of somebody who chose to stay 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:09.920 in Iowa after graduation, who knows what it's like to 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:15.920 you know, have to work extra shifts to pay your phone, 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.160 both things like that. You know, I really had to 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:23.520 remind people that I'm a fully fledged person with a 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:27.040 lot of different experiences that connect to the struggles that 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:31.920 we're all facing. You know, what we are learning right 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:35.920 with these horrific decisions that have been brought down by 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:40.200 the Supreme Court and kind of, in my humble opinion, 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:47.080 currently a very ineffectual administration is that the power really 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.000 is in the States. So can you talk to us 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:57.440 about the importance right of of people like yourself being 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:02.160 in the state legislature and the impact UM that is 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:09.360 necessary to fight back against what we are seeing at 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:14.359 the UM at the federal at the federal level. Absolutely, Daniel, 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:17.560 I'm incredibly passionate about this, and I'm so glad that 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:19.560 you that you asked about it because you know, I 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.960 think even before I ran for office, UM, you know, 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.040 I think with my experience here working on marriage equality 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:31.400 in Iowa, you know, something that kind of shocked everybody nationwide. UM. 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:36.280 You know, even when New York states UM legalize marriage 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.560 between same same sex people. UM, it was one of 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:42.760 those like underhanded, you know, kind of shade comments where 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.840 they said, come on, even Iowa has this, but what 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:51.760 that right? Right? I was like, yeah, okay, whatever, you 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:55.160 don't know, you don't know anything about us, but whatever, right, 0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:00.080 you know. But that's just a small illustration of of 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.719 you know, especially for folks who are living in really 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:10.119 difficult states and difficult political situations. UM, the progressive activism 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:14.240 there really makes a difference. You know, polsters are looking 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:18.479 at what people believe in some of these states. UM. 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.480 You know, in a state like Iowa, you know, we 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:26.240 still are currently first in the nation with the Caucuses. Um, 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:29.360 you know, so what happens here, you know, for me, 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:31.919 really is a way to influence what happens in the 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:35.800 rest of the nation. Um. You know now that we 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:40.440 don't have a right to privacy, apparently now that your 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:44.840 trash can has more of an expectation of privacy than 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:50.640 your uterus. Damn, it's right. It's mind blowing. It's it's 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.119 just mind blowing. It's one of these things. You know, 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:57.280 maybe you feel like this sometimes, Daniel. We know these things, 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.119 you know, we know these things, but I think it's 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:06.919 a coping mechanism. It's almost like it's still unbelievable or 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:12.600 it's still shocking. And I really think that's because it 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:16.960 really is so much to internalize that, like literally, a 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:23.000 trash can, a trash can, a corpse has has more rights. Um. 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:26.240 You know, So when we're talking about getting thrown back 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:31.560 to the States, Um, you know, people have to know 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:36.320 that what has happened at the federal level is the 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:40.919 result of a concerted effort unfortunately by people. We know, 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:45.600 people we say at the gas station, yep, our neighbors, 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:49.040 our friends, our family members, and so what that means 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:53.760 is that we have to get active in our communities. Um. 0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:57.840 That's gonna look like grassroots organizing in my opinion. UM, 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:02.520 it's gonna look like looking really looking at the numbers 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:09.880 and statewide organizations, looking at realistically what state legislative seats 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:16.439 could be could be turned or kept with additional capacity 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:23.320 and funds. It's gonna look like you know, for forty 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:26.560 nine years, the right has been looking at building their 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:30.560 bench and not allowing people to get away with saying 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:33.480 things like, oh well, on the city council level, I 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:35.560 would never have to make a decision on that, or 0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:39.400 this is a nonpartisan office. Um. You know, we hear 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:41.600 that all the time. But we know that these local 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:46.720 races are a springboard, you know, to state in national politics. 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.960 And we also know that locally elected officials m you know, 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:57.560 who are on more directly answerable to citizens, can actually 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:03.360 make decisions. I mean, locally electeds can make zoning decisions. Um, yep, 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.800 you know they can. They can make curriculum decisions, yep. 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:13.640 Um you know county attorneys um, you know, and even 0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:17.000 attorneys general of states can make decisions on what is 0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:21.879 prosecuted um in your state. Um, you know we I 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:25.560 think we've talked about this a lot um, but you know, 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:30.080 your mayor and your city council, UM, they can hire 0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:35.000 and fire the people who work for the police department. UM. 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:38.200 You know, so your county attorney, your your local elected officials, 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:42.679 your police, you know on up to your state legislative officials. 0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:47.880 We really can make a difference in those races. One 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:51.600 of the questions that I am listening to people ask 0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:58.640 these days is about the sustaining the anger right, sustaining 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:03.720 the rage, sustaining the fury that we have right now, 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:07.160 recognizing that a body of people who are not elected 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:09.880 by the people have the ability to strip away our 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:13.960 rights as they see fit, and they have made no 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:18.560 small qualms that the Supreme Court is about to roll 0:22:18.640 --> 0:22:21.879 back a series of protections that have been won over 0:22:22.359 --> 0:22:26.760 the last fifty, you know, two one hundred years. So 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:30.320 my question for you is, what do you believe is 0:22:30.359 --> 0:22:34.919 going to activate the Democrats and the independence in your state? 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:38.760 What do you think is going to sustain them to November? 0:22:39.359 --> 0:22:44.600 Right to recognize what they have to do in order 0:22:44.920 --> 0:22:52.200 for there to be continued progress. Here's the deal. I've 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:56.280 always told people that that I would be honest with 0:22:56.320 --> 0:23:00.640 them and not bullshit them. Danielle, I am honestly working 0:23:00.640 --> 0:23:03.600 that out. I am trying to figure it out right 0:23:03.600 --> 0:23:07.840 now because my biggest worry is that, you know, again, 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:11.760 maybe it's kind of a trauma response. Um, I'm still 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:16.080 hearing people say, oh, that would never happen here. I 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:18.720 don't get it. I don't get how. I don't get 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:21.960 how people can still say that after last week. I 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:25.239 just don't get it. I think another another thing that 0:23:25.320 --> 0:23:28.439 I need to go away because we have to be 0:23:28.480 --> 0:23:30.400 real with ourselves right now. We have to be real 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:32.480 with ourselves. We have to be real with our friends 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:35.919 or family members, etc. Um. You know, a big motivator 0:23:36.000 --> 0:23:38.879 for me in my life is really thinking about like 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:42.000 when you look back on your life, you know, and 0:23:42.200 --> 0:23:45.360 and look back at the conflicts of your time, what 0:23:45.400 --> 0:23:49.159 will you have done? You know? And for me you know? 0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:50.960 And this this is as a you know, a young 0:23:51.040 --> 0:23:54.240 activist all the way up until now. Am I going 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:58.359 to feel okay with it? Um? If I shrugged my 0:23:58.400 --> 0:24:03.040 shoulders or made an excuse us, etc. And I mean 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:06.280 that is something that I have said to people in 0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:09.159 the past when I'm asking them to get involved and 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:12.680 to do grassroots work. And as people have told me, like, well, 0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:16.159 you're using guilt, you're using fear. No, I'm talking to 0:24:16.200 --> 0:24:21.719 you about reality, and no one is doing you a 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:25.840 favor by not telling you the reality and allowing you 0:24:25.880 --> 0:24:30.880 to make a choice. You know. So I I am 0:24:30.920 --> 0:24:33.960 honestly still trying to wrap my head around what if 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:36.840 actually going to be because you know, some people in 0:24:36.880 --> 0:24:43.280 political science research have opined, you know, or whatever, written 0:24:43.320 --> 0:24:47.879 that there seems to be a fundamental personality difference or 0:24:47.960 --> 0:24:51.320 kind of a difference in what we value and prioritize. 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:55.000 I'm depending on where we fall at in the political spectrum, yep, 0:24:57.280 --> 0:25:01.359 you know. So somehow or another, we have to somehow 0:25:01.480 --> 0:25:06.840 figure out how to take who we are as people 0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:11.800 who are left of center and make it sustainable. UM. 0:25:11.920 --> 0:25:15.000 I do think that, um, you know, for both the 0:25:15.000 --> 0:25:18.880 state and the national party. Um. This kind of what 0:25:18.960 --> 0:25:20.880 I see in my role is this kind of every 0:25:20.920 --> 0:25:24.560 two year cycle of like okay, okay, everybody, this time, 0:25:24.760 --> 0:25:26.640 this time, we're going to flip one of the chambers. 0:25:26.640 --> 0:25:29.480 That's that's what we're gonna be doing. Um. I think 0:25:29.520 --> 0:25:32.439 that we're we need to reorient ourselves. The time has 0:25:32.480 --> 0:25:36.880 passed for us to rewarient ourselves yep, and really sit 0:25:36.960 --> 0:25:39.359 and say, we are going to have to have some 0:25:39.440 --> 0:25:45.520 intestinal fortitude. Um. We need to define the long term 0:25:45.560 --> 0:25:48.680 mission and we need to be able to know what 0:25:48.720 --> 0:25:52.679 the pieces along the way are. Um, this is what 0:25:52.720 --> 0:25:55.520 the anti choice movement did. You know, they've known that 0:25:55.560 --> 0:25:58.120 They've just been chipping away, chipping away, putting things into 0:25:58.160 --> 0:26:00.600 place over the long term. But I think a lot 0:26:00.640 --> 0:26:03.320 of times for people who are left of center, um, 0:26:03.600 --> 0:26:06.320 you know, we kind of need that that immediate feel 0:26:06.320 --> 0:26:10.600 good or that immediate victory. Otherwise we are really proud 0:26:12.000 --> 0:26:15.200 to being like, oh, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter 0:26:15.280 --> 0:26:18.480 if I do anything. Um, I have news for you, m. 0:26:19.000 --> 0:26:23.200 Voter suppression laws all across the nation are not being 0:26:23.200 --> 0:26:26.840 pushed because it doesn't matter if we vote. Like, don't 0:26:26.880 --> 0:26:28.720 get me wrong, I'm not one of the people who's 0:26:28.760 --> 0:26:31.200 just shouting, oh, we'll just you know, just vote, it'll 0:26:31.240 --> 0:26:34.280 fix everything. No, we have a lot harder, you know, 0:26:34.440 --> 0:26:39.440 road to hell than that. Yep, yep. But I I'm 0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:42.639 just gonna be straight up. Anybody saying that it doesn't matter, 0:26:45.000 --> 0:26:48.320 I think for some people that's a very privileged perspective. Um, 0:26:48.480 --> 0:26:50.560 maybe it's a trauma response for some people, and for 0:26:50.600 --> 0:26:54.760 other people it's a lazy perspective. You know. One of 0:26:54.800 --> 0:26:56.840 the questions that I want to ask you too is 0:26:56.880 --> 0:27:00.080 that you know your state is very white, right and 0:27:00.119 --> 0:27:03.680 as a as a black queer woman, Um, when I 0:27:03.760 --> 0:27:07.960 am in bipoc circles, there is a sense there has 0:27:08.000 --> 0:27:10.879