WEBVTT - Legends in Politics 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:08.000 Welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast, an NFL podcast for 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:13.119 the players, by the players. Here is your host, four 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:16.560 team year NFL veteran and Hall of Famer Anius Williams. 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.040 Hello and welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast. I'm a 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:31.920 Nius Williams. It is an election year and today we're 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:36.280 going to talk about the other contacts for it politics 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.320 and we have two legends who have made the transition 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:45.680 from football to congress. First, we have as right tackle 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.360 who became a two term congressman from New Jersey, the 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:56.880 great John Runyon Philadelphia Eagles. We also have Scott Turner, 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:01.480 who I can out run. He will admit that, who 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.120 played eight seasons, served in Congress and now words for 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:09.959 the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Welcome, gentlemen. I 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.320 do apologize I could never out run Scott, So let's 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:17.960 get that straightforward for the truth. At what point, John 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.840 did you decide you wanted to get in politics. It 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:26.560 was a weird kind of it was a transition. Obviously, 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:30.920 an injury slash surgery ended my career and there was 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.640 an opportunity to run. You know, I took it as 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:40.399 service ultimately, and you know, we'll get into it as 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.240 we talk here, but it became a lot more than that. 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.680 And you know, the the stuff you had to go 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:52.640 through was it was enlightening. It was depression at the 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.680 same time, but it was it was something real, and 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:58.920 it was just an opportunity that I took to actually 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:01.560 serve the community there, you know, because I've been on 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.000 many you know, I still sit on you know, like 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.560 the Alzheimer's Association, a couple of veterans boards and all 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:10.040 that kind of stuff. But that was the next step. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:12.799 And then you get there and you peep behind the curtain, 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:18.240 you go, oh, my lord, but John, you so you injured? 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.440 No punt on word. If you decide to run, you 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.600 get injured, you decide to run politics. But why politics? 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.600 Were you involved in politics while playing? I think like 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.840 most Americans, I was fed up and part of my 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.160 friends with the BS and I was fed up with it. 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:37.920 And it's like you just need somebody that's a straight shooter, 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.160 and it's not gonna lie to you, because here's what 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:45.160 it is. When you look at I actually hate the 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.680 problem with it is people called politics. It's not politics, 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.359 it's governing. And when you when you look at governing, 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:57.520 what is governing. It's parenting slash coaching your kids, like 0:02:57.560 --> 0:02:59.480 what you have to tell them every day. Not at all. 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:04.120 That's the reality of the situation. Now politics is all 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:08.200 you know, well, you know, let's divide and you know, 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.320 and divide and run to the extremes. I always say 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:14.680 when politics is a very you know, in the House, 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:18.360 you need two eighteen votes to pascity thing, So put 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:21.960 those put those votes on a bell shaped curve. So 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.280 everything gets done in the hump in the middle. And obviously, myself, 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:29.440 being a Republican from New Jersey, very moderate, I goes 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:33.880 all the stuff you hear, you know, on the radio, television, 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.000 in the paper are out here on the tails. And 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:40.640 when everybody latches to that, because it's politically convenient to 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.600 latch to that, you start to stretch those tails. What happens, 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:46.760 that hump comes out of the middle of the curve 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:52.240 and absolutely nothing gets done. And I've always you know, 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.520 I told I've told, I told my chief of staff this. 0:03:55.760 --> 0:04:00.080 I told um at the time, Speaker Banner, that I 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:01.400 was I can vote any way I want you on 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.840 any piece of legislation, as long as I'm willing to 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.760 go home and put the time in and communicate my 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:10.800 decision to my constituents. And I've called people out. I 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:13.640 did it in front of the Republican Conference several times, 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.360 Like people are just lazy. You're not willing to actually 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:20.279 go home and do the work and explain yourself. You're 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.720 taking the politically convenient way out and actually going through 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.839 the edges and stretching those tales out. And when you 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:31.240 say politically convenient way out, what do you define? What 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:34.320 do you mean John, when you say politics versus governing? 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:42.520 Because politics, they always go, well, it's outside of my principles. 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.320 So what are your principles? How many politicians you know 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.960 that have have been in it forever and they voted, 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:51.599 you know, ten years ago they voted this way and 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:54.400 now they're voting in the exact opposite way. So what 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:58.480 are truly your principles? No, it's called it's called doing 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:04.719 what's right. And and what times change issues? The issues 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:08.720 never really changed, you know, what are the major issues? Taxes, healthcare, military, 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:12.760 all that, they never change, but it's how they fit 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:16.599 into what your constituents are and what the country feels. 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:20.320 So you you you have to be somewhat malleable in 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:24.040 that in that situation, and a lot of people just say, 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.040 I'm principally opposed to it, so therefore I'm not for it. 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:31.120 But they're not having the discussion, they're not communicating, and 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.440 that that was a big frustrating part for me and Scott. 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:38.760 How did you what made you decide get a politic? Well, 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:42.080 that's a good question, and it was service um when 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:45.080 I got out of the NFL. Prior to getting out 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:48.760 of NFL, intern with a gentleman named Congressman Duncan Hunter, 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.719 who was in part who served with John the father, 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:55.479 Duncan Hunter Jr. With me when you start with you, Okay, 0:05:55.520 --> 0:06:00.200 well we won't talk about him. So the father, uh 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.520 was Duncan hun Senior and he was a chairman of 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.279 the Armed Services Committee, and so I had a great 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:08.560 opportunity to serve as an intern with him, and I 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.920 played for the Broncos, and I saw really what being 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:14.640 a true statesman looked like, you know, because you hear 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.200 a lot of things in politics about politics when you're 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.360 on the outside, and so when I was with him, 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:21.560 I actually got to see how true statesman, who was 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.720 also a chairman, you know, of a major committee in Congress, 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:28.320 how he carried himself, how he treated people, whether they 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.039 were in politics or outside. I mean, I saw him 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:34.839 literally treat uh constituents back in the East County of 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.520 San Diego that had been known him for twenty years, 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:39.400 but none of us in this room and never even 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:42.280 know their name. He treated them just as well as 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.560 he treated the President of the United States. And when 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:47.720 I saw that, you know, I was very encouraged. When 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:51.120 I moved back home to Dallas, UM they said there 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.640 was a new seat coming open, a state House seat 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:59.480 coming open because of redistricting. And the platform that I 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.560 had had that I had in the NFL of serving players, 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:06.080 of serving our community, of serving people, I wanted to 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.239 continue that in serving the state of Texas where I'm from, 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.400 where I was born and raised. And the frustrating, like 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:14.800 John said, what are the frustrations that I had, was 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:18.960 humility in being a servant leader, because I didn't see 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:22.040 a lot of humility in our elected officials. What is 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:26.240 a statesman? So a statesman to me is someone who 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:30.720 carries themselves in the most upright manner him or herself. 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.840 Um that you take very seriously the position of which 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:38.400 the people elected YouTube. And when I say take it seriously, 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.880 meaning that not that you're above them, but that everything 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:45.760 you do you do in integrity and above reproach. A 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:50.200 statesman is someone who, whether they're with you or whether 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:52.560 they're not with you, whether they're in your presence or 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:54.600 in your absence, you can trust that they're going to 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:58.280 do the right thing. A statesman there's someone who is 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:02.960 an advocate for all of those whom elected them to office, 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:07.280 whether they're popular or not. A statesman is someone who, 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.520 when they give you their word, you know they're gonna 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:13.400 make true on the word the trustworthy. And I remember 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:14.880 one day when I was sitting in the House of 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.160 Representatives and it was done a budget debate, so it 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.240 was late at night. Don't use that word, Okay, don't 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:25.040 use what word John, budget? What we we balanced the 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:29.560 budget in Texas. In Texas, because a budget would assume 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:33.840 that there's a balance money and money out, not so much. 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:39.840 It's a spending that's what it is. Well, we balanced 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:42.040 a budget every two years, because we're in the House, 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:45.120 we're incessant every two years. We're so we're bi annually. 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:47.840 And so we were having this debate on the floor 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:50.520 and I was sitting there and I was hearing both 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.480 Democrats and Republicans going back and forth, back and forth. 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:57.240 We're really no consensus, really no no end game or 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.200 vision in mind. And I was sitting there and I 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.280 was like, you know, we need more statesmen in our 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:06.880 country than we need politicians. And politicians to you, I 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:08.680 heard what Johnson, But what do you mean when you 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.319 say politicians? To me, is somebody to make decisions based 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:15.320 upon being reelected? A politician to me as someone who 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:19.240 makes the decision not based upon principle or based upon 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:22.040 their conviction, but really based upon you know, is this 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:26.120 gonna keep me in good favor it's convenience. Is this 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.680 gonna keep me in good favor with the leadership? Is 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:31.640 this gonna, you know, cause me any kind of contention 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:34.200 back home? Or is this gonna keep me as a 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.960 committee chairman? Those that's what politicians do. And politicians are 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.760 also those people who want to be elected and would 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.600 do everything they can to keep their position. Statesmen say, 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.000 I'm coming to serve for a certain period of time. 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.600 I'm gonna do my job. I'm in a humble manner 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.520 with integrity to serve my community, and then I'm going home. 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:55.520 There's a there's a big difference between statesman and politicians. 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.360 So would you say listening to that, because if I 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:03.040 want to get elected, if I become quote unquote the statesman, 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:11.160 meaning making decisions in this room because it's right, not necessarily, 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:15.080 what if what my constituents want is not right? When 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:17.280 I faced that, because a lot of times I made 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:21.000 decisions where some constituents back home and say, no, we 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.880 want you to do the opposite thing. And I've had 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.360 to take some really hard votes, as John has as well. 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:31.040 But one thing I found is that because they respected 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.480 me for the man that I that I am, even 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:36.719 though I made a decision that went against what they 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.520 thought I should do, I had no problem in being 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:42.240 reelected because they could trust that what I said I 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:45.240 was gonna do and that my conviction was such that 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.480 I did what I thought was the right thing. And 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.040 they trust you even if they don't agree with you 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:55.680 on a If they can trust you, then you have 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.560 no problem. You should have no problems being re elected 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:03.440 and um may containing your position as a representative, because 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:05.839 it's very easy politicis that can make one decision to 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:07.640 day And I totally they're like John said ten years 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:10.320 later to make a whole different decision. Well, our constituents 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:13.760 don't deserve that that there's somebody who's gonna be consistent 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:18.280 and trustworthy, Johnna. The any parallels with football that you 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.440 learned that's helped to help you prepare for being an 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.360 elected official, Oh, I mean a lot of them. I 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:28.640 mean specifically coming from playing offensive why you know, the 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:31.719 own Sun hero. No one's talking about you until you 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:36.000 mess something. You know, you guys got credit for things 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:39.280 that we never got credit for. We only got acknowledged 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.320 for our mistakes, you know. And and and it's a 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:46.080 lot that so like, like we say, it's like, you know, 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:50.680 when you look across the political spectrum, there's a role 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:54.240 for everybody, and you all have different constituents that have 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.760 different needs and different wants and all that type of stuff, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:01.079 and you have to represent them regardless. But at some 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.320 point you have it. On the football team, at some point, 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.600 you know, you know, you want your you know, you 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:10.760 want your pass breakups, you want your tackles and all that. Well, 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.319 I'm trying not to give up a sack. It's a 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:18.199 totally different, you know, statistic there, But at some point 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:22.000 we all have to come together, you know, and and 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.120 it's it gets to the point where they want to 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:30.280 win everything. But sometimes, like when you're backed up in 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.679 the end zone, it's good enough to get ten yards 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.400 and get your punter room to punt and change the 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.920 field position. And you know, using those analogies a lot 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.520 of time, and they do use them, but they don't 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.320 believe in them because they don't they haven't lived, they 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.960 haven't lived, and it's it's sometimes it's really hard to 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.800 express that that type of stuff. And it's also it's 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.400 also the thing like you don't want your teammate like 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:57.240 you know, after a game or you know, in a 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:00.280 press conference, throwing you under the bus, like it's like, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.560 let's keep let's keep our differences in house, and let's 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:07.120 just move the ball forward. And that that's where the 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.480 politics comes in, because they go out and it's like, well, 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:12.080 I'm gonna I'm gonna go out here and do this 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.960 press conference and beat my chest and you know, say 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.840 this is ridiculous and this that's ridiculous. One of the 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.160 great things I know John Bayner said in the beginning 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.320 when I got elected, he goes, never say what you 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:28.920 won't do, because you never know what did that mean? 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:33.120 To you. It's it's really it's like because depending on 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:37.480 how deep you get into any issue and how well 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:39.840 you know that issue, the more the more you dig 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:43.400 into it, it's going to change your mind eventually. So 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:47.160 never say you won't do it. So it's it's really 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:51.160 about gaining knowledge and that's and it's learning, and it's 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.920 like Scott said, it's like it's talking to everyone possibly 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:57.280 you can. I know, you know, there's a lot of 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:00.440 members that just won't take meetings with certain people just 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.560 because of their political affiliation or you know where they're 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.040 coming from. I was like, no, I'm gonna every time 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.880 I have conversations with somebody, I'm gonna learn something from them. 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:11.720 So the more I could talk to people, the more 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:13.360 I'm gonna learn, the better I'm gonna be off, and 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.040 the better decision I can make at the end of 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:20.160 the day. Scott, how is winning an election similar or 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:26.240 dissimilar to winning the game. There are similarities because even 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:29.480 when in an election, you have an end goal in 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:33.560 mind that you want to win the election, be elected, 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:37.040 and serve the people. In sports, you have an end 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.440 goal in mind every Monday when we come in and 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:41.840 we start the process. The end goal is that on 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:46.480 Sunday we walk up the field winners. Um, the feeling 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:50.320 is somewhat similar and somewhat different. You know, you get 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.680 an exhilarating feeling because you won. I remember when I 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:55.680 got elected and they called and say, hey, you wont 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.520 I just remember the first thing I thought about is 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.160 how many signs I put out, how many round tables 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.760 I've done, how many doors, thousands of doors I've knocked on, 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:05.480 you know, how many people I've talked to. And so 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:07.840 when you get that phone call and said you won 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:12.920 the election, instance, there's a very exhilarating sense of accomplishment, 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:16.800 sense of whoa, I'm glad that's over in a good way, 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:19.520 and a sense of okay, what's next. And so there's 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.320 a lot of similarities. Got to give back the work, 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:24.280 you know, because as soon as I got elected, the 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.800 first after you know, that stuck in the first thing 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.480 I thought about, Okay, what are my priorities I talked 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:32.760 about him in the campaign. I said, okay, now you know, 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:34.960 now I can go implement these or talk about these 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.880 in the house. Did you colleagues treat you any differently 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:42.400 because you're an NFL experience? Oh yeah, I want you 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.400 a part of that group. Hey, we don't care where 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.640 you come from, but they treat you a little different 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.200 than you. I think that that kind of goes to 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.400 I think where we've kind of went off the rails 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:57.040 in politics because it was supposed to. You know, back 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.400 two years ago when this started, you know, you left 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.560 your print shot, you left the farm, you know, and 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:07.560 you came and served. Now what happens. We have a 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:14.040 bunch of people that mhm, study political science undergrad got 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:18.360 a j d. Law degree in college, and I'll throw 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:20.520 them under the bus right now. There are a bunch 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:22.400 of people that probably will never make partner in the 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:24.360 law firm, and all of a sudden they decided to 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:27.960 run for politics. We have enough of those. We need 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.840 more real people and bringing those experiences I used stay 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:35.520 it on the campaign trol all the time. We all fall, 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:37.800 we all fail, and we all get up and we 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.880 dust ourselves off in very different ways. I may get 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:42.560 up on my left knee first, You get up on 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:44.920 your right knee first. You know, my back may hurt. 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:48.040 I've learned lessons from that fall. But you've got to 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:51.880 have that that that swath of experiences to bring that 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:56.400 because it's not easy. It's very very complicated. That's why 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.600 it's it's really really hard to fix because they're very 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.360 confident caterd issues and say you're gonna just gonna in 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:06.400 a stroke of a pen and you know, two piece 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:09.720 of legislation, you're going to solve the country's problems. It 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:15.399 ain't gonna happen. It's constant, constantly going out learning, educating people, 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:19.159 letting people know why you did what you did and 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:21.280 why you didn't do what you didn't do, and all 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:26.760 that kind of stuff. It's it's challenging, and it's no 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.520 different than beyond the football field. You know, game plans 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:31.760 change week to week depending on who the opponent is, 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:36.080 you know, you know, and legislation changes day to day. 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:38.639 But the fans will get to vote on what plays 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:42.600 are called. They don't, but tell them about that. But 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:44.440 look at that. I mean, fans don't get to vote 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:48.800 on what plays is called. But you know, you look 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:51.479 at that, and it's just like it's no different than 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:54.119 the coaching staff, Like all right, the coach thinks this 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:55.800 is the best thing one So when you look at 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:58.800 the structure of like just say leadership in any of 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.679 those governing bodies. You know, they're the ones that have 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:04.200 the experience of the knowledge and all of that. Kind 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:07.040 of Stuft was like, this is the best path forward 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:12.120 for the team, Yeah, overall overall, And the players don't 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.640 really get to vote on that. No, you're just like going. 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.160 But it's a lot correct, it's not. It's a lot 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:23.240 like that in in in government. But you have a 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.159 saying at the end of the day, you can say no. 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.440 But if they if it makes enough sense enough people 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.640 are gonna go with it and then try to try 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.359 to run that play. It's not necessarily gonna work. So 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:38.840 here's a great question. Ten years with Arizona only one 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.199 year in the playoffs with me first ten years in 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:46.760 the league, I'm listening to the challenges. I'm listening to you, John. 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:50.879 When you're a perennial losing teams like that, there's a 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:54.520 tendency for players to become losers. So one of the 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:57.960 things was to be to be a thermostat, not at 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:01.439 thermometer thermometer, as you guys will go up and down 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:06.560 based on the losing instead of working your butt off regardless. 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.920 Because players don't necessarily totally control outcome of a game. 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:16.560 How have you been able to stay hopeful when you've 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:20.160 been seeing the things that you've talked about, John, have 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:23.480 you have have you maintained, Oh, we still can win 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:26.600 in this country at this? Tell them about that. Like 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:30.480 I said, I mean, there's there's good in everybody. You 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:33.199 can either choose to look at the good or you 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:35.840 can choose to go to the negative. Boy, So let's 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:38.439 just let's take the view and say what can we 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:42.639 agree on and let's do it. You know there's you know, 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.840 and then once we do something, because you've been on 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:51.320 teams when you're winning, that confidence builds and that you know, 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:55.840 that emotion starts to grow and it it just explodes 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:58.880 on you. But if you're always saying it's like woe 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.320 is me? This this? You know, this sucks and all 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:05.120 this kind of stuff, like winning is a lot harder 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:08.560 than harder than losing, because losing you just show, like 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:10.640 you know, when you're in the legislature, you just stow 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:14.560 your hands up, say no to everything. That's an easy way. 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.679 How do you find a solution? And you have to 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:21.240 find a good in people and find what you agree 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:24.360 on and actually have conversations with them. It happens more 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:28.959 often than not. But the unfortunate part I think, you know, 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:33.159 when you throw the word politics in it, it becomes 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:36.439 it becomes a sound bite, it becomes a tweet, it 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:40.159 becomes a you know, a clip on the evening news, 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:44.040 and that's what they're playing to. And that's the frustrating 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:47.040 part about it because and I've served with a lot 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:49.520 of them, and I'm like, why do you go out 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.040 and say that, because I know you're not that person. 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.080 You're just trying to get a hit, because you're trying 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:57.840 to get reelected. If you do the right thing and 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:01.480 you communicate with your constituents, you don't have a problem 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:06.359 getting reelected. But that's that's kind of the world we're living, 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:09.040 and it's frustrating. And that's frankly why I stepped away 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:14.880 from Wow Scott. At Southern University where I attended, my 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:18.200 brother was vice president and student government association, I didn't 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:22.320 care anything about governance at all, only kind up running 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:26.760 for sophomore class sentator. I want when I got in 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:30.640 the room and sort of budget that that amount of money, 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.960 it's like sixty million dollars for the student governments to govern. 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:36.760 I'm looking around the room. First of all I know 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:39.480 about me. I'm in here only because of my brother. 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:45.399 I'm thinking they allow us to decide what's gonna happen 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:51.360 with sixty million dollars. So when I have that perspective 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:56.679 some inexperiencing young students who had no clue about what 0:21:56.760 --> 0:22:01.640 we were doing, did you ever feel that in the room, 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:07.240 what this huge now trillion dollar billion dollar budget? Yeah, 0:22:07.280 --> 0:22:09.680 and that's and I want to answer that. Then I'm 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:11.400 gonna go back to the course you as John, Yes, 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:14.240 because you go in and kind of be overwhelming, you know, 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:16.919 in particularly in Texas As I said, you know, we 0:22:16.960 --> 0:22:19.720 meet every other year and we and one of our 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:23.760 constitutional obligations is to balance the budget. What do you 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:27.240 mean you meet every idience the budget. We're in session 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:31.159 every years, that every year. Yeah, because we're called servant 0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:34.240 lead too, so we are people in texts that have 0:22:34.320 --> 0:22:36.880 businesses or to have jobs, and you step away from 0:22:36.880 --> 0:22:40.040 that like it was from the origination, the original. So 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:42.600 you were never really supposed to be lifetime, full time 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:48.160 no elected officials. That's how and so we serve you're 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:52.280 always elected for those two years, barring anything that happens, 0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:56.000 but you're only in session for one and forty days 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:58.360 every other year. And one of the things we were 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:00.879 constitutionally mandated to do is balt us the budget and 0:23:01.000 --> 0:23:03.800 textas we have about a two D D and fifteen 0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:08.159 billion dollar budget and you're one of one fifty you know, 0:23:08.480 --> 0:23:11.879 representatives to make a decision on passing the budget, and 0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:14.520 so that could be quite overwhelming, especially my first session. 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:16.400