Speaker 1: You're listening to Comedy Central.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Davery Show. My guest tonight is
Speaker 2: a former GOP lawmaker who is the Advisory Council co
Speaker 2: chair of Power the Polls, a national, non partisan effort
Speaker 2: to recruit the next generation of POE workers to ensure
Speaker 2: safe and fay elections for all voters. Please welcome Representative
Speaker 2: Adam Kinsinger.
Speaker 1: Now Congressman. Congressman.
Speaker 2: Thanks will be on the show.
Speaker 1: Great to be here.
Speaker 2: Thank you stuck your neck out politically and personally to
Speaker 2: put politics over personal benefit the party. Someone say country
Speaker 2: over pot. I need to speak against Trump despite being
Speaker 2: a congressman for the Republicans. Why the did you do that?
Speaker 1: I ask myself that every day.
Speaker 2: No.
Speaker 3: Look, I really had no other option. I mean, so,
Speaker 3: I wear on my wrist the name of a guy
Speaker 3: Andreas O'Keeffe, who I knew, who was killed in Iraq,
Speaker 3: and I'm an Iraq veteran, and I just remember thinking
Speaker 3: when I ran for Congress the first time, if we're
Speaker 3: going to ask young people to be willing to die
Speaker 3: for a country, like to be willing to fight and
Speaker 3: die the ultimate sacrifice. If I go into politics, I
Speaker 3: have to be willing to give my career for the
Speaker 3: same cause.
Speaker 1: It's such a.
Speaker 3: Minor sacrifice in comparison to what we ask people to
Speaker 3: do every day.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but what was what was your problem with Trump? Well?
Speaker 3: I don't know, you know, the fascism, the overthrowing the government,
Speaker 3: you know, those kinds of things.
Speaker 2: I mean you would think that's a pretty big issue,
Speaker 2: but I guess not big enough. I mean, you have
Speaker 2: insight because you were in Congress from twenty eleven until
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, I think, and so you have kind
Speaker 2: of behind the scenes access. You talk to these people
Speaker 2: all the time, and I think it's very popular to
Speaker 2: say America has never been more divisive than is now.
Speaker 2: You have perspective on it. You know, you've been that
Speaker 2: UF a long time and you were working day. Is
Speaker 2: that true? Was it device way flat way in? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean, look, it's you know, behind the scenes. It's
Speaker 3: kind of like any job. So people will fight on
Speaker 3: the air, you know, within Congress, and then when the
Speaker 3: cameras come off, you shake each other's hands, maybe go
Speaker 3: out for a drink. That's happened less lately. I mean
Speaker 3: there's a real division that started to creep in where
Speaker 3: people just hate each other now because of political differences.
Speaker 3: I mean, they can't stand to be around each other.
Speaker 3: But I think if America actually saw the behind the
Speaker 3: scenes of what was happening, they'd be like, man, I
Speaker 3: can't believe they're manipulating us to fight each other as
Speaker 3: deeply as we are out here when they back there
Speaker 3: are just kind of playing the game, and it's it's
Speaker 3: really a sad state of affairs.
Speaker 2: Okay, So you'll experienced opinion is that it is getting
Speaker 2: more divisive.
Speaker 3: I think Congress, I think the country certainly, and in Congress, yes,
Speaker 3: I think they're just starting to. I mean, you got
Speaker 3: Marjorie Taylor Green there for goodness sake. I mean, like,
Speaker 3: who would get along with her in real life?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean would the potty people get along with her? Why?
Speaker 3: They love her now because she raises money for him,
Speaker 3: because she goes out there and gets attention and so yeah.
Speaker 3: But when I when she was there, when I was there,
Speaker 3: initially she was a pariah until she started getting on
Speaker 3: TV and tweeting and every and then she became pretty
Speaker 3: popular in the party somehow.
Speaker 2: But like genuine like you know, professionally popular, or would
Speaker 2: they actually be now they're now friends, but I think there's.
Speaker 3: Probably some that like to you know, that would be
Speaker 3: a friend with her because access to power. But yeah,
Speaker 3: mostly it's just professional.
Speaker 2: And in your again expert opinion, how much of this
Speaker 2: is I like to believe that it's just internet bullshit
Speaker 2: that gets taken into real life, and in real life
Speaker 2: we don't behave like this. But for some reason, these
Speaker 2: people I managed to take the comments section and bring it,
Speaker 2: you know, So how much of that is is real?
Speaker 2: And I'm all saying how much of it is this
Speaker 2: internet mentality? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean, look, I think a significant amount of it is.
Speaker 3: It's this is kind of the untold secret politicians watch
Speaker 3: Twitter and so when you see things happening on Twitter
Speaker 3: this way, I mean Donald Trump was the master at this.
Speaker 3: You'd see some conspiracy pop up and he'd give a
Speaker 3: nod to it. And what's happened is leaders have gone
Speaker 3: from like supposed to be leading and talking about, you know,
Speaker 3: trying to direct opinion right, trying to lead us to
Speaker 3: a better place, to now following insanity. And it's basically
Speaker 3: like a dog now chasing its tail out in the
Speaker 3: middle of traffic. And I think that's what you're seeing.
Speaker 2: On that note, like what what what is the solution?
Speaker 2: I mean, in your opinion, how how can Americans come
Speaker 2: togein and bridge? This kind of the solution is in
Speaker 2: all of us.
Speaker 3: I mean, and I'm not trying to sound like esoteric
Speaker 3: and like big word, like, really we control government. It's
Speaker 3: truly government for of and by the people. We've got
Speaker 3: to quit voting for these clowns that decide they want
Speaker 3: to go there and be more famous than they want.
Speaker 2: To do good.
Speaker 3: Those to this point, we need to we need to
Speaker 3: make sure our presidents actually care about something more than
Speaker 3: their own ego and more than their own narcissism. They
Speaker 3: care about a country.
Speaker 4: And I mean that, like I really am soaking.
Speaker 3: I just I truly believe that America can take our
Speaker 3: political system back. We have to believe we can, and
Speaker 3: we have to say enough of you abusing us for money,
Speaker 3: for followers, for likes. We demand mature, grown up government.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and you'll here to talk about power the
Speaker 2: poll about that.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So look, one of the most important things in an
Speaker 3: election is just the ability to actually do that election.
Speaker 3: And you think about poll workers, especially on election day,
Speaker 3: they're out there, you know, grinding down every day. They're
Speaker 3: starting at whatever, six seven in the morning, going till
Speaker 3: night to make sure that you can vote, to make
Speaker 3: sure the lines are moving and they're done quickly. That
Speaker 3: is the bulwark of making sure that an election is free,
Speaker 3: fair and accurate and so Power the Polls is about
Speaker 3: recruiting a million poll workers to work and defender of
Speaker 3: the next generation of poll workers. In some states, you
Speaker 3: can be as young as sixteen or seventeen to go
Speaker 3: work in the polls. It's a great way to serve
Speaker 3: your community, to connect to the community, and so Power
Speaker 3: the Polls dot org. Go there, and it's a great
Speaker 3: time to sign up to do this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's kind of a civic duty.
Speaker 1: It is.
Speaker 2: It is get paid. Oh you get paid you can yeah, okay,
Speaker 2: I then forget my question I was going I was
Speaker 2: gonna say, I was gonna say it feels a bit
Speaker 2: like a thankless task at the moment to try to
Speaker 2: power American democracy is like, oh, you know, why go
Speaker 2: through that right now?
Speaker 3: It does feel like a thankless task. And that's the
Speaker 3: sad thing is, especially the next generation, which is what
Speaker 3: Power the Polls is focused on. They have been they've
Speaker 3: been so beaten down on democracy. Democracy to them is
Speaker 3: just like, well, it's just what people say to go
Speaker 3: after each other. We have to inspire that generation because look,
Speaker 3: I really believe this next generation is going to be
Speaker 3: the ones to take the keys out of the hands
Speaker 3: of the people that have been holding the keys to
Speaker 3: power too long. And there's no better way to get
Speaker 3: started than to be a young person and see how
Speaker 3: democracy works in the nuts and bullets.
Speaker 2: Right, And if you're fitting fustrated by the system and
Speaker 2: you don't know where to start, this sounds like a
Speaker 2: way to kind of Look, I just want to get involved.
Speaker 2: I don't want to get bogged down in some weird
Speaker 2: cultural war. I just want to help my country.
Speaker 3: And look, and you're going to be working with people
Speaker 3: that have different political views. In you all committed to democracy.
Speaker 3: If we can all agree on that basic thing, I
Speaker 3: think there's seriously, there's no limits in the future of
Speaker 3: this country. We just have to convince ourselves with it.
Speaker 2: So what And you know, as someone coming from a
Speaker 2: conservative background, like, why is it that whenever we talk
Speaker 2: about like voting access, election access, why does that always
Speaker 2: feel like a left issue?
Speaker 1: Right? It's crazy?
Speaker 3: It's because for whatever reason, there's a they feel threatened
Speaker 3: in the GOP that the more people vote, the more
Speaker 3: in danger they are. And I think we know why
Speaker 3: because what they're talking about today, what you see them
Speaker 3: out there discussing, is not what the vast majority of
Speaker 3: Americans wants. The thing they can hope is to turn
Speaker 3: their base out. Look, I think it should be a
Speaker 3: nonpartisan or bipartisan or whatever issue to say, if you
Speaker 3: have a right to vote in this country, we should
Speaker 3: make it as accessible and easy for you to vote.
Speaker 3: And then, by the way, if you can't win, then
Speaker 3: go out and get better ideas to get people to
Speaker 3: vote for you.
Speaker 2: That's going to be through the lit and Well. I
Speaker 2: love about having you on the show is you know,
Speaker 2: we get to talk to people outside of on a
Speaker 2: go chamber. I think a little bit. I mean, what
Speaker 2: is your conservative argument for voting for a democratic president?
Speaker 3: Oh, it's really easy. I believe in democracy. I mean
Speaker 3: democracy was I was there on January sixth. I had
Speaker 3: to live through that, standing for the Constitution, standing for democracy.
Speaker 3: There is nothing more conservative than that. And Donald Trump
Speaker 3: is the exact opposite of that. So for me, Kamala
Speaker 3: Harris is going to defend that democracy. And I think
Speaker 3: every Republican that takes their views viewpoint seriously, old school Republican,
Speaker 3: not whatever this new thing is, should be voting the
Speaker 3: same way.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, thank you, Congressman. I really wish you
Speaker 2: want former congressman. I wish you are current Congressman. I
Speaker 2: wish you could run again. Thank you so much for
Speaker 2: coming and speak to us, and thank you for trying
Speaker 2: to do something for a country called the policy. My
Speaker 2: guess tonight is the singer, songwriter and producer the Drammy
Speaker 2: nominator band Black Pumas, whose latest album is called Chronicles
Speaker 2: of a Diamond. Please welcome Eric Alberta's Oh god, thanks
Speaker 2: so much for being on the show. You're making me
Speaker 2: cooler just by joining me at the desk. Thanks so much.
Speaker 2: I feel so cool. I feel like your band right
Speaker 2: now is in such a great place culturally. You're liking
Speaker 2: that crime if you feel differently, but you're in that
Speaker 2: sweet spot of you're still you're big enough to sell
Speaker 2: out radio city and people love your music, but you're
Speaker 2: still that kind of underground vibe where you're not you know,
Speaker 2: you don't have to play to like a mainstream Uh,
Speaker 2: you know, sensibility or doingthing you don't want to do.
Speaker 2: I mean, do you feel that way?
Speaker 5: Which is a great place to be because we feel
Speaker 5: in charge of our self expression, which is amazing as
Speaker 5: artists and human beings, and you know, selling out Radio
Speaker 5: city here in New York is still like really cool
Speaker 5: for us, So we don't take.
Speaker 1: It for granted.
Speaker 5: It's been amazing and just being in here in this
Speaker 5: this smaller TV audience situation is super super dope.
Speaker 1: No, you can't.
Speaker 2: And I mean the authenticity is coming through in the
Speaker 2: second album. I feel like I can still feel it.
Speaker 2: I mean that that was one of my questions for
Speaker 2: you was like, do you feel that transition from you know,
Speaker 2: making your first album where you're just pure self expression
Speaker 2: and doing what you want to do to the second
Speaker 2: album where there's the expectations for it now kind of
Speaker 2: you know, did you feel that kind of pressure they
Speaker 2: changed your creative approach.
Speaker 5: To it most definitely so for the last album. With
Speaker 5: the last album, I was really lucky because of my
Speaker 5: other half, Adrian Casada. He came to the table with
Speaker 5: such a knowledge and such a sensitivity to towards the culture,
Speaker 5: towards the style of music. That I just you can't
Speaker 5: say black people, yeah, black people.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 5: But it was really easy for me to kind of
Speaker 5: to kind of adopt the character that that was being
Speaker 5: presented by way of the canvas that is soul music.
Speaker 1: And so as we accomplished.
Speaker 5: That, and he likes some of my songs, and those
Speaker 5: songs kind of helped kind of catapult black pumas like colors.
Speaker 1: You know. It was, it was, it's been really amazing.
Speaker 5: But for this, the second album, there was way much
Speaker 5: more you know, pressure. But you know, I was I
Speaker 5: was raised in an artist's household, and I was always
Speaker 5: taught to kind of genuinely be okay with expressing myself.
Speaker 5: And thankfully the people have kind of.
Speaker 1: Allowed it, you know. So it feels nice to be here.
Speaker 2: You haven't changed yet, not yet, not never, right, And
Speaker 2: I guess I know you're still with an indie music label.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, record, But do you feel like this second album,
Speaker 2: with the more anticipation and the undoubted success of the
Speaker 2: first one, do you feel like that do you have
Speaker 2: more resources now? Like, how is it actually affecting how
Speaker 2: you make music for the second album?
Speaker 5: Well, when we did so well the first time around,
Speaker 5: I kind of immediately learned that our team, which is
Speaker 5: a great team, they were kind of relying on us
Speaker 5: too for direction, and so that was like that came
Speaker 5: as a really big surprise. While well it doesn't sound
Speaker 5: super like a big deal, it came as a surprise
Speaker 5: because I don't I don't know that we were for
Speaker 5: sure as to what direction we wanted to go in.
Speaker 1: So we just continued to be genuine, to continue to be.
Speaker 5: Honest, and it's led us in some uh you know,
Speaker 5: into some places that have been really new and very cool,
Speaker 5: and we're still we're still like observing people's.
Speaker 1: Reaction to it.
Speaker 2: So that's been like really nice, right, And you came
Speaker 2: up kind of playing smaller gigs coming up and now
Speaker 2: Radio City and this, you know, everything is really happening
Speaker 2: for you. Like do you do you feel like you uh,
Speaker 2: do you still go back to play small gigs? It's
Speaker 2: the energy of that.
Speaker 1: All most definitely.
Speaker 5: So I'm lucky because I was busking before everybody hated me.
Speaker 2: So what city were busking?
Speaker 5: I was busting in Santa Monica in Los Angeles, And
Speaker 5: so I went from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, where
Speaker 5: there's a live show for anybody and everybody every single day.
Speaker 5: So to be interjected in such a culture where the
Speaker 5: artist is just embraced in the uncanny way. That really
Speaker 5: opened my eyes to being able to play and not
Speaker 5: having to pay to play, you know too, but being
Speaker 5: able to play and really just integrate in the culture. So,
Speaker 5: you know, we played Sea Boys, which is a smaller
Speaker 5: venue shotgun club, and.
Speaker 2: If you'ed out that energy, obviously smaller everyone's there, you're
Speaker 2: playing original music and you're killing it.
Speaker 5: And yes, but there's there's that sense that you know,
Speaker 5: you you really have to work hard because we have
Speaker 5: friends who come in there and you know, just in
Speaker 5: the back like doing that thing.
Speaker 2: But you know you're playing, You're you're like trying to
Speaker 2: prove yourself versus where your city where everyone's there.
Speaker 5: To most definitely, and I want to say, like briefly
Speaker 5: that we were just very lucky just from the very
Speaker 5: get go, Like as soon as I met Adrian Casata,
Speaker 5: we had such a chemistry. Obviously, you know, I'm a
Speaker 5: creative and an artist first, and it helped to be
Speaker 5: with a partner who was just knowledgeable enough to kind
Speaker 5: of help me find a container for.
Speaker 1: That musically and to then see the stage and in
Speaker 1: such a real way. I used to be in theater.
Speaker 1: I grew up acting, and so you know, it's not
Speaker 1: that much different, there's you.
Speaker 5: Know, so so to be in that situation in Austin, Texas,
Speaker 5: it was like the perfect place to cultivate the live
Speaker 5: performative element.
Speaker 2: Right, And I hood you recently went into a silent
Speaker 2: meditation retreat.
Speaker 5: Yeah, most definitely. I discovered a pastna through through a
Speaker 5: girlfriend of mine and change my world. I have done
Speaker 5: the retreat twice.
Speaker 1: It's free. They fed me for free, they put me
Speaker 1: up for free.
Speaker 2: What's the condition? You just have to for seven days?
Speaker 2: Exactly exactly, so I should say it's a silent retreat.
Speaker 1: I used it silent retreat. So it's a silent retreat.
Speaker 5: You get there, it's maybe one hundred students, five instructors,
Speaker 5: and you learn the technique, which is really easy to learn,
Speaker 5: is to shut up.
Speaker 2: Yes, just to be quiet, you know the technique. The
Speaker 2: technique for that is a quiet skill. I guess these
Speaker 2: days what happens if you don't shut up? Did they
Speaker 2: like kick you out that? How do they kick you out?
Speaker 1: You can get kicked out? Yeah, for sure. So you
Speaker 1: can get kicked out. But I I think that the
Speaker 1: technique is to get you on a vehicle to the.
Speaker 5: Source of how and or where our subconscious mind is
Speaker 5: reacting to, you know, our thoughts and things that might
Speaker 5: have happened in the past. So to get to the
Speaker 5: bottom of it, it's really technique to do.
Speaker 2: So, Yeah, that sounds horrible somehow, I'll never do that.
Speaker 2: But chronicles All the Diamond is available now. Everybody in
Speaker 2: a back room out.
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