WEBVTT - Decisions, Decisions feat. Tezlyn Figaro 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:44.159 He laugh. If you watch coffee Time, the baby you 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:46.519 know the name flame, my role also known as my 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.159 role Flame. Come in with last and come in with 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:51.640 don love Lunds. Baby, you better catch it when you 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:55.200 can't drop a knowledge from fatherhood of politics shouting now 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.440 comics just paying homics. What's up? Tip? Yeah you know 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.040 she raped shot towns on speaking to the ground. And 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.200 second we're gonna last cutting the kicking and at the 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:06.279 end we leave it with just a lift, just firite, 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:08.240 like you want to revisit, so your first like a 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:10.640 listen jo folks like you slit all folks that we 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:15.920 dick it. Do what you do? No, do what you do? 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:40.880 No kiss, do what I do? Hey, hey, hey, welcome 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.040 to laugh and learn here with my with my gorge 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.880 yourself flaming row along with my beautiful co host. She 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.040 looks okay today. She ain't no flaming role, but she 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.040 looks okay. What's your name, young lady? Jokes today we 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.920 started earlier. You're doing okay, that's fine. We're showing out 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:56.400 for company. You know you don't know how to act 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:00.760 with right and who is our lovely I love the 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:05.120 guest today Mrs hogan Um well, we have the lovely 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.480 Testlam with us. I just have to say, first and foremost, 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:09.720 it's an honor to have you on our show. Um 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:12.560 and officially welcome you to the Black Effect networking family. 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.400 But I'm excited. I feel like we gotta Livia Pope 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.480 in the building, so it's gonna be an interesting episode 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:22.840 for sure. So thank you, Olivia Dope. That's the hood. Yeah, 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:27.880 good Flame Manson, lady, please walk my very special guest, 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:30.560 Miss Tesla and Figaro. We're gonna have a great conversation. 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:33.560 She is straight with no chase to Lauren is straight 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.200 with no chase. I'm gonna be the girl today. I'm 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.000 gonna have them to be aggressive. I'm gonna be the girl. 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:41.480 Thank you, Thank you first of all for having me. 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.799 It is so good for those who don't know straight 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:46.639 shot now. Chaser is also a part of the Black 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:50.320 Effect Podcast Network. And one of the reasons uh and 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:53.519 I'm sure like you Flame wanted to was so excited 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.240 about the Black Effect Podcast Network was the ability to 0:02:56.320 --> 0:03:01.280 network with other content curators and Uh, it started in 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:03.400 covid and you're one of the first ones that came 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:06.400 on with me. And because of COVID, we haven't had 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.320 an opportunity to meet face to face um and really 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.760 just engage. And so it's taken all of this time, 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:13.600 you know, for us to connect. And I look forward 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:16.160 to meet you in person. So this is this is great, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:18.280 a great thing that Black Effect is doing by bringing 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:22.959 these uh diverse voices to the table. Yeah. And if 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:25.600 if anything we need right now more than anything else, 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:29.320 test it's unity, good God, because we are divided, separated. 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.120 We were just at a political rally last week, a 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:34.639 week before last and I, well, I am said, this 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:37.360 is this is one time in history that he knows 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:39.560 of that we have been This country is more divided 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.760 than ever before. And it was very true. The words 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:45.960 were so impactful. So let's dive into it. Girl, what 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.240 we gotta do. We got five days away from the 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:52.120 next election, you know, uh, you know we our brother 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:55.920 are comment our brother, I shared brother Charlemagne. Uh God, 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.280 we talked about politics daily, you know, so it changes 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:02.760 on a daily, daily, daily basis. And for many of us, 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:05.480 just for clarity, I'm an independent. I'm not a Democrat 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.080 or a Republican. UM. I left the Democrat Party in 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.680 two thousand and ten, although I do lean left on 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.280 a lot of my policies, but I also do not 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:18.640 ignore a lot of the conservative values that I was 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.360 raised upon, you know, with my grandmother and my both 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.080 grandparents on both sides that came through the depression and 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.200 really raised you know, raised me with a lot of 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.200 you know, conservative values where a lot of people, especially 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:34.719 black voters, do agree with but not necessarily aligned with 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:39.320 the Republican Party or where conservative ism has become. So 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.960 I try to always keep a very fair and objective 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:46.200 analysis when I'm talking about the election, and so early on. 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:48.279 With that said, early on, so there's a couple of 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:51.359 things that we look at. One with historical data that 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:53.599 that we have in front of us that we actually 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.120 can look at to be able to tell us what 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:59.680 we've seen in the past. At the same time, we 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:03.080 don't always look at what the weather was last year 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:04.960 on this day to tell me what it's going to be. 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:06.920 You know that the reality of what the weather is. 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.279 I say that because you always want to know what 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:12.080 is the current political environment, and so in my training 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:13.560 is one of the first things that I talked about 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:16.360 in my pushing line training is knowing the environment that 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.440 you're in. We can even see through climate change. That 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.280 right now in l A, the temperature was very different 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.080 this year than what it was last year. So you 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.400 always take that into account, but you still want to 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.520 look at the posts, at the data that we've had 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:33.720 throughout the years. And so data tells us that usually 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.960 whoever is in control usually loses in the midterms. Um, 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:41.240 that's just a fact. They usually lose the House, the House, 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:45.599 and the Senate because most Americans are in patient. That 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.279 is the American way, and so when things don't happen 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.560 fast enough, people want to switch and they want to 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:52.880 try something else. Just like in our relationships, we want 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.680 to switch. Let me go see if the grass is 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:56.640 green on the other side, let me go see what 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:58.400 she working with. Let me go see what he's working with. 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.440 That's just the n pai mindset of the American So 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:07.640 with that said, I was expecting to see Democrats lose 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.680 quite a bit um across the country just based on 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:14.680 data and also based on the ineffectiveness of the Democrat 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.919 Party and not only their messaging but their ability to 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:21.200 actually push the policy that we need. And I'm not 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:23.720 talking about just last year and two years ago. I'm 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:27.480 talking about what we have been fighting at least aggressively 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:31.159 since two thousand six, particularly in the state of Florida, 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:34.400 or I did most of my politics. So when all 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.720 of those things are combined and you look at what 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:40.880 I call voter depression, which is very different than voter suppression. 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:44.760 When you mix voter depression along with voter suppression, that 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.560 you see and those two things that are combined, in 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:52.400 addition to the party in control usually losing in midterms, 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.880 I was expecting a doomsday and on next Tuesday, however, 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:00.440 because of Row versus Wade, because of all of the 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:04.040 recent things that we have seen outside of just uh, 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:07.400 the abortion issue, because it's not everybody's issue, by the way, 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.400 but outside of that, what we have seen, not just polls, 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.440 but what we have seen is we have seen double 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:16.400 the amount of folks coming to the polls in in 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.560 person voting, not just early voting, but in person voting. 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.800 If we use Georgia for an example, and usually flames 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:27.560 m those early votes usually lean left. So what we're 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:32.360 seeing now is possibly a motivated and engaged base in Georgia, 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:34.480 which is the most important state. I know. We like 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:37.280 talking about states everywhere, but using the control of power, 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.840 it's really gonna come down to Georgia. And so if 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:43.240 Georgia continues on on what we see as of yesterday, 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:46.880 then Democrats might have a chance to retain power, very 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.200 slight chance, but the chance to steal there. But what 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.840 I know about Republicans is they show up on election 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.760 day in droves and can easily switch this. Uh, this 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.440 the results. I hear you test and I agree with 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:00.840 some instance that you have seen it, and especially with 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.320 the voting thing, because I'm not voting my future. The 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:05.880 future looks too bleak. I need to vote my present. 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:08.040 I need to just like you said, like as a comedian, 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:10.000 you have to read the room. I need to see 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.640 what's happening around in my world right now. What's happened 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:14.280 in my world right now. It scares the hell out 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.200 of me. But I want to ask you a question. 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:20.760 As an independent, because independence normally don't win, do you 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.280 think that that is splitting the vote? I mean, even though, 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.000 like you said, you left the Democratic Party to become independent. 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.400 I know some great Republicans. I thought Ryan Paul, not 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:31.920 that son Rand Paul, but I thought Ryan Paul was 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:34.240 a great Republican when he was running for office back 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.200 in the day. The Dad because he cared about people. 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:38.920 That is what I want people to do. I need 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:41.520 to see people who care about American people. I don't 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.959 care your color, size, stature, whatever, but I think that 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.040 people are not. They're looking like we need to vote 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:49.640 for the future. What's gonna happen in the future. The 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.560 future is very, very scary, but the times that we 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.560 live in is more scary because we see this. We 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:57.559 can't see the future. So when you see it about 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.560 the analytics from a year ago into what it is now, 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:05.400 it's scary to me. Because I got teenagers that drives, 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:07.720 you know, I know, I was so excited about my 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.000 kids get to an age to where they could drive, 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.360 and then on petrofraed that they might be stopped by 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:17.600 Ira Young, ridiculous over the top angry racist cop and 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:19.960 just because they're black and they stand up for themselves. 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:22.760 I trained them to do that that you know, I 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:25.559 might I might lose my kids. People are not voting 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:30.320 and coming out and droves to me because I think 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:33.400 the Independent Party splits the vote. I do. I think 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:35.640 you guys know you're not gonna win and let me 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.079 just be on. But I understand where you're staying. I 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.000 want to stand with something too. I would love to 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.400 have voted for Bertie Sanders. But if I and I 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.480 thought Bertie Sanders was going to get the nomination, by 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.080 the way, um, but if I don't think we're gonna 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:49.520 win and we only have two other options, if you 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.679 vote independent and you know that we only have Democrats 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.080 and Republicans, that's in the forefront, don't you think that 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:57.680 does more harm to the party than good? Well, I'm 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:00.760 really and and that's a great position that you put 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:02.960 out there. Me saying that I'm an independent does not 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:05.640 mean that I am voting. I don't. I don't subscribe 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:09.640 to voting straight party ticket on anything. Okay, yeah, my 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:11.520 thing is about it because again I grew up in 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:14.160 the gang banging era. So if I didn't, I didn't 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:16.400 have to. I lived in a blood neighborhood. But let 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:21.240 let me that. You better go ask l A about 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:25.319 me and crishall mafia whoop. Anyway, the point is, did 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:29.400 you put that little whoop out there as proof at me? 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:31.360 But anyway, my point is I lived and I used 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.560 that as a very real example even when I'm talking 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:36.040 to the homies. I lived in the Paru neighborhood, but 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.320 all my cousins and my boyfriends was scripts. They was 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:40.360 my best friend at ten years old one, so when 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.600 we talked about age, we're talking about going back thirty years. 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:45.640 So for me, that reality has always been a real 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.200 thing to me at a fifteen year old Now, I'm 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.400 just as nervous about her driving. I'm I actually more 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:52.000 concerned about when I was driving and when she was 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:53.920 driving because I grew up in the height of the 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.760 Game Bang era. So I wasn't just dealing with police 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:58.600 as an issue. I was dealing with drive bys as 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.720 an issue. I was dealing with inner city violence is issue. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:03.960 My neighborhood was the first neighborhood that had a drive 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:06.520 by in my neighborhood. So a lot of these things 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:09.000 to me are not new, but social media makes them 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.040 more relevant and makes them more protinent. So with that said, 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:15.199 connecting to the Gang Bang conversation, to it, I can 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:17.640 live in a blood neighborhood and still be a cript. 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:19.480 My best friend and I told this story on the 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.120 Breakfast Club. She was a great street crip. Her her 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:24.160 brother was a rolling sixty. They were the only two 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:27.120 crips that lived in my neighborhood. We all got along, 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.920 we all had good relationship because when people don't understand 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.600 his bloods and Crips worked together behind the scenes, just 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.920 like Democrats and Republicans red and blue worked behind the scenes. 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:39.600 So my affiliation or what they call being a sympathizer, 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.880 doesn't mean that I'm necessarily always gonna ride with one 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:46.080 or the other. I've always with campaigns, I've always consulted 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:50.280 Democrat candidates. I've always voted left because that were those 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.679 were the candidates that were coming to my neighborhood, that 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.120 were coming and and pitching themselves giving me access to them. 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.720 So I voted left. I don't think and what I do, 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.839 particularly what black voters, is we have to look at 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.800 policy because the thing about it is if we're just saying, 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:07.559 let's do the relate, because I know you do the 0:12:07.920 --> 0:12:10.920 night night late like late relationship talk, so I'm gonna 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.480 mix that in there too. If you know that every 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.920 time you're gonna you can come by my house at 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.560 two o'clock in the morning and it don't matter. I 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:20.280 can say all this ship, can I come here? That 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:26.520 we do? Is it like, let's get into it? So 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:28.760 this this is how I look at politics. If you 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:31.040 know that every Friday night you can come by my 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:32.840 house and get something, leave me in the west spot, 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:35.320 you know, flam And it don't matter what I say, girl, 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.679 I'm not letting him come by, girl. Please, he already 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.160 know what it is. Heated and this man is only 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.160 gonna look at the action. And if he knows that, 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.200 I'm gonna answer that door and give him something every 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.360 single time and leave me in the wet spot. It 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.520 don't matter who I call after that girl next time, 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:49.960 I'm not gonna be this girl. You know I don't 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.320 play that. People respond by action. So the problem I've 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:55.600 had with the Democrat Party, or at least how we 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:58.640 look at politics, we have to be able to look 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:00.680 at it from a lens to say, what have you 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.920 done for me lately? And although I'm still riding with 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:06.679 you like big Mama, that is still go bail your 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:08.920 ass out of jail, but you're gonna cust you out 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:10.720 all the way home. I told you asked what you 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.000 was supposed to do. I'm still gonna ride with you, 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.840 but there are some consequences behind your actions. So what 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:19.400 I say independent it is really just with the ideology 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.160 of understanding. You just can't count on me to give 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:24.760 you some. I still rock with you, and I rock 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:27.959 with black people because black people vote for the Democrat Party. 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.120 But I do not align myself with one party of 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.440 the other because I need you to court me, I 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:34.480 need you to date me, I need you to engage 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:37.480 with me. Let me give you real example, the GOP 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:42.200 UH put over for coast of forty brick and mortar 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:46.520 UH Diversity centers UH in rural areas and in the 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:51.560 inner city in Georgia, almost forty brick and mortar over 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.760 twenty of those UH centers. This had nothing to do 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:56.600 with trying to get people to vote for a particular 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.439 candidate herschel Walker whoever. It was simply just trying to 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:03.600 explain people conservative values. They were recruiting people to understand 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:07.720 conservative values. Over twenty of those centers. Centers were dedicated 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:12.719 specifically to Latinos to reach Latinos. They know that if 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:16.000 they just because what people don't understand is although Latinos, 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.040 which to me is the most strategic voters of all 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:22.920 because in California, Latino's vote left, in Florida, Latino's vote right. 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:27.840 So they are UH recruited and engaged and courted and 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.640 brought all the gifts and and and and and frank 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.720 insance and all of the jewels and the promises because 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.240 they know they have a possibility of losing that vote. 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:40.320 Joe Biden himself told our own leaders, Al Sharpton, a CP, 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.320 all of them at the beginning of the year. If 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:44.920 you go get listen to the lead tapes from the 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:47.840 meeting with the a CP. He told us, y'all better 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.320 go line up with the Latinos because they are the 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.800 ones that have the power. He said that to us 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:56.680 after just telling us black people, I owe you. He's 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:59.600 the only president that said out his mouth black people, 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:01.960 i owe you. Barack Obama didn't even say that. So 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.840 when somebody is that comfortable, and then they put over 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:08.240 twenty centers in the Latino community, they know they don't 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.640 have to win all Latinos. They just need one or 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:12.840 two per cent to flip the whole state. When we 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:16.120 ask Democrats, why are you not making that same investment 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:18.560 to have the community centers. Guess what they're doing those centers. 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:22.920 They're having family night, food night, they're doing citizenship ship training, 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:26.400 They're doing all the things to galvanize that community. We 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:29.000 ask Democrats, why didn't you do the same thing where 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.240 we're doing radio and television. That's not enough. Why are 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.560 you not engaging me, taking me out, calling me sometime 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:37.840 reaching out to It was a guy he said, oh, 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:39.560 you're gonna be in town. I want to haulier at you. 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.880 I did hear from from three weeks until I got 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:43.640 in town. When I got in town, he said, oh, 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.960 I thought you said you just gonna. Haven't heard from 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.240 you the last three weeks. You gotta at least pretend 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.040 like you know what I said, check in how you good? 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.880 Everything straight? So what I'm what I'm always trying to 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:56.160 navocate the Democrat Party to do is to recognize the 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:59.560 yale we ride with you. Yes, we're gonna come bail 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:01.760 you out jail, but I need you to put something 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.560 on my books. And the disrespect of that, of not 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.080 even feeling like they have to earn our vote is 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:10.160 why we have continued to be taking advantage of in 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:12.080 the party. But it don't mean I don't rock with 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:15.320 with Democrats, because I do. I've gotten candidates elected. I 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.760 just did a training in Atlanta called Push the Line 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:21.960 nonpartisan free training. Over three people came from all over 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.040 the country to learn how to be a candidate and 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:28.080 operative or organizer. So not only do I vote for Democrats, 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:30.480 I teach people how do go run for office if 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.480 they think that their candidates are unacceptable. So that's a 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:36.360 fine line between being an independent party. No, it's not 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.520 an independent on the ticket and just this, and I'll 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:40.560 be quiet when I say this. I work for Bernie 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.600 Sanders and I am the only one that literally had 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:46.920 a legal lawsuit against the Bernie Sanders Movement for anti 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.680 black racism. So I don't give a damn who you are, 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.640 including if you sign my check. If you are not 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.680 for black people, I call you out. So that go 0:16:55.840 --> 0:17:01.600 for Bernard bi Biden, Obama, Trump, whoever it is. We 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:03.920 have to have voices that say make sure that you're 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:06.439 talking about black people and you're making the investment in 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:09.240 black people that we deserve because you can depend on 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.360 our vote TESTA let me jump in here, then, So 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:15.480 what is the difference that you see being in the 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:19.040 Independent Party being that you you know, stepped away from 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.080 the Democratic Party for all the reasons that you just said, 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:23.800 which are all very valid. But have you seen that 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:26.120 you've been able to give more momentum to folks being 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:30.000 that you're independent. It's not a party, and that's what 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:31.600 I'm saying. If you guys are referring to it as 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.199 an independent party, it's not a party. It's an ideology. 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.679 So I try to tell people there's a difference between 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.240 a party and an ideology. So the perfect example is 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:43.480 conservative is an ideology. It's how you see life. It's 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:45.919 the lend you see it through. Your party. Who you 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.919 align with is a republican. Liberal is an ideology. It's 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:52.240 how you see life. It's the lend you see it through. 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:56.359 But a party is democrat. There is no independent party. 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.800 There's not structure for independent, there's not a platform for independent. 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:01.800 But in order to be a democrat, let me just 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.840 do a game banging analogy. In order for me to say, Okay, 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.199 I'm gonna be a role in sixty, i gotta have 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.280 beef with Hoover. That's a part of the party. That's 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.719 a part of Here are the rules. This is what 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:14.560 you need to do. If you're gonna be Peru, you 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:16.320 need to have this. If you're gonna be a crip, 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:18.720 if you're gonna be neighborhood, you need to have this. 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.200 But I can have the ideology, meaning the be a 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:25.119 what they call a sympathizer or lean the crips. I 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.280 can go to the functions. I can be around, I 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:29.439 can wear blue, I can lean towards you know, I 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:31.720 like crips better for this reason. But it doesn't mean 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:34.159 I aligne with a party. So the biggest thing to 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:38.160 understand is there is no independent party. People can run 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.080 as an independent, but there's not a party. It is 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:44.080 a two party system. Like Flame said, one is gonna 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:47.520 win over the other. Independence vote, they lean one way 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:49.080 or the other. It's not like you're going in and 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:52.120 checking for independent. You are picking between a Democratic Republican 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.680 if you're voting in a Democratic Republican primary or general election. 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:58.480 But there are positions under that which are the most 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:02.960 important positions like mayor city council um, like judicial branches, 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:05.639 which is the most critical thing, that have nothing to 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:09.520 do with partisanship. So we only make it about Democratic Republicans, 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:11.480 then pretty much what you're saying is telling people to 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:16.320 only pay attention to governor and and and US Senate 0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:20.160 in US Congress when the real problems that get addressed 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:21.600 are at the city level. If you look at what 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:24.480 California is doing. Since that's where you are flamed. When 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:26.879 you look at the Reparations task Force that's on the 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:30.040 city level, that has nothing to do with partisanship. That 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:33.160 HR forty bill for reparations on the federal they haven't 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:35.640 even put that on the table. It's actually getting done 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:39.000 in California on the local level. So when you look 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:41.960 at that, when you remove partisanship and you're looking for, 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.280 like with Flame said, what affects me right now? You 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:46.840 want to talk about police getting pulled over, that's your 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.919 city council, that's your chief of police. The sheriff is 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:53.000 elected most cities. Some of them are different. Some run 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:55.719 on Democratic Republicans, but for the most part a lot 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.639 of places they're not running on partisanship at all. So 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.800 the Independent Converse station really just wants you to ship 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:03.400 your mind, or at least what I try to do 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:06.760 to ship your mind on what affects you in front 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:09.919 of you. Flamee talked about police. That's what's the school 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:12.160 board that's in front of you. Most school board positions 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:14.840 don't run on party affiliation. Now you may know what 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:17.080 that person is, you know because you can look at 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:19.760 their policies and see who they are. But a lot 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.240 of the school board positions have nothing to do with party. 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.000 So if we're gonna vote on what's most impactful, that 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.439