WEBVTT - We Need Us There 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.600 Good morning, peepson. Welcome to okay F Daily with Meet 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:18.320 your Girl Danielle Moody, recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:25.119 you know, there has been a lot of negative conversations 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:29.560 recently about our government, about our elected officials, thanks to 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.159 George Santos, the likes of Marjorie Taylor Green and others. 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:37.240 But the only way to actually get those people out 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:41.880 of office is for the courageous ones to decide that 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:45.919 they have something to say and that instead of yelling 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.800 from the peanut gallery, that they will take up the 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.519 call to run for office themselves. So I'm excited with 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:57.160 this episode to welcome back to the show Ashanti Gooehler, 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.760 who is the president of Emerge America and the founder 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:05.800 of Black Girl's Guide to Politics. And I've joined a 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:09.240 shanty show to talk about politics and talk about expressly 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:12.400 what is facing black women in politics. And so in 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:17.039 this conversation we talk about the ways that essentially training candidates, 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:21.920 particularly women, women of color, queer women, has changed and 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.760 not necessarily for the better. I open up the conversation, 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:30.240 you know, talking about this political climate and getting her thoughts. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:35.520 But then also it is the norm that you need 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:40.160 to ask a woman multiple times to run for office 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:44.360 because oftentimes women feel unqualified, even though in a lot 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.160 of cases they are overqualified. So how can we use 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:53.800 this current media storm around the liar grifter George Santos 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:55.960 slash guitar slash. We don't know what the fuck his 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:58.480 name is or who he really is, and now we 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.040 know that his finances are, you know, as funny as 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.200 every story that he's told, and that funny ha ha. 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:09.959 But how do we one convince women that you are 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:13.360 more than ready and capable to run for office, but 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:19.519 then two train in a time of heightened political violence. Look, 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:24.600 it is not normal to even blurt out those words 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.520 and to say that, but the reality is is that 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:31.400 violence has become part and parcel of what it means 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.080 to be in politics, particularly if you are a Democrat. 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.320 And so when you are a woman, we know that 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:42.240 the attacks on social media are absolutely disgusting. We know 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:43.920 that if you are a woman of color and you 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:49.520 are a queer woman, it is just astonishing the lengths 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.959 that people will go to try and get you to 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:58.040 back down, to use media as a way to terrorize, right, 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:02.560 And so how do you train people who want to 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:06.600 serve their community who want to be public servants to 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.920 be able to deal with the energy right and the 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:15.000 very real physical violence that could come along with running 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.919 for office. So Ashanti and I will get into so 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:23.000 many conversations, including our shared love of astrology and what 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:27.000 we see in the stars about our political year to come. 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:35.120 Coming up next, my conversation with a Shanty Goler, Folks, 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:40.160 I am very excited to welcome back to wok f 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.640 Ashanti Goler, who is the founder of the Brown Girls 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:49.640 Guide to Politics and the president of Emerge America. It 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:54.840 is twenty twenty three, yes, and when we change the calendar, 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:59.840 we like to believe that we are also somehow changing, 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.400 you know, everything, We started new resolutions, everything is starting fresh, 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:09.280 except with our politics it doesn't seem that way. So 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:13.960 I wanted to get you know, your sense of how 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.640 you think that the year ended in twenty twenty two, 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:21.920 a Shanty and then where you see that we are 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:26.080 but you know, almost a month into twenty twenty three. Yes, 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.360 and it's so good to be talking to you again. 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:30.800 I just always love when we can chat it up. 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:33.360 And I know we've talked about how much I love 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:37.920 astrology and given how this year has started off. I 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:39.880 think I'm officially going to start my new year with 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:47.160 airy season, because oh mine god. Twenty twenty two. I 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:51.599 actually ended the year very excited because it was not 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.760 the red wave that people thought that it was going 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:58.440 to be, and that had to really do with again 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:03.000 women voters and black and brown voters yet again knowing 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:07.600 how much was at stake. So I was really excited 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.240 about everything that was going to happen, being able to 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.520 keep the Senate. We know that we lost the House, 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.200 but we picked up some great governorships, We were able 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:21.880 to create new democratic trifect us. We were going into 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:27.200 twenty twenty three really strong. But of course Congress and 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:32.919 their foolishness. It's just insane that this has been the 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.839 first time we have seen that with the Speaker of 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:41.640 the House. Elections in decades and online tureity years. So 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:46.440 ten decades, ten decades, and the first thing that came 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:50.160 to mind for me is, y'all always wanted to give 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:54.800 Nancy Pelosi crap, but she had no problem getting elected speaker, 0:05:55.480 --> 0:06:01.039 and you had Kevin McCarthy. Now the speaker cut deals 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.480 like they were like about to fight on the House 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:09.560 floor over things, and it's just ridiculous. It continues to 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:14.640 show how, especially for Republicans, conservatives, the Maga crew, our 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:18.920 democracy is just a plaything for them, where for us, 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:22.559 we know that this is our life, this is something 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.640 we need to get intact. So I'm going to start 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.120 my new year with airy season because they wiled them 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.880 out here already. And you know, like, you're totally right, 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:36.280 because we ended the year and began the year with 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:41.560 mercury retrograde and retrograde, right, yeah, And that is the 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:43.720 like I think it was kind of the first time 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.360 that that has also happened, and or the last time 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:49.800 that that happened. It was I want to say that 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:52.280 it was like the early two thousands, and so it 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:56.760 was we were with an economic meltdown and the changing 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.720 of the guards and foreclosure crisis and all of these things. 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:04.040 It was a crisis, um. And so it makes sense 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:08.800 then fast forward, you know, ten plus years that we 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.440 are in this space because I like, you look, you know, 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:15.920 people I have gotten pooh pooed on on Twitter for 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:20.520 saying that, like I subscribe to astrology and I said, 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:24.120 I'm sorry, Like it's you know, thousands of years old, 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.640 and what is to say that, like all of these things, 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.600 like I look at everything to try and understand this current, 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:34.760 Like I am looking everywhere with like the with a 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:39.360 magnifying glass. So you know that being said, what we 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:43.360 did see, like you had you had mentioned, was on 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:47.360 the good side. We saw our first gen Z candidate 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:51.560 get elected to office. We saw more black and brown 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:55.320 people get elected to office. We have our first out 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:59.440 lesbian governor. Or. I should say, I guess second um 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:05.160 the elected to office, you have representation that looks more 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:11.040 like America. But I also say that then there is 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:16.320 incredible violence that we've seen, the shootings that were happening 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:21.480 in New Mexico at the targeted towards Democratic leaders, you know, 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:26.280 and you know other attacks that we have seen on 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:30.800 Nancy Pelosi, on her on her husband. So with your 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:36.160 work with Emerge America, which is about recruiting Democratic women 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:40.720 to run for office, which you know, when Emerge America started, 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:44.680 it didn't seem like a dangerous prospect, right, So how 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:49.160 do you with this? With this work talk to people 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.280 who want to be public servants, that want to serve 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:57.680 their communities, but also address the realities of the climate 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:02.320 that we're in. And it is very real Emerge started 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.520 in two thousand and two with our first affiliate in California. 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:08.680 The national organization was created in two thousand and five 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:12.640 to replicate the program because it was so successful. So 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:16.000 now we're in twenty seven states. We've trained women in 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:18.920 forty five states. We have over a thousand women in 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:23.240 elected office, and this is something that we've had to 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:27.520 add to our training program is just the reality of 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.560 how unfortunately horrible it can be for a woman, for 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.840 a black and brown woman writing for office during this time, 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.640 but also for me. This is part of the plan 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.880 to keep us out of office. This is a part 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:46.360 of the plan the racism, the sexism, the misogyny, the 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:51.160 threats of violence, because even though we are seeing horrible 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:54.640 things happening, there are good things that are happening. Change 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.760 is happening, and they know when they threaten us, when 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.600 they scare us from running, that change isn't going to 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:04.599 happen and things will stay the status quo with the 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:09.480 white male patriarchy running things. And we're just very fortunate 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:12.920 that we still see women stepping up wanting to run 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:15.840 because they know that they have to do it. But 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:18.319 we talk about all the ways that they can keep 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:22.880 themselves safe. What they can do online to deal with 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:26.160 the hate. What our women have to do if they're 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:28.880 a Latina canvassing and someone says they're going to call 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.760 ice on them. You're a black woman and you're at 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.920 a campaign event and people will want to call the 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:40.079 police on you, saying it's an illegal gathering. For our 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:44.760 trans alarms, who will get mis gendered when they're doing press. 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:48.640 These are things that we have had to add and 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.280 we have had to address, and for us, this is 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.160 part of the evolution of our merge, but it's also 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:59.240 an unfortunate part of the evolution of politics. But we 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.800 still want women and to know that they do not 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.800 have to face this alone, that there are groups like 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:08.240 ours that will support them. With our training program, you're 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.680 inner room of like minded women who are going to 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:14.559 be going through the same thing, so giving them that 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:19.120 support system. But the reality is, despite it all, we 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:24.760 still need women, especially stepping up to run for office 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:28.920 because if we don't, things won't change, and then they 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.200 will win. And I know none of us want for 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:35.440 them to win, because so much better can continue to 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.480 happen in our country if we have the right representation, 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:42.280 and that is Unfortunately, a fight that we're always going 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.280 to have to be in, especially as black and brown people, 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:50.280 is not going to stop for us. You know, I 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:53.080 think that that's right, which is the reminder that this 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:55.840 is just the fight, plain and simple. You know, I 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.840 think that you know, with the overturning of Ruvie Wade, 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:02.800 we saw signs and memes that's that I can't believe 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.880 I still have to protest this shit right and things 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:10.400 to that nature, which kind of gave us the feeling that, oh, 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:14.080 these rights are one and done right and what we 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.199 and what we know is that it's not and that 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:21.800 we actually may never see full equity for women, people 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:25.280 of color, LGBTQ folks, folks that live at the intersections 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:29.359 of multiple identities in our lifetime. But the fight continues 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.040 with each generation. So how do you how does Emerge 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:40.679 America talk to candidates about ashanti the emotional stamina that 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:46.000 is required in order to run a campaign right, in 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.840 order to keep going and even if you do lose, right, 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.040 that that's just the beginning. You have name recognition and 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:56.760 you keep going. So what does that what is the 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:02.640 training around emotional stamina? Look like, we are very real 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:07.239 from the first day that women enter our Signature program, 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:12.040 which is the longer program seventy hours over six months, 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.800 to our boot camps, where we take the Signature program 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.719 condensit down to two and a half intensive days that's 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.800 for active candidates, to our Step Forward, which is the 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.240 one on one for the women who are thinking about 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:32.000 running for office. We say, you have to prepare yourself physically, mentally, 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:37.400 and emotionally to run for office. That is the first 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:41.960 part of the game because it is a journey from 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:45.760 your campaign to elected office. And the thing that really 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:49.880 you have to center is your why why are you 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:53.080 doing this? Because that's what you're gonna have to go 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.120 to when you're having the hard days where you had 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:58.160 called time and no one wanted to give you money, 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.800 where you're going to on doors and people slam it 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:06.440 in your face, where your opponents putting out just all 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:10.040 of these lies about you and you know it's not true. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:15.719 You have to be mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared for 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:19.360 it because this is the game. So we talk about 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.160 what that looks like, who is your family support system, 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.360 But most importantly we talk about having the kitchen cabinet. 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.360 You're going to have your campaign staff. That's great, but 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.720 you're paying them. We need the people in your life 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:38.320 who are going to say, all right, yeah, maybe you 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.120 shouldn't have said it that way, you should have said 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.600 it this way. Well, this person is just a straight 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.600 up prick. I need for you to ignore them. All right, 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.160 you got your debate, what are you going to wear? 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:50.640 You need the people who are going to be on 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.320 your side, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.480 think it's the same for your friend's circle. You need 0:14:57.560 --> 0:14:59.360 to have those people who are always going to get 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:03.320 to you. And when you're running for office, that kitchen 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:07.160 cabinet is who you're going to rely on. So we say, 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:11.080 get those people in your life. Get a therapist in 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.720 your life. I just think therapy is amazing. I'm going 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:18.080 to say it, especially because we still have the stigma 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:22.920 in the black community around therapy. No, get you a therapist, 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.920 even if you're not running for elected office. Have that 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:29.520 person you can talk it out with. Make sure you 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.320 have a good doctor. Get yourself a mentor, get yourself 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:38.480 a coach. That is the key part of having that 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.760 mental strength is before you even start having all the 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.840 things in place that you can go to that you 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.600 can fall back on, so you're not in the middle 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:52.280 of your race and just wanting to give up. So 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.120 that's really what we talk about, and it's crucial why 0:15:56.240 --> 0:16:00.600 at Emerge we have the network of support, something that 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:04.320 our alums say they love and they value because it's 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:07.400 not just in their state, it's across the country that 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:11.240 they're able to call and reach upon women who are 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:15.400 going through the exact same things. So that's really when 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.960 the mental part starts. Is you've got to prepare yourself 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:22.000 before you even file that paperwork and put your name 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.480 on the ballot. You know, I just think that it's 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.920 really important, just as you said in life as in politics, 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:33.480 to build your kitchen cabinet, to build your team, your 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:35.400 support system that is going to help you. You know, 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:40.640 I just did a video, a TikTok video where I'm 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.960 talking about the fact that you know, we just saw 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:47.480 the announcement about the doomsday clock, and you know the 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:50.680 fact that we are like ninety seconds to midnight, and 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.440 you know that this has been being tracked by the 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.360 atomic bulletin since nineteen forty seven, and never have we 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:00.520 been closer to what they have been tracking as just 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.879 self made human catastrophe. Then right now when they're looking 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:09.040 at you know, the compacted crises that we're in, that 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:13.840 wears on me like it is wearing on our country. 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:17.720 It is wearing on the world, this feeling of helplessness 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.399 and anxiety. And I think that you know, running for 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.560 elected office, whether that is at the state, local, or 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:27.520 national level, is kind of the way that one way 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:33.640 that people channel that frustration and channel that anger into 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:38.680 wanting to actively do something. What recommendation do you have 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:44.160 for people though, who are feeling this angst, this anxiety 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:48.280 that is very real, that is very existential, who want 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.360 to do something, but running for office is not the 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:55.040 thing that they want to do. And what you said 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:59.879 about the doomsday o'clock, where we are still dealing with 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:05.080 the pandemic and long COVID and variants, it has to 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:08.040 be us, y'all. No one is coming to save us. 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.679 It's us. We have to be the ones to do it. 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:15.199 I know we're really tired, but we cannot just think 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:18.320 that someone's going to swoop in and solve all the 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:22.360 problems and make a planet Earth go back to what 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:26.320 it was like. It's on us to save ourselves. So 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:28.480 there are those candidates that are going to step up 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:32.280 to run for office and support them. You can support 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:36.960 them financially, especially if they're women candidates, women of color candidates. 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.800 Small dollar donations are huge. It's one of the reasons 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.400 why I love Act Blue. It makes it so easy 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:45.879 to donate. They also have a new CEO who's a 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:49.360 black woman who I'm really looking forward to working with 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:52.760 and seeing what she's going to do. Course of getting 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.480 out and vote. How can you volunteer even if you 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.720 don't live in a state but there's a super important 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:03.359 rate going on. How can you phone bank in Do 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:06.040 you know any people in that state that you can 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:10.119 be talking to? Even on social media? Talking about the 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:15.159 importance in our training program, we tell everyone that when 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:17.560 you're running for office, the first people you're going to 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:22.320 go to for support is your network, either the financial, 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:26.280 the volunteering, all of that. And people will say, oh, 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:29.720 I don't have a network, and we all have a network. 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.720 Your network is in your phone. Your network is your 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:39.040 Facebook list, who's on your Instagram, your Twitter, it's your colleagues, 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:44.760 it's your church list, it's your sorrows, it's all of that. 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:48.280 We all have a network. And for a lot of 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:51.639 these people, they're in the same boat and they're waiting 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:55.280 for that person who's going to come and say, all right, 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:59.000 this is what we need to do. Be that person 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:03.440 for your network because you really never know who's looking, 0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:07.160 who's waiting, So we all need to just be channeling 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:11.640 that energy. And again, I know it's exhausting. I took 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:15.399 over a Merge right before the pandemic hit. A LOWO 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:17.600 pandemic was not a part of my ninety eight plan. 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:23.800 But but we have to push through it. And I'm 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:26.480 going into my fourth year as president of a Merge. 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:30.800 We're still strong and we're still seeing changes, and it 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:33.520 is why I'm still in the fight because it has 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:37.680 to be upon us, and there's just so many opportunities 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:41.800 for us to get involved running for office. There's also 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:44.960 different groups that you can become a part of in 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:49.560 channel that energy by finding your why, what is driving 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:51.879 you to want to do it, and find that group 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:55.400 and channel your energy that way. And when you're around 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:57.520 other people who are hype like you, who are like, 0:20:57.560 --> 0:20:59.680 we're gonna get this done, We're going to fight back, 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:02.439 That's what gives me the energy to keep going. This 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:06.800 amazing network people like you we just gotta keep fighting. 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:11.960 You know, I'll be remiss if I don't ask you 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.040 this question before we wrap today, which is, you know, 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:18.359 women oftentimes need to be asked, right, what is it 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:22.520 five times to run for all five seven? That woman 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.800 was like people had to ask me seventy times. I 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:26.800 was like seventy times. I was like, now, now keep 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:31.160 that one to yourself, right. And yet we see that 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:37.359 men like a George Santos do you know who have 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:43.159 these super inflated views of themselves and their ego and 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:46.720 these things like is there a way you think Ashanti 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:55.159 to use George Santo's just absolutely spectacularly disastrous self to 0:21:55.359 --> 0:22:00.359 say if this man, liar person can do this, like 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:05.119 you absolutely can too. Yes, it's him. I've said the 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:09.479 same thing about Trump. I talk about the stantist like 0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:16.400 literally he's banning black history, yes, in the state of Florida. 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:20.960 And we see all of these men across the country, 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:24.280 all levels of government, and I still get upset when 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:26.880 women are like, oh, I just I don't think I 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:30.800 have what it takes. Yes, I don't have the education, 0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:34.400 I don't have the background, you know, I just this 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:37.000 is my job, and all of these people you know 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:41.480 they've been fancy lawyers and this and that, and it's 0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:46.000 still part of the conditioning of politics and who politics 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:49.040 is for. And I see that in women all the time. 0:22:49.400 --> 0:22:51.920 And the reality is like politics is for all of us. 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:55.520 As women were just not here just to vote these 0:22:55.560 --> 0:22:59.159 people into office. We are also here to put our 0:22:59.280 --> 0:23:01.920 name on the bat, to have our seats at the table. 0:23:02.480 --> 0:23:05.040 And we have to remember, if you don't run, they 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:08.159 are going to run. That is the biggest thing. And 0:23:08.200 --> 0:23:10.800 if you don't want to run, you got to talk 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:14.320 to the people who you think should be running. That 0:23:14.920 --> 0:23:18.480 is so important. So many women who I've talked to 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:21.679 and I just say, hey, I just saw you speaking 0:23:21.720 --> 0:23:24.480 on this panel. Have you consider it running for office? 0:23:24.600 --> 0:23:27.880 And just like I have it, no one's really asked me. 0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:31.440 So there's that too, the multiple times and not even 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:35.720 asking them, and they just needed that validation. So we 0:23:35.960 --> 0:23:40.399 just gotta we already have it in us. So Cardi B. 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:44.160 I love Cardi B. I remember she did a tweet 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:46.960 where she was like, y'all just wait until I go 0:23:47.040 --> 0:23:49.240 to college and get my degree and I'm going to 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:52.360 run for office and this and that. I was like, Cardie, 0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:55.480 you already have it in you. I watch how you 0:23:55.520 --> 0:24:00.159 talk about politics that woman is smart and people have 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:02.720 to just discount her as like the rapper and all 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:05.560 of this. So I'm like, jeez, even Cartie B wants 0:24:05.560 --> 0:24:07.640 to run for office, but she wants to make sure 0:24:07.720 --> 0:24:11.560 she has a master's degree before she does it. I mean, 0:24:11.800 --> 0:24:13.879 have we gotten there with Santos or any of his 0:24:14.000 --> 0:24:17.080 degree is real? No, they're not. I mean I saw 0:24:17.200 --> 0:24:20.160 the stuff that came out today for the finance reports, 0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:22.880 like everything's one hundred and ninety nine dollars. I want 0:24:22.880 --> 0:24:25.160 that one hundred and nine nine dollars Delta flight that's 0:24:25.200 --> 0:24:27.399 all I know. I was like, where you finding those that? 0:24:27.720 --> 0:24:30.000 Because I even come up when I searched Delta, so 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:32.800 it does not So I want, and it's a fraudulent 0:24:32.960 --> 0:24:37.280 like everything else, you know, I do. I think that 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:40.439 it's important and that the Carti B example is a 0:24:40.480 --> 0:24:45.040 really good one because again, women in particular always feel 0:24:45.080 --> 0:24:47.639 like what it is that they have and who it 0:24:47.720 --> 0:24:50.240 is that they are is not enough, and that they 0:24:50.240 --> 0:24:53.879 need to check every single box. Where you have woefully 0:24:54.080 --> 0:24:57.960 unqualified men who don't think twice about what it is 0:24:58.000 --> 0:24:59.840 that they're going to do, and they're like, I'm going 0:24:59.880 --> 0:25:03.240 to I'm running for president, I'm running for Congress, but 0:25:03.359 --> 0:25:08.720 without ever held any office, done any public service at all. 0:25:09.200 --> 0:25:13.280 At late Danielle, it gets even worse, y'all, there are 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:16.840 men out there who are running for office not even 0:25:16.880 --> 0:25:19.719 knowing what the office does. There was a man who 0:25:19.840 --> 0:25:23.199 didn't know that when he ran for the state House 0:25:23.440 --> 0:25:24.800 that he was going to have to go up to 0:25:24.840 --> 0:25:28.520 the Capitol for half the year, and then won the election, 0:25:28.560 --> 0:25:30.320 it had to resign because he said, oh, I can't 0:25:30.359 --> 0:25:34.200 do that with my job. That is the level a 0:25:34.400 --> 0:25:38.720 mediocrity that is on the ballot. They're not even paying 0:25:38.760 --> 0:25:42.440 attention to what these offices do and what these offices require. 0:25:43.080 --> 0:25:47.560 Like we're at the PTA meetings running the PTA, run 0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:51.760 for the school board, We're always volunteering for the other candidates. 0:25:51.800 --> 0:25:54.680