WEBVTT - No Vote Left Behind 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.760 Good morning, Peepsen. Welcome to WIKA F Daily with Meet 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:19.439 your Girl Danielle Moody back recording from the Home Bunker. Friends, 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:22.640 I'm very excited to bring to you today an interview 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:26.880 with brid Jenkins, who is the president and CEO of 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:31.680 AAPI Victory Fund, And you know, we get into a 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:37.160 conversation about the Asian American Pacific Islander community, this very 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:41.839 complex and diverse and layer community and how it is 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:47.240 oftentimes overlooked in this country when we're talking about the electorate, right, 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:50.600 we are always talking about you know, suburban voters and 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:53.000 we know who the fuck that is. And then we 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.240 talk about the black vote and will black people turn out? 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.480 Then we talk about the Latin X vote, right, and 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:04.840 this growing population. But folks, the AAPI community is one 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:09.360 of the fastest growing communities in the country, with over 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:14.280 twenty million citizens in this country from over you know, 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:19.720 thirty different countries, and Brad will break down to us. 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:23.600 You know, some startling news that came up in their 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:27.959 latest report that was done by API Victory Fund along 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:33.800 with their Progressive Coalition members that set off kind of 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:38.000 alarm bells in my head about once again, how Democrats 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:43.759 seem to be neglecting these growing populations and also their base, 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:47.520 which is black people and black women, in order to 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:52.800 tend or run after the white vote, which they haven't 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:57.160 had in decades. And so you know, as I'm talking 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:01.240 to Brad, you know he is and by virtue of 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:05.760 this report signaling the fact that Democrats are losing a 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:09.080 foothold in this community. I won't give away what he 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:11.680 says in the interview, but I will say this that 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.600 you know, by the time that you listen to this, right, 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.400 we will still have a handful of days until polls close, 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.960 meaning that people have been early voting. Election day is 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.840 the last day, right is how we look at it nowadays, 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:32.280 is the last day to vote, and we have no 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.680 idea where things are going to end up. And President 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.959 Biden spoke about the fact that people are going to 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:41.720 need to be patient because votes are going to take 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.000 time to be counted. This is just our new normal 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.640 unless something is a blowout, which no elections really going 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:52.600 forward will in fact be blowouts. We won't know on 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:58.120 election night who won. Right, And in this upcoming midterms, 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:02.920 it's truly hair raised and terrifying because the balance of 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.520 power is either going to rest with a party that 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:11.200 believes in preserving democracy, believes in human decency, believes in 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:15.800 equity and justice, or with a rapid cult that believes 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:21.639 in violence, that champions lies, and that celebrates ignorance. And so, 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:25.119 you know, as I talk to my friends who are 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:29.600 from you know, around the US and our children of 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:33.799 immigrants or our immigrants themselves, and they're watching their own 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:39.200 elections at home, be a raiser thin and recognizing that 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:43.840 this push for fascism and authoritarianism isn't unique to the 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:48.440 United States. It is happening everywhere. And the religious right 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:52.880 and white evangelical Christians and you know, fascists and Nazis 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:57.000 and all of these people have their tentacles in all countries. 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.480 And so are we going to wake up to that 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.640 right or are we going to wake up, you know, 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.160 several days after the election wondering what it's going to 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.640 be like to stand in breadlines, wondering what it's going 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.760 to be like to not have social safety nets like 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:17.680 social security and medicare to recognize that, you know, we 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.640 have a politicized and weaponized Supreme Court that is gutting 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:25.720 civil liberties and rights, and what happens to a desperate 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:30.560 and broke people. There is nothing more that signals revolution 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.680 than all of the things that I just named. So 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:37.040 we are living in frightening times and there is no one, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:41.560 no community, no vote should be left behind. And so 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.839 that's the conversation that I'm getting into next with the 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:52.039 President and CEO of AAPI Victory Fund, Brad Jenkins. Hey, 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.760 I'm David Plots of SLA Political Gabfest. As another election 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:59.479 season accelerates, it can be tricky to sort through all 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.440 the ways in the news. Each week on the gap Fest, 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:05.880 John Dickerson, Emily Bathlon and I decipher the headlines, break 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:09.119 down the races, and tell you what issues really matter. 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.960 We do not always agree, We definitely do not always agree, 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:16.240 but we always deliver thoughtful debate and we always have 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:20.200 a good time. So subscribe to Slate's Political Gapfest, new 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:26.000 episodes every Thursday, folks. I am very excited to welcome 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:28.720 to wok a f daily for the first time President 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:33.919 and CEO of AAPI Victory Fund, Brad Jenkins, who is 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:37.760 also a former Associate Director of the White House Office 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:42.520 of Public Engagement under Obama, our forever and favorite president. 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:46.880 So Brad, you know, first, I want to give you 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:53.840 an opportunity to tell people exactly what AAPI victory fund 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:58.600 is and what you all focus on. Yeah, well, first off, 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:02.880 thank you so much everything you do, UM, which is education, 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:07.040 firing people a huge fan um so presidency of a 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.320 victory fund. And my name is Brad Jenkins, which I 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:16.480 know is the worst Asian name of are very confused, 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:22.479 like what what is it? Yeah, that is black. My 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:26.200 mom is curring. So so that's where that's where that 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:28.840 comes from. But uh, you know, we're the first Asian 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:33.960 American superpath were formed about eight years ago. Normanetta mayhe 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:37.880 rest in peace UM founded it with our our chair 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.719 Shaker Ramison. And you know, look, at the end of 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:46.120 the day, our community is always overlooked when it comes 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.120 to voting for a lot of different reasons, and so 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.840 there's this vicious cycle. Our community votes the least of 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:55.920 all communities. Asian Americans vote the least, they're the least 0:06:55.920 --> 0:07:02.440 civically engaged, they're the least uh least available to donate 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:05.120 right of all communities, which is crazy if you think 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:08.159 about it. So I took over the Helm about a 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.920 year ago to change that. And the biggest reason why 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:15.600 was we were facing a moment, right, a moment of 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:19.680 Asian hate, a moment where Donald Trump was weaponizing words 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:23.440 against our community that was leading to very real violence 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.520 and discrimination in the streets. And it was great that 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.240 we were sort of galvanizing and coming together, but we 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.960 weren't seeing that at the ballot box. And so our 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.160 work this year and our work beyond November is to 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:39.040 really change that that dynamic, is to make sure that 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:44.559 Asian American voters are invested in, that we are thought 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:48.440 of and centered and polling and data and voter turnout 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.040 because at the end of the day, all of the 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.960 candidates that we care about, right, especially candidates like Stacey 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:58.560 Abrams or Ralph Warnock or folks who are in Nevada, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:02.680 folks who are in Arizona, they're not winning without Asian 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.640 American votes. So we are working in locks that speaking 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.480 up a lot of those folks like Center, We'reknock and others. 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:12.760 We're working very closely with the turnout the vote to win. 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.880 So so let's unpack a couple of things, Uh that 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.720 that you stated that you know I a are of 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:24.040 surprise to me, which is one, why does the AAPI 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:29.960 community vote the least and what is what is the thing? 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.719 And again we will talk about the report that was 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:37.320 done by your organization in coalition with a group of 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:40.920 other progressive organizations kind of digging into this issue. But 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.559 why is it that they vote the least and what 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:48.200 do you believe, Sho, is that is an activation point 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:53.600 that maybe Democrats have been missing. Yeah, well, there are 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:55.800 a lot of reasons why. I mean the biggest reason 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.240 in my opinion, I mean we see this in polls 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:05.319 is you know, campaigns, candidates parties, you know, the Democratic 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:08.680 Party in particular, they're they're not investing to actually reach 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.160 our voters. So you'd be surprised. I think a lot 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:16.119 of folks just assume, well, you know, maybe this community. 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:18.640 By the way, our community which is very diverse, right, 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:22.079 I mean there's like thirty different countries and nationalities, languages, 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:25.200 So that in and of itself makes it challenging for 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:29.720 the Democratic Party or state democratic parties to reach our community, 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:34.760 especially in language, in culture, in religion. So because of that, 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.640 it's just costs more and it's more more labor intensive, 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.120 and it's work to reach our community to turn out 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:44.000 to vote. And I think the second thing, and this 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:47.120 is a generational thing, especially for my you know, my 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:51.280 mom who's a Korean immigrant, and a lot of Asian Americans, 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:54.880 younger Asian Americans talk about that older generation. You know, 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:59.520 the culture of voting is just not as embedded in 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.199 a lot of these immigrant communities, and so the idea 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:06.480 of being an active citizen running for office being you know, 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:11.520 holding elected officials accountable not as present in a lot 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:15.880 of our our parents generation or our grandparents generation. But 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.360 what we're finding, and the exciting thing for me, is 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:21.400 that this younger generation, eighteen to thirty four year old 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:26.360 Asian Americans, very different, very very different, voting at higher rates, 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:29.880 very progressive as it relates to you know, issues like 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:33.840 lack lives matter, issues like climate change, issues like abortion access, 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:38.480 and so we're breaking that cycle. In fact, in twenty twenty, 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:41.959 you know, largely because of Donald Trump. We can kind 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:45.960 of thank him for galvanized our community together. Asian Americans 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:48.600 voted at the highest rates that we've ever voted before 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:54.720 in twenty twenty, especially in early vote numbers. So it's happening. 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:57.920 I think that you're you're starting to see our community 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:01.800 understand that you know, Donald Trump, you know, his hatred 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.959 was for everyone. His hatred was directed at black people, 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:12.040 at LGBTQ, at immigrants, right, and also in Asian Americans. 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:15.880 And so there's a you know, a reckoning, right, there's 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:19.160 a there's a realization and awareness that we have to 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:22.079 be in solidarity with the black community, we have to 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:25.400 be in solidarity with the immigrant rights community, we have 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:29.559 to be in solidarity with the LGBTQ movement. Because it's 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.839 like that you know old adage, you know they're coming 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:36.360 for us next. Clearly Trump was coming for us, you know, 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:40.600 kung flu and wuhan and all of this awful rhetoric 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:43.000 every single day from the White House. It led to 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:46.559 real debts, It led to real violence in the streets. 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:50.839 And so the exciting things we mentioned is that organization 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.439 that typically have never invested in Asian American research, you know, 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:59.360 organizations like Planned Parenthood, organizations like nay roll and vegu 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:03.880 of conservation voters all came together to do the biggest, 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.640 most comprehensive poll of Asian American voters and we've never 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:10.920 done before, largely because they all want to win the 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.920 other one day, it's like, yes, it's good, we should 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:18.280 understand where Asian American voters are, but we all need 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:21.079 we all know it's at stake. We know democracy is 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.400 at stake, and we know we are not going to 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:27.800 win these elections if we are just completely overlooking the 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:31.400 Asian American community. So while it's a good thing to do, right, 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:34.880 obviously we should always be including Asian American polling and 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:36.880 we should be reaching out to the Asian American community 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.280 because it's the right thing to do. At the end 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.280 of the day, you know, my job is to win elections, right. 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:44.760 My job is making the case that if we want 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.680 to win, we want to win in Pennsylvania, we got 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.360 to turn out Asian Americans in Philadelphia, right. If we 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:53.240 want to win in Nevada, we had to turn out 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:59.320 Filipinos in Clark County. If we don't, then these big elections, 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.280 right or it's John Fetterman, you know, whether it's court 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.760 as Master, we are going to lose. So it's an 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:09.280 exciting moment for our community. It's a moment that again 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:11.599 there's still a lot of work that we need to 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:14.599 do in catching up to you know, a lot of 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:19.439 larger institutions, but it's work that we're really proud of. So, 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:24.400 you know, I want to talk a bit about Trumpism 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:30.040 and the rise of uh Asian hate, um, and the 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.000 way you know, you mentioned with all of the rhetoric 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:39.319 that surrounded the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic um, and 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:45.439 how that rhetoric translated into into violence. Um. You know 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:49.960 it's it's as as an outsider looking into the community, 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:55.319 I've always looked at the AAPI community as one that 0:13:55.640 --> 0:14:00.720 is readily ignored, right. Um. That is that is yet 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:05.080 still put up in many ways portions of the community 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:08.840 as the model quote unquote minority, but then readily ignored 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.880 right with the violence and the issues that are facing 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:17.240 the community. And so do you think that as we 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.600 are seeing once again a rise in anti Semitism, the 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:27.680 consistent you know, rise in anti blackness, that Democrats do 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:32.480 a good job of being able to weave together all 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:37.320 the ways in which the right has pitted communities against 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:42.080 each other. Right, but then are using the same tactics, 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:45.880 but just with different targets at different times. So our 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.840 democrats exploiting what it is that the right is doing 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:54.480 as a way to forge this coalition that frankly Obama 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.920 had in hand, and then he left and it left 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:02.160 with him. I couldn't agree more. No, Democrats are not 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.160 doing good enough job. And I'll just say, and by 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.520 the way, I think that and I would I think 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:10.240 that probably the Democratic Party would agree to it, that 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.360 there needs to be a lot more work when we're 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:17.640 talking about intersectionality, we're talking about building power as communities 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:20.520 of color together. And you're right. You know, I'm an 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:24.040 Obama baby, right, so I'm like, I volunteered from the president. 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:25.760 I then worked for him in the White House. And 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.960 it was easier to do under an Obama administration because 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:33.160 he embodied it. He embodied it front to back, from 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.000 staffing to the rhetoric. You know, it was all really 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.000 about how do we bring all of these disparate communities 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:44.200 of color together in common purpose to win? And I 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:46.200 think you're exactly right. I think the one thing that 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:49.320 Trump did a very good job of is pitting communities 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.200 against each other. And we saw that, I mean, we 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:55.000 saw that play out a lot with Asian American violence. 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:58.560 We saw a lot online viral videos hitting the black 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:00.920 community against the Asian American community. I mean, this is 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:04.040 not new. They've been doing this to the black and 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:09.720 Asian American community forever, you know, like since there's been redlining, 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.800 and since poor people have lived in concentrations of poverty. 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.200 You know, Black people and Asian people have been pitted 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:19.080 against each other. And so the short answer is no. 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:23.120 But the exciting thing is, you know, that's where groups 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.640 like ours come in. Because that's the first thing I 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:28.880 did when I joined the Victory Fund was we reached 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.920 out to Collective Pack, which is the largest African American pack. 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.520 We reach out to the Latino Victory Fund, which is 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:37.800 the largest Latino pack, and we formed an MoU together 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:40.600 to say, we got to share all this data. We 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.040 got to work together when we're knocking doors. We had 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.960 to fund race together, we had to do donor pitches together, 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:50.640 because to your point, we cannot let them divide us. 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:54.200 That's that's a recipe for success with the right. Right 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.320 is when we start feeling like, oh, well, you know 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:01.360 the Asians, but I don't mean really care about the 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:06.080 Asian violence. We care about our issues. And we saw 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.040 a little bit of that play out in a lot 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:11.880 of local elections this past year or past two years. 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:15.639 And you know, our work this year is really breaking 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:18.440 that cycle. In a state like Georgia, you're seeing it 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:22.159 on the ground because we have just an incredible ticket. 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.879 We have Center Warrenot, we have the win who's running 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:29.400 for Secretary of State, a young Asian American woman who's incredible, 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:32.600 and then obviously of Stacey Abrahams and the three of them, 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:36.240 as they're going out to communities, not just black communities, 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:38.680 not just Asian communities, not just the team of communities, 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:42.520 all communities. They're doing it together, they're doing it coordinated, 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.760 and they're bringing all of these disparate communities together. So 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:48.200 it's hard work and at the end of the day, 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:52.119 this work isn't easy. And I do think that the 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:54.399 one thing I will say about these communities is that, 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.760 you know, a lot of money and a lot of polling, 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:02.720 and a lot of stations on NPR and you know, 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.840 MSNBC and CNA focus on white voters. We love to 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.160 talk about white voters. We love to talk about whether 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.560 they're college educated, what kind of minivans they drive, if 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:15.119 they're soccer moms, you know, like if they work in 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:17.960 coal mines. Like all of that work is focused on 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.200 white voters. And at the end of the day, the 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:24.000 opportunities and we want to thank well, okay yuh for 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:30.000 giving us this opportunity. Very rarely are Asian Americans even mentioned. Right, 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:35.280 there's twenty four million Asian Americans in this country, but 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:37.080 if you were to turn on the news, you would 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:40.320 not think that we even know that we are even 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:44.000 a part of the conversation. So the other thing that 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:46.920 we were really trying to do here and working with 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.480 our friends at Collective Pack in others, is that, you know, 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:52.680 we when we do get that spotlight, when we as 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.439 organizations do get shine, we want to bring our partners together, 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.680 you know, and give them the opportunity to shine as well. 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.000 It's a lot of work, you know, It's it's not 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.680 going to happen overnight, but it's work that we just 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.119 have to do if we want to win. Get a 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:10.880 behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.800 on Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from The Daily 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.639 Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.040 goes deeper with the notable guests and experts from the 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:22.160 Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy to tackle 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:25.000 current topics from gentrification to gun laws and take a 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:27.720 closer look at how and why these topics matter. Listen 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:30.000 to Beyond the Scenes from the Daily Show with Trevor 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.119 Noah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:39.919 get your podcast, new episodes every Tuesday. Let's talk about 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:46.679 your the report that was done by the Progressive Coalition. 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:50.320 Where in it? And you know, and I'll allow you 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:55.520 to lay out this specifics, but we're in it it. 0:19:55.960 --> 0:20:01.080 There's an alarming stat which is that, you know, support 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:05.440 for Democrats has fallen and I believe it was from 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:09.399 fifty four percent to fifty one percent. Now when I 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:12.879 say that, people will hear well, it's still about fifty percent, 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:20.080 so we're fine. On the opposite side, there's been a 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:24.800 rise by two percentage points to support for Republicans. And 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:28.200 I sit here and I say to myself, Bread, how 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:31.200 the hell does that happen when you have an entire 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:36.040 Republican party that was out here essentially raising the flag 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:41.040 for Asian hate, essentially pointing at this community and saying, oh, 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:44.320 you see these people that are on the trains and 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:46.680 on your subways and in the stores and whatever. They're 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.960 the reason why you're you know, held up quarantine in 0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:53.880 your home. That's essentially what they did. So how did 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:58.000 the hell do you see a tick up in support 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:02.159 for Republicans and a tickdown for support with Democrats in 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:07.840 the report that you, along with your coalition members put together. Yeah, well, 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.480 first off, thank you for reading the report. And it's 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.600 a learning I mean again, shows that we as Democrats 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:17.320 have not done a very good job of educating right 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:21.520 and telling the story of what this party, what this president, 0:21:21.680 --> 0:21:24.119 what a lot of our elected officials had done to 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:27.360 get us out of the munk of the Donald Trump administration. 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:31.399 The short answer is why is honestly, it's, you know, 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:34.120 a majority of Asian American voters, much like the majority 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:37.480 of most voters, not just the Asian American feel like 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:41.959 the country's on the wrong track. The cost of living, inflation, 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:45.120 costs of you know, gas prices, all of these things 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:49.760 have risen, and the jobs in the economy are scaring 0:21:50.040 --> 0:21:53.040 a lot of our voters. So while you know, anti 0:21:53.200 --> 0:21:57.040 Asian hate is an issue that's important, these other issues 0:21:57.119 --> 0:22:01.240 take priority, and these other issues were public have you know, 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:04.080 like any other party, like any midterm right, it's it's 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:06.960 the party that's out of power. Can just say, these 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:08.760 guys will know what they're doing, give us a shot. 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:12.800 And that is resonating with with some Asian Americans who 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:16.560 are fearful that Democrats don't have a plan to get 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.199 the economy back on track. The good news with all 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:23.600 of this, though, there're a couple of bright spots. One, 0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:28.600 young Asian Americans, do not believe. Young Asian Americans are 0:22:28.800 --> 0:22:32.480 essentially the base of the Democratic vote for Asian Americans. 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:35.160 They're more progressive and fired up to vote than they've 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:38.040 ever been. And so again this is a community that 0:22:38.160 --> 0:22:41.919 typically doesn't vote as high as as you know, older 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:45.560 Asian American voters, but this cycle they are very motivated 0:22:45.640 --> 0:22:48.280 to vote. And so that's that's a bright spot for me. 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:51.320 And then the other bright spot I think broadly speaking, 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:54.920 is issues like abortion access that was typically not as 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:59.800 crucial or important of an issue for Asian Americans has skyrocketed, 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:03.120 you know, especially among Asian American women. So you are 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:06.000 going to find and what we're seeing with early voting 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:10.160 from pulling that especially first time voters and young Asian 0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:13.160 American women, they are inspired to vote up and down 0:23:13.200 --> 0:23:16.920 the ballot for Democrats. But you know, the question that 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:18.920 you're asking is the right one. I mean, you know 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:21.639 this is not going to be not through the Debbie 0:23:21.640 --> 0:23:27.200 Downer I'm sure you're like, I need help. This in 0:23:27.400 --> 0:23:29.840 term is not going to be pretty, you know, it's not. 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:31.760 I mean, I mean, if you're just kind of looking 0:23:31.800 --> 0:23:35.240 at the numbers across the board, I think you know, 0:23:35.400 --> 0:23:39.920 most Americans are, you know, very uneasy with the direction 0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:42.639 of the country and Democrats are in control, and so 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:46.760 m what I am most concerned about right now is 0:23:46.840 --> 0:23:50.960 that all of these races, right, you know, states like Pennsylvania, 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:54.720 states like Georgia, states like Nevada, if you live in 0:23:54.800 --> 0:23:57.520 any of these states, by the way, like God blessing, 0:23:57.640 --> 0:23:59.920 please vote, Please get all of your friends to vote. 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:03.119 The margin of victory or defeat is going to be 0:24:03.280 --> 0:24:06.800 so small, it's going to be one point point one 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:09.359 and a half point And so I know for a 0:24:09.480 --> 0:24:12.919 fact that you know, if we are leaving any votes 0:24:13.240 --> 0:24:15.240 you know, on the table, so to speak, or we're 0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:17.840 you know, there are a lot of Democrats right now 0:24:18.119 --> 0:24:22.840 who are feeling a little disillusion and don't understand, as 0:24:22.920 --> 0:24:24.600 you know, and you've been talking about on your pot, 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:28.520 what's at stake this election, any election deniers that are 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:31.280 running and are likely going to win, right, and what 0:24:31.560 --> 0:24:35.040 this means for our next election? Right, whether it's Trump 0:24:35.119 --> 0:24:37.000 or DeSantis or whomever is going to be running at 0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:39.800 the top of the ticket. How many election deniers are 0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:42.879 running and could potentially win is what keeps me up 0:24:42.920 --> 0:24:45.639 at night. So we just have to do everything that 0:24:45.760 --> 0:24:48.280 we can, you know, not just at the federal level, 0:24:48.359 --> 0:24:50.679 but especially at the local level. We're doing a lot 0:24:50.760 --> 0:24:53.720 of work. I mentioned be Win who's running for secretary 0:24:53.760 --> 0:24:57.800 of state in Georgia, but Steve Hobbs is another Asian 0:24:57.800 --> 0:25:00.880 American running for secretary of State in the state of Washington. 0:25:00.960 --> 0:25:03.879 Like these secretary of state races are only now how 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:07.040 important they are. Yep, We're just important. They are going 0:25:07.119 --> 0:25:10.520