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Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Hey

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Speaker 1: with smarties, Welcome back to another episode of Work in Progress.

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Speaker 1: Today's guest is someone that I absolutely adore. I've watched

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Speaker 1: her from afar for a very long time, and her

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Speaker 1: leadership has been so impressive to me, perhaps crystallizing when

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Speaker 1: her husband, none other than Minnesota Governor Tim Walls was

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Speaker 1: selected by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running

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Speaker 1: mate on the twenty twenty four ticket. Gwen Walls is

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Speaker 1: an American educator and public school administrator. She is the

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Speaker 1: thirty ninth and current first Lady of Minnesota as the

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Speaker 1: wife of said Governor Tim Walls. And Gwen is fascinating

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Speaker 1: to me because she is a teacher and an advocate,

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Speaker 1: and she gives me the kind of energy and a

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Speaker 1: conversation that I just know would have made her my

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Speaker 1: absolute favorite teacher in high school. She began her English

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Speaker 1: teaching career in Western Nebraska, which is where she met Tim,

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Speaker 1: and throughout her career, Gwen has taught in public, alternative

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Speaker 1: and migrant schools, which has shaped her vision for education.

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Speaker 1: She served for more than two decades as an administrator

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Speaker 1: and coordinator in the man Cato area public schools working

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Speaker 1: to eliminate the achievement gap and strive for more equity

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Speaker 1: and access within education systems because Gwen knows that a

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Speaker 1: strong public education system, which she considers to encompass from

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Speaker 1: birth through senior citizens, is critical to empowering every person

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Speaker 1: and for her every Minnesotan to succeed. Throughout her life,

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Speaker 1: Gwen has worked passionately to build a more just and

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Speaker 1: equitable world, from teaching at prisons and promoting criminal justice

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Speaker 1: reform to advocating for the lgbt TQ plus movement. Gwen's

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Speaker 1: desire to learn from and work with others to advance

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Speaker 1: meaningful change is her guiding principle, which makes her an

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Speaker 1: absolutely perfect guest for work in Progress. Let's chat with

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Speaker 1: the First Lady of Minnesota, Gwen Walls.

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Speaker 2: How are you?

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Speaker 3: I am fine? I am great. I mean Minnesota fine

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Speaker 3: kind of like covers everything. So if you say you're

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Speaker 3: fine in Minnesota, it's like, oh, pretty good, you know,

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Speaker 3: and weather's great, no rain, you know, and that's kind

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Speaker 3: of like a Minnesota thing.

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Speaker 2: Sure.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, So I'm in Minnesota today and that's pretty fun

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Speaker 3: to be here home for a day to kind of

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Speaker 3: switch clothes. See everybody you know just sleep in your

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Speaker 3: own bed, so that that's nice.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm so glad to hear it.

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Speaker 1: Well, I just want to thank you for taking the

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Speaker 1: time and for surely for just the way that you've

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Speaker 1: jumped into this race, you know, with such passion and

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Speaker 1: enthusiasm and joy. I know it's an intense time and

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Speaker 1: I can't imagine how intense it is for you all,

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Speaker 1: but it really does feel nice to have so much

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Speaker 1: positivity in politics on our side these days.

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Speaker 3: Thank you. That's that's kind. And thank you. I know

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Speaker 3: you're very active and doing all kinds of things everything

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Speaker 3: you can.

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Speaker 2: Thanks.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we appreciate it. I mean, I think we're all

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Speaker 3: doing it for the same reason, right, we all really

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Speaker 3: care about our country and we are determined to win.

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Speaker 3: And as I say in my stump speech, I know

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Speaker 3: we are going to win because we have you.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, that's beautiful. Can I can I ask?

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Speaker 1: I mean, and I imagine I know that you and

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Speaker 1: your husband come from you know, historic sort of personal

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Speaker 1: careers as educators. You know, your folks that stand up

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Speaker 1: for people that believe in you know, who's coming after

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Speaker 1: us and in the America that they're going to build.

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Speaker 2: So I think it makes sense. You know, when I

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Speaker 2: look at the two of.

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Speaker 1: You, I go, what a great, you know, powerhouse leadership

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Speaker 1: couple they are.

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Speaker 2: And then I also go, what was it like for you?

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Speaker 1: You know, when you first sat down to have this conversation,

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Speaker 1: not you know, the governor and the first Lady of Minnesota,

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Speaker 1: but just Gwen and Tim and he said, Hey, I

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Speaker 1: think I want to run for office. Was that did

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Speaker 1: it take a while or did it just feel like, yes,

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Speaker 1: that's absolutely what our family's going to go do next.

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Speaker 3: Well, you know the governor, So you know that we

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Speaker 3: never sat down to have that conversation right like that

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Speaker 3: was that was on a dead run? Actually, it's it's

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Speaker 3: kind of an interesting story. I think we felt compelled

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Speaker 3: to run, and it seems like every step that we've

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Speaker 3: taken in politics has been because we've been compelled by

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Speaker 3: a really strong reason. My mom has this saying. She

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Speaker 3: used to say, Gwen, you have to do the work

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Speaker 3: that's in front of you growing up, and I thought

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Speaker 3: growing up that meant like the dishes or my homework

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Speaker 3: or something, right, But what she was really saying was

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Speaker 3: that I had to see with my own eyes, what

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Speaker 3: the work was that was in front of me, and

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Speaker 3: it was a very empowering statement to look at my

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Speaker 3: neighborhood or my school, or you know, my community, eventually

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Speaker 3: my state and now my country. So there's always been,

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Speaker 3: I think for Tim and I a real compelling reason.

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Speaker 3: We never planned our life to be in politics, but

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Speaker 3: we say our life kind of helped prepare us for that.

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Speaker 3: But when Tim was deployed in three oh four, Hope

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Speaker 3: was two and a half. That was two and a

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Speaker 3: half to three and a half, and we were really,

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Speaker 3: you know, frustrated with the war that was in Tim

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Speaker 3: served in support of Operation and touring Freedom and when

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Speaker 3: he came back, he went to a George Bush rally

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Speaker 3: in our community and it was the first time a

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Speaker 3: president had been in our community in man Cato since

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Speaker 3: I don't know, a really long time, probably more than

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Speaker 3: fifty years at least. And so Tim thought he should

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Speaker 3: go to the rally, and there were some students who

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Speaker 3: wanted to go with him, so he took some students.

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Speaker 3: I did not go. I was working during the summer

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Speaker 3: for the school district and just did not take the

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Speaker 3: time to do that. And so at that rally, because

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Speaker 3: the kids had like this John Carey sticker on their billfold,

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Speaker 3: and because they had been holding signs as a motorcade passed,

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Speaker 3: you know, that were they weren't my mean signs, but

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Speaker 3: they were like healthcare for National Guard and things like that.

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Speaker 3: They were asked rally and yeah, and public radio documented

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Speaker 3: this and they asked him to leave the rally and

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Speaker 3: he said, I'm I'm not going to leave the rally.

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Speaker 3: There's no reason for me to leave the rally. And

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Speaker 3: so they said, well, then we're going to have to

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Speaker 3: put secret service around you. And this was all with

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Speaker 3: our friends and our neighbors and our community. And Tim

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Speaker 3: had just returned from you know, serving a deployment. He

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Speaker 3: had been like the teacher of the Year and was

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Speaker 3: a finalist at that time for the Minnesota Teacher of

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Speaker 3: the Year. He was a coach, he was, you know,

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Speaker 3: an active civic person in our community. And we just

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Speaker 3: felt like, what kind of country is this where you

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Speaker 3: can't have a differing or an opposing view and be

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Speaker 3: okay at a rally. And so we got involved in

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Speaker 3: the John Kerry campaign and said what can we do?

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Speaker 3: And we called the Democratic Party and said what can

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Speaker 3: we do? And so they told us, and so we

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Speaker 3: got involved trying to organize, and we it was our

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Speaker 3: first time being involved in politics. We'd dropped literature before

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Speaker 3: for a teacher who would run for state house, but

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Speaker 3: that was it. And so we got involved and hoped

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Speaker 3: John Kerry would win, and we got involved in the

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Speaker 3: Democratic Party and opening up the Democratic office in our

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Speaker 3: community and trying to keep it open. Anyway, John Kerrey

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Speaker 3: did not win, and we were really despondent about that,

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Speaker 3: and our friends and neighbors and students said, you know,

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Speaker 3: one of you should run for Congress. And we learn

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Speaker 3: a really red district, and Tim and I thought about it,

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Speaker 3: and we said, well, in order to stop the war,

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Speaker 3: you stop the money, and the only place you can

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Speaker 3: stop the money is the United States Congress, and so

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Speaker 3: you have to run for the United States Congress. Because

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Speaker 3: then people were like, oh my gosh, you're running for Congress.

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Speaker 3: You haven't even ever run for anything before, right, And

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Speaker 3: so I said, well, Tim's the homecoming king. That was

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Speaker 3: the last thing he was elected to. And you know,

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Speaker 3: they said, well, that's not a ringing endorsement for Congress.

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Speaker 3: They said, well maybe yes, maybe no, but you know,

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Speaker 3: this is this is our goal, like this is why

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Speaker 3: we're running. And so we got involved and you know,

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Speaker 3: we put it all on the line in that race.

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Speaker 3: And that's a rather long story to tell, but I

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Speaker 3: wanted to answer your question fully and maybe for people

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Speaker 3: who listen, it is a story that they too can

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Speaker 3: relate to, because I think you just have to find

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Speaker 3: what it is that you can do, what the work

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Speaker 3: is in front of you, and how just getting involved,

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Speaker 3: for sure doesn't mean you're going to eventually run for Congress,

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Speaker 3: but it does mean that you're going to get involved

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Speaker 3: with your community, and that taking action is super important,

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Speaker 3: and listening to your friends and neighbors and facilitating those

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Speaker 3: conversations right and finding through your own talents and your

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Speaker 3: own time and your own experiences, how you might best

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Speaker 3: serve and asking asking that question, how might I best

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Speaker 3: serve and then answering that with your own with your

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Speaker 3: own gifts, because there's not you know, unlike schools, sometimes

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Speaker 3: there's not a wrong answer. Here, there's only a right

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Speaker 3: answer because it's your answer, so that you know. So

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Speaker 3: that's really how it started, and we won because once

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Speaker 3: we got in that race, we were determined and we

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Speaker 3: had a goal and then it was re elected five

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Speaker 3: more times after that, but we could see things were

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Speaker 3: moving towards some statewide discussions and we had some real

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Speaker 3: cares and concerns about Minnesota, and so we decided to

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Speaker 3: run forgether.

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Speaker 1: We'll be back in just a minute, but here's a

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Speaker 1: word from our sponsors. So it really is so interesting

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Speaker 1: to me to hear the story of, you know, your

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Speaker 1: early shift as a family into politics, and thank you.

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Speaker 1: I don't think it's too long a story at all.

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Speaker 1: I loved every minute of it, but I it's not

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Speaker 1: lost on me. You know that he talks about something

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Speaker 1: that I think should be pretty basic, you know, the

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Speaker 1: idea that certain things have become partisan, like making sure

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Speaker 1: folks have clean air to breathe or clean water, or

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Speaker 1: being frank that everyone I think in our country deserves healthcare,

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Speaker 1: but certainly our veterans. Do you know, I don't think

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Speaker 1: that should be controversial, and the idea.

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Speaker 2: You know that he and these.

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Speaker 1: Students were asked to leave a rally then and it

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Speaker 1: seemed so shocking and by the way, is and should

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Speaker 1: have been. But you fast forward to today and you

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Speaker 1: see the other side hosting these rallies talking about deploying

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Speaker 1: the American military on American citizens who don't vote for

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Speaker 1: the candidate. On the other side, you know, he wants

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Speaker 1: to lock up anybody who doesn't agree with him. And

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Speaker 1: he thinks the fact that you know, he's actually been

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Speaker 1: called a criminal because he is a criminal, I mean,

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Speaker 1: a thirty four time convicted felon, is somehow an inappropriate

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Speaker 1: talking point. It feels like we've lost the plot a

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Speaker 1: little bit. And I would imagine, especially being a military family,

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Speaker 1: you know, it's got to be incredibly difficult to see

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Speaker 1: folks who don't respect the Constitution. And I ask that

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Speaker 1: because you all, in my observations anyway, as a citizen

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Speaker 1: who's certainly a policy nerd, but you all have been

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Speaker 1: so incredible at kind of taking a part these right

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Speaker 1: wing talking points simply because you are who you are.

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Speaker 1: You know, you said the governor served his country, You

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Speaker 1: talked about his deployments. You you know, first lady, have

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Speaker 1: spoken so openly about your own reproductive freedom journey, your

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Speaker 1: experiences with fertility treements. As we have these conversations now

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Speaker 1: about how to protect women and our families and our

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Speaker 1: abilities to have families, you know, you all have been

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Speaker 1: able to kind of look around.

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Speaker 2: And go, what are we talking about here?

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Speaker 1: You know, he hunts and is for gun control, same

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Speaker 1: with so many people in my family. You know, how,

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Speaker 1: how do you too feel like you bring some sanity

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Speaker 1: to these crazy partisan talking points? Because to me, I'm like,

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Speaker 1: I can tell you both have been teachers for a

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Speaker 1: long time. You're so good and communicating. And I don't

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Speaker 1: mean to make light of it, because it is dire,

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Speaker 1: but the way that you seem to take the wind

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Speaker 1: out of those crazy sales gives me a lot of hope.

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Speaker 1: And I guess I'm just curious how you guys do this,

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Speaker 1: you know, as a family unit.

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Speaker 3: Well, thank you. That's an awful big compliment and we

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Speaker 3: are we are honored to serve. And part of the

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Speaker 3: real thrill of being on this campaign is that we

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Speaker 3: get to live our values. And that was what politics

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Speaker 3: was about from the very start. We said, when Tim

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Speaker 3: was asked to leave that Bush rally, we said, you know,

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Speaker 3: we did not have hope, not have our dad at

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Speaker 3: home for almost an entire year, not to be able

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Speaker 3: to have not to be able to express our views,

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Speaker 3: and not to have everybody else be able to express

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Speaker 3: their views either, Right, Like that means a lot to us,

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Speaker 3: and so we have to get in the game here

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Speaker 3: right in a way. And I think all you can

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Speaker 3: be is who you are, and so you bring your

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Speaker 3: authentic self, good, bad and otherwise you know, to the table, right,

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Speaker 3: and you bring your own you bring your own skill set. Now,

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Speaker 3: if you taught high school juniors and seniors, you be

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Speaker 3: well practiced at pulling the main points or you know,

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Speaker 3: the important points out of all kinds of noise around you,

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Speaker 3: because that's a survival skill. And if you can't do

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Speaker 3: that as a teacher, your kids aren't going to be

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Speaker 3: ready for what they need to do next. And you

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Speaker 3: can't imagine as a teacher not being able to do

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Speaker 3: that for your students. That's your responsibility. And I think

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Speaker 3: for Tim and I too, we also just feel so

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Speaker 3: incredibly hopeful in schools that every day when you go

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Speaker 3: into that classroom or going to that school, you see

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Speaker 3: the future in front of you. And when people would

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Speaker 3: worry about the future, we never did because we saw

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Speaker 3: those kids who were going to create it every single day.

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Speaker 3: And Tim and I both feel like we are so

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Speaker 3: incredibly blessed to have amazing students and every year when

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Speaker 3: they would graduate, we'd be like, oh no, you know,

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Speaker 3: like there's never a new class like this again. And

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Speaker 3: then next year the class would come and you'd be like, oh,

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Speaker 3: my gosh, these kids are the most amazing kids ever.

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Speaker 3: And then at the end of the year we'll be like,

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Speaker 3: oh no, you know, and like just youth, energy and

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Speaker 3: kids and ideas are out there. But we took that

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Speaker 3: very seriously. We say teaching, Yes, that's the career we chose.

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Speaker 3: It's the job we did. But more than that, it's

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Speaker 3: who we are. You know, my parents were both teachers.

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Speaker 3: I had three sisters, two of them are teachers. Tim's

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Speaker 3: dad was a teacher and then a superintendent. He had

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Speaker 3: three siblings. They all became teachers. Most of them are

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Speaker 3: married to teachers. You know. We have great friends who

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Speaker 3: are teachers. So like, that was all around us, and

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Speaker 3: those are skills that you develop over time. But I

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Speaker 3: will say we work really hard at trying to understand

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Speaker 3: and listen, and those are important things. Listening is important,

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Speaker 3: and then you have you have to try to bring

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Speaker 3: it to the task at hand, and we work at

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Speaker 3: that every single day because not only now do we

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Speaker 3: care about our students, but we care we care about

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Speaker 3: the people in our community and our state. You have

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Speaker 3: to know who you are and what you're fighting for

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Speaker 3: and why you're fighting for it. And everybody does that

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Speaker 3: in their own way. And I'm so respectful like you

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Speaker 3: doing this this podcast right, like you're fighting for it

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Speaker 3: and this is very important. And your listeners they may

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Speaker 3: be having a conversation with someone nobody else is having

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Speaker 3: a conversation with right, And now we all have a

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Speaker 3: chance to bring all the diversibilities and talents together and

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Speaker 3: get to that ballot box and vote for what we

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Speaker 3: care about. That that is our voice, and that's living

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Speaker 3: our values. I don't know if that's a good answer

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Speaker 3: or not.

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Speaker 2: I think it's a great answer.

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Speaker 3: That's kind of where I am with that. But the

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Speaker 3: highest compliment for me has been so many of our

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Speaker 3: students coming back and telling their stories and talking about

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Speaker 3: you know, how they appreciated us. Maybe even not at

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Speaker 3: the moment. Governor Walls was always known as the fun Walls,

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Speaker 3: and I was always known as the other Walls. So

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Speaker 3: but but I got those kids ready to write, whether

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Speaker 3: it be in college or their next experience, and you know,

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Speaker 3: they came to really appreciate that. So that's been like

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Speaker 3: a great joy for us on the campaign. And I know,

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Speaker 3: I know they are all going to vote. We all

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Speaker 3: have a piece in this, and we do this. We

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Speaker 3: do this together. And that's like a school in a classroom,

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Speaker 3: or an activity or a from building experience, or a

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Speaker 3: football team or a debate team or whatever it is.

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Speaker 2: I love that we do it together. I absolutely love that.

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Speaker 1: And I can hear the influence that teaching has had

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Speaker 1: on you, you know, in the way that you think

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Speaker 1: about community and the way that you think about public service.

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Speaker 2: And I.

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Speaker 1: Feel so heartened by what you have to say. And

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Speaker 1: I guess I'm curious. You know, as you said, the

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Speaker 1: circle of community is ever widening. Right, you go from

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Speaker 1: military service to congressional service, you know, you're going essentially

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Speaker 1: from your neighborhood to your state. And now you were

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Speaker 1: talking about this, you know, big national leadership level. Who

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Speaker 1: do you get to turn to for good advice on this?

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Speaker 3: Like?

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Speaker 2: Are you calling.

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Speaker 1: Doctor Biden and Doug Mhoff or are you calling your

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Speaker 1: best friend from junior high or maybe everybody?

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Speaker 2: Yes?

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Speaker 3: Yes, yes, and yes, like there are important issues that

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Speaker 3: are at stake. You know, reproductive freedom is on the line,

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Speaker 3: and like, if you cannot make decisions about your own body,

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Speaker 3: what other decisions? What o their decisions even matter? Right?

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Speaker 3: I look at what Kamala Harris has done throughout her

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Speaker 3: career and how she has fought for reproductive freedom. And

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Speaker 3: I look at Tim and and where he has stood

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Speaker 3: on you know, individual freedom and the autonomy to make

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Speaker 3: your own decisions. And he stood strong in the breach

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Speaker 3: in that too. And there's a very clear distinction right

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Speaker 3: between what Tim and Kamalin are saying and what Trump

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Speaker 3: and Vands are saying. You know, I'm insulted by by

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Speaker 3: the other side saying things, you know, like they're going

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Speaker 3: to be our protectors. You know, no, thank you very much.

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Speaker 3: You know I could, I could say some not very

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Speaker 3: nice things about how I feel about that, or you know,

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Speaker 3: even even the IVF treatments. And for Donald Trump to

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Speaker 3: say the other night, you know, he's the father of IVF.

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Speaker 3: Are you kidding me? You know, we were having IVF

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Speaker 3: treatment or we're having fertility treatments. I want to clarify

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Speaker 3: that for treatments before he came down the golden escalator,

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Speaker 3: right exactly. So there is so much at stake that

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Speaker 3: you have to you have to. I'm not an expert

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Speaker 3: on issues, so I seek advice and listen, and yes,

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Speaker 3: I have, you know, I have friends, and I am

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Speaker 3: very fortunate to have great friends from all over in

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Speaker 3: all different perspectives. I have, you know, friend Lisa Peterson,

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Speaker 3: if you're listening, spend my friends since I was three

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Speaker 3: years old.

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Speaker 2: Hi, Lisa.

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Speaker 3: She still lives in my hometown, right. And then I

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Speaker 3: have friends from high school in college, but frankly, I

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Speaker 3: have great friends from my teaching days and my days

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Speaker 3: as director of assessment and research in our school district,

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Speaker 3: and they are with me all the way. Then I

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Speaker 3: have congressional spouse friends and a dear friend that I

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Speaker 3: mentored in Congress and he's with me all the way.

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Speaker 3: And then I have three amazing sisters and a whole

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Speaker 3: bunch of nieces and nephews who continually support and give

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Speaker 3: me advice, as well as cousins and moms and aunts.

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Speaker 3: And I tried to on the campaign trail have the

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Speaker 3: time to listen to the stories and the concerns that

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Speaker 3: people have. I think if you want to be a

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Speaker 3: good teacher, the very first thing you have to be

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Speaker 3: as a good learner, and so I think I've learned

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Speaker 3: to learn, and a lot of that is through listening.

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Speaker 3: So I love yeah, but this is crazy. And doctor

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Speaker 3: Biden and Doug muff Oh yeah, them too. You know,

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Speaker 3: doctor Biden's been through it, Doug m Hof's been through it.

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Speaker 3: But they you know, everybody's busy too, so everybody pitches in.

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Speaker 3: I have texts every day, you know, I've met and

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Speaker 3: a lot of people along the way. And I do

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Speaker 3: want to give a shout out to the staff, our staff,

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Speaker 3: to both in the Governor's office, friends when Tim was

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Speaker 3: in Congress, and that the staff working so hard for

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Speaker 3: the Harris Walls ticket. They've worked every hour of every day.

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Speaker 2: They're the best.

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Speaker 3: They they're the best, right, So how lucky that And

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Speaker 3: you know why we're going to win because we have

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Speaker 3: them too, right, Like we do this together. We have

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Speaker 3: all of those people pulling in the same directions. So

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Speaker 3: I feel so fortunate that I get to be kind

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Speaker 3: of a maybe a landing spot for some of that.

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Speaker 1: Sure, yeah, we'll be back in just a minute after

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Speaker 1: a few words from our favorite sponsors. What you just

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Speaker 1: said about how being a good teacher, which I think

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Speaker 1: is you know, easily easily replaceable with leader, you know,

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Speaker 1: teachers or leaders, and if you know the election goes

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Speaker 1: the way we want it to, you'll you all will

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Speaker 1: be at that next level of leadership.

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Speaker 2: And it does.

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Speaker 1: Require being a good listener, you know, being willing to

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Speaker 1: hear what people are going through. It's it's one of

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Speaker 1: the real I think perks of my life is a

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Speaker 1: democratic volunteer all these years, is anytime I have a question,

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Speaker 1: anytime something just oh makes me feel crazy because the

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Speaker 1: injustice of it all feels wrong. Like when we talk

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Speaker 1: about reproductive freedoms, for example, there are folks I can call,

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Speaker 1: I can call experts to learn who will say, this

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Speaker 1: is the book you.

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Speaker 2: Need to read.

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Speaker 1: Here's the new study. I've got a couple of group

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Speaker 1: chats now, like you're talking about that are just white papers,

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Speaker 1: new information, you know, not to give you a horrible fact.

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Speaker 1: But as we talk about the facts again, learning teaching

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Speaker 1: that reproductive freedoms are a whole They're a whole sphere

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Speaker 1: of care. You know, it's a whole world. And whether

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Speaker 1: that is access to birth control, or access to abortion,

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Speaker 1: or access to IVF, they are all intrinsically linked. And

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Speaker 1: to see how you know, the study came out today

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Speaker 1: that as these bands have gone these Donald Trump abortion

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Speaker 1: bands have gone into law in these states around the country,

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Speaker 1: we're seeing one hundred and thirty four rape related pregnancies

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Speaker 1: a day now, and these women can't get care.

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Speaker 2: And I'm going, Okay.

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Speaker 1: So the misogyny and the grotesqueness of a party that

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Speaker 1: wants to take our rights away. None of these people

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Speaker 1: are doctors, like you said, none of these law made

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Speaker 1: have gone to medical school. It's crazy to me that

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Speaker 1: we're dealing with this. And there's no way I believe

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Speaker 1: as a constituent to say that this is rational on

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Speaker 1: any level, because they're taking away your right to get

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Speaker 1: an abortion when you need one, and they're taking away

436
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,719
Speaker 1: your right to access IVF when you want to have

437
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 1: a family. And so it's clearly not about us or

438
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,679
Speaker 1: our families. And I know you know as I do.

439
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,520
Speaker 1: I have a long and complicated history with fertility treatment,

440
00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,840
Speaker 1: and I've spoken about that a little bit, but I

441
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,400
Speaker 1: was so I got I just like woman to woman,

442
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:41,760
Speaker 1: I have to thank you your article, the article with

443
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:43,560
Speaker 1: Women's Health that you penned.

444
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:45,800
Speaker 2: You know, you wrote it in your own words. I

445
00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,719
Speaker 2: did that once too. These things that are so important.

446
00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 1: I think deserve our full platforms, and they can be

447
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,320
Speaker 1: really hard to share. Can you tell me a little

448
00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:02,359
Speaker 1: bit about as we're men, about the insanity of the

449
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,960
Speaker 1: partisanship around these issues. What was the personal side of

450
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,159
Speaker 1: wanting to share your story? What made you and the

451
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 1: governor say oh, now's the time.

452
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:15,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, I'm going to answer that question. But I

453
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 3: want to tell you, Sophia, I think you are a

454
00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 3: very good teacher. That's what I want to say. This

455
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:25,200
Speaker 3: is what you're doing right here, you're teaching. And I

456
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 3: had to write that new back down because I haven't

457
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:29,240
Speaker 3: read that yet.

458
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:30,520
Speaker 2: Well, i'll send it to you, guys. I was just

459
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,960
Speaker 2: reading the news all morning. It hit today. It's horrible.

460
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you, but thank you for sharing that. And

461
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,280
Speaker 3: I think I think you're very good.

462
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:40,440
Speaker 2: That's so kind.

463
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,359
Speaker 3: Thank you. I would hire you in a second in

464
00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:42,840
Speaker 3: my school.

465
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 1: My goal for my third phase of life is to

466
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,080
Speaker 1: be a professor. So we'll talk about it.

467
00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,359
Speaker 3: I think you are right here on this podcast, so

468
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,680
Speaker 3: I just wanted to note that and teacher to teacher,

469
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:58,080
Speaker 3: that's that's a high compliment. But I wish I didn't

470
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,000
Speaker 3: you know, Tim, and I didn't tell that story for

471
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 3: almost twenty years, not even to our close friends and

472
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 3: family really, because we felt it was just a private

473
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:12,160
Speaker 3: and personal thing, so personal, yes, and when we were

474
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 3: going through it, like it was hard enough to go

475
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:16,760
Speaker 3: through it, let alone like talk about it, so we

476
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:21,760
Speaker 3: didn't and we just never did. And even though we

477
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,080
Speaker 3: had a life in public, there's still things that you

478
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,359
Speaker 3: have that are private. Right. But I am telling you

479
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:32,399
Speaker 3: when the Alabama Supreme Court decision came down about limiting

480
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:38,360
Speaker 3: access and the infertility implications, I Tim and I looked

481
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,880
Speaker 3: at each other and we were actually in his office

482
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 3: at the Capitol, and we are like, we have got

483
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:47,480
Speaker 3: to tell our story because we have got to find

484
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 3: a way to bring some sanity to this discussion. And

485
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:59,040
Speaker 3: in a role of leadership, you have a responsibility to

486
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,400
Speaker 3: do that. And so as much as I did not

487
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,840
Speaker 3: want to tell that story and it's hard every time

488
00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,720
Speaker 3: I talk about it, I am going to tell that

489
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:15,680
Speaker 3: and I'm going to ask other people who feel they

490
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,560
Speaker 3: can to tell their stories too, because stories change minds

491
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,959
Speaker 3: and hearts in ways that even facts don't write. So

492
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:29,600
Speaker 3: hearing someone's story is very personal and it even moves,

493
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:35,000
Speaker 3: it moves hard hearts sometimes but Tim and I knew

494
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,239
Speaker 3: at that moment that we were going to tell our

495
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,520
Speaker 3: story and we were going to speak out because we

496
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 3: were going to have to fight this fight. And I

497
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:48,640
Speaker 3: think all women have to fight this fight. However it

498
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 3: may be, even if it's not telling your own story,

499
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,880
Speaker 3: maybe it's supporting women who are or at least this

500
00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,680
Speaker 3: at least it is going to that ballot box and

501
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 3: voting your voice right and encouraging people who may not.

502
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,040
Speaker 3: They may say there are so many issues. I'm not

503
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,880
Speaker 3: sure what I even. I don't know if I know

504
00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 3: enough to vote. I hear some people say that, or

505
00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,400
Speaker 3: I'm not sure which issue is most important to me. Well,

506
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:16,360
Speaker 3: I will tell you if you are a woman or

507
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,800
Speaker 3: if you are a man who knows a woman, right,

508
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 3: you have got to have the right to make your

509
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:29,280
Speaker 3: own decisions about your own body. Otherwise that word freedom

510
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:34,360
Speaker 3: is just an abstract concept, right, And that's an issue.

511
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 1: One of the things that I really I try to

512
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,720
Speaker 1: talk to people about in my sort of circle of influence,

513
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,600
Speaker 1: whether it's the podcast or around the dinner table, is

514
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,400
Speaker 1: there are certain issues where the math and the morals

515
00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:49,760
Speaker 1: really meet, because if you understand that morally a person

516
00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: cannot be a fully functioning member of society if she

517
00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,520
Speaker 1: cannot decide if and when to become a parent, you know,

518
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 1: if she cannot plan her higher education, if she cannot

519
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:02,000
Speaker 1: start her small business, you know, whatever it might mean

520
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:07,200
Speaker 1: when you think about the implications for the economy. If

521
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,880
Speaker 1: fifty one percent of us cannot meaningfully participate in our

522
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,400
Speaker 1: education and in the economy, that harms everybody, even the

523
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,160
Speaker 1: folks in this country who can't get pregnant. And so

524
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,800
Speaker 1: if we want to build a prosperous America, we have

525
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:24,560
Speaker 1: to do that with planning. You'd never be able to

526
00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 1: build a prosperous business without a business plan. Think about

527
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,680
Speaker 1: your whole entire life, your whole entire existence. That works

528
00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 1: on a timeline. And for us, the timeline has to

529
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,720
Speaker 1: be about being able to control our bodies.

530
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,400
Speaker 3: We determine when, if or how we are going to

531
00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:47,040
Speaker 3: start a family exactly, and that is our healthcare. But

532
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:52,440
Speaker 3: you know, I think a distinct difference again between Tim

533
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,080
Speaker 3: and Kamala and Trump in advance, is that Tim and

534
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:59,200
Speaker 3: Kamala have made it very clear that they trust women exactly.

535
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,880
Speaker 3: They trust women, and I do not see that communicated

536
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,880
Speaker 3: in any way shape or form from the other side.

537
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:13,560
Speaker 3: And if you don't trust women to determine their own healthcare,

538
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:18,440
Speaker 3: their own decisions right, their own reproductive freedom, then what

539
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,960
Speaker 3: else don't you trust them with?

540
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,480
Speaker 2: Exactly right.

541
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,840
Speaker 3: I just I just think it is a defining issue,

542
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 3: and I know you do too, and I want to

543
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,040
Speaker 3: thank you for your advocacy here, and I think for

544
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:40,160
Speaker 3: your listeners. Right, even if you can tell your story, great,

545
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:43,680
Speaker 3: if you have a story, if you know you know

546
00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:47,760
Speaker 3: I think the reason why this election is important to you,

547
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:50,880
Speaker 3: that's your story to tell too. And if you can

548
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:52,640
Speaker 3: tell that to three people, I can give you a

549
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,920
Speaker 3: little homework assignment here. Tell three ye I love that

550
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 3: you know, like the story or whatever story about why

551
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:02,600
Speaker 3: this matters so much that will compel people to vote.

552
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,640
Speaker 3: But we have to vote. We have to vote with

553
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,000
Speaker 3: our we have to have our boys with our feet,

554
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,360
Speaker 3: and we have to vote right at that ballot box.

555
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 3: And we have to make sure of a plan.

556
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,520
Speaker 2: Well you said it. We've got to vote our values.

557
00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 3: Yes we do.

558
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:17,320
Speaker 2: And you know I have to thank you.

559
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,480
Speaker 1: I know I'm watching the clock, but I have to

560
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,640
Speaker 1: thank you because you know everything from education to criminal

561
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,800
Speaker 1: justice reform to the wonderful advocacy that you and the

562
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,520
Speaker 1: governor do for the LGBTQ plus community. Thank you so

563
00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:35,520
Speaker 1: much to the sensible conversations you have about you know,

564
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 1: the economy, to gun reform, to all the things you

565
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 1: show up holistically for us. You talk about the sorts

566
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,000
Speaker 1: of programs and policies that will better the lives of

567
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:50,200
Speaker 1: the American people, however they live, wherever they live, and

568
00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:53,520
Speaker 1: for that you know, as a person who's not until

569
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 1: this election been able to vote for you all, but

570
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:59,479
Speaker 1: I can't wait. I appreciate that, even as a resident

571
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:03,560
Speaker 1: of another state. I know there's a million more issues

572
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,960
Speaker 1: we could talk about, but I guess I just want

573
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,040
Speaker 1: to ask you as you look forward in this moment,

574
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 1: because you know we're under thirty days now, what for

575
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:17,120
Speaker 1: you feels like your work in progress?

576
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, well that's a big question, but maybe so

577
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:28,040
Speaker 3: kind of. I would say, you know what my mom says, like,

578
00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,160
Speaker 3: do the work in front of you. So I'm keeping

579
00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:35,760
Speaker 3: my eyes and ears and and all of it open

580
00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:39,080
Speaker 3: to see where I can have an impact, and you

581
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:44,560
Speaker 3: know and I what I can do. But at this moment,

582
00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:48,600
Speaker 3: I'll go back to what I said before I am

583
00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:55,640
Speaker 3: I am privileged to be able to live my values

584
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,840
Speaker 3: by being on this ticket and meeting people across this

585
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,359
Speaker 3: country who are doing extraordinary things that they thought they

586
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,720
Speaker 3: never could do, because this election matters so very much.

587
00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:12,360
Speaker 3: And when I was a teacher, other teachers sometimes said,

588
00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:16,400
Speaker 3: you know, to kids, you have to earn my respect,

589
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:20,799
Speaker 3: and I never felt that way. I always said to

590
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,719
Speaker 3: students when they came in my classroom, you have my respect,

591
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:27,560
Speaker 3: and I hope I have your respect, and let's just

592
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:32,520
Speaker 3: work together to maintain that right because I think when

593
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,760
Speaker 3: we have a view of the world where we are

594
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:38,080
Speaker 3: in this together, where we see individuals, where we have

595
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:42,400
Speaker 3: a hope for the future and respect for all people

596
00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:47,839
Speaker 3: and everyone right, every single person as well as all

597
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,319
Speaker 3: of us, and there is a place for all of

598
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:53,960
Speaker 3: us and for everyone. And again that's a distinct difference

599
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:58,120
Speaker 3: that Tim and Kamala share compared to the other side,

600
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:01,320
Speaker 3: who just have sort of a stratified view of things.

601
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:05,879
Speaker 3: But when we really live that, when we really say

602
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,000
Speaker 3: that is who we are and put that to action,

603
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:13,719
Speaker 3: well I think we can't lose. And that's why I

604
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:18,640
Speaker 3: believe so much in this in this ticket and in

605
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:22,040
Speaker 3: all the people and I'm meeting and in use of

606
00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:27,879
Speaker 3: YA and in your listeners, and I just can't say

607
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:33,959
Speaker 3: enough that it matters that you take that power yourself, right,

608
00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,480
Speaker 3: you take your own power because we do it together

609
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,160
Speaker 3: and we all make a difference together. Make sure you

610
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,560
Speaker 3: have a voting plan, make sure those around you have

611
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:48,279
Speaker 3: a voting plan, and know why you're voting. There's lots

612
00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,759
Speaker 3: of information out there and you can say, oh, you know,

613
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,640
Speaker 3: there's so much I might not sort through. Well, we

614
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:56,440
Speaker 3: need to vote for our future, and we need to

615
00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:00,720
Speaker 3: vote for the kind of future and world that Kamala

616
00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,000
Speaker 3: and Tim believe in that they fought for as middle

617
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:09,600
Speaker 3: class champions their entire life. And I Tim is a

618
00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:14,920
Speaker 3: very authentic person, he always has been. And I am

619
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:18,759
Speaker 3: going to be proud to cast my ballot for the

620
00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,320
Speaker 3: Harris Walls ticket.

621
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,759
Speaker 2: You and me both thank you.

622
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:26,960
Speaker 3: Thank you. It's the greatest honor to have some someone

623
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,600
Speaker 3: vote for that ticket.

624
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,239
Speaker 2: I appreciate it.

625
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:35,080
Speaker 3: And I feel honored about that and know we are

626
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:38,360
Speaker 3: we are working hard and we're going to just continue

627
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,520
Speaker 3: to do so. And I hope I get to meet

628
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:45,000
Speaker 3: some of your listeners along along the way.

629
00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:46,919
Speaker 2: That'd be so cool.

630
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,040
Speaker 3: I hope I get to meet you along the way too.

631
00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:49,839
Speaker 2: Me too.

632
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,400
Speaker 1: I had the pleasure of meeting your husband at the

633
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:56,080
Speaker 1: Human Rights Campaign gala, and he's just he's a gem,

634
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,239
Speaker 1: you know, He's an absolute gem of a man.

635
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 2: He's something, he really is. I'm very grateful to you both.

636
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,320
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for taking the time today.

637
00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:07,239
Speaker 1: I know you have a million other things to do.

638
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,160
Speaker 1: We will make sure to remind all of our people

639
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:14,080
Speaker 1: to go out and vote and make a plan.

640
00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:17,280
Speaker 3: We're close, and hopefully we can talk again after the election.

641
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 2: I would love that.

642
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:20,680
Speaker 1: I told your husband I want to go shooting with him,

643
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:21,960
Speaker 1: so I'm coming to Minnesota.

644
00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:23,240
Speaker 2: Holy smokes.

645
00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:27,120
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, you just keep on keeping on. I'm ready.

646
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:29,680
Speaker 2: I had the Camo in the closet. I was ready

647
00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 2: to go.

648
00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:32,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, you are ready.

649
00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:33,239
Speaker 2: For sure, ma'am.

650
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:37,279
Speaker 3: Okay, ma'am okay, see you soon. Thank you so much.

651
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,200
Speaker 2: Thank you to your team. Thank you.

652
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:49,120
Speaker 3: Bye bye bye