1
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:08,520
Speaker 1: And joining me now is Justice Gibbs. He is the

2
00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,840
Speaker 1: legislature down in Mississippi, born and raised, a lifelong resident

3
00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,920
Speaker 1: of Jackson, Mississippi, and part of our continuing series to

4
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:21,160
Speaker 1: elevate new voices, and Justice Gibbs joins me now, Justice,

5
00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:21,560
Speaker 1: nice to me.

6
00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,239
Speaker 2: Too great to be here, man, great to be here,

7
00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:28,520
Speaker 2: and so glad that you're allowing Mississippi to let his

8
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:30,560
Speaker 2: voice be heard. Well.

9
00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:33,159
Speaker 1: Good look. One of my favorite bosses ever is a

10
00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:35,360
Speaker 1: man named Mandy Lack, and he's been the guy who

11
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,800
Speaker 1: up with Mississippi today. I think he lives in Jackson

12
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,320
Speaker 1: these days, so you may have seen him or come

13
00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,559
Speaker 1: across him every now and then. And he has an

14
00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,760
Speaker 1: interesting story of what got his ancestors to Mississippi. It's

15
00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:54,000
Speaker 1: an unusual one. Jewish immigrants who end up making clothes

16
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,000
Speaker 1: for the Confederacy. They didn't know any of They were

17
00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,720
Speaker 1: just immigrants and it was a job. They had no idea,

18
00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,360
Speaker 1: you know, it was one of the things. And it's something.

19
00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,200
Speaker 1: The more he learned about that, it just made him

20
00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,080
Speaker 1: want to invest more and spend more time there. So,

21
00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:08,520
Speaker 1: but Justice, give me your origin story, give us the

22
00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,319
Speaker 1: how did you get into politics? Why what what was

23
00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,319
Speaker 1: the motivation? What was the everybody was this one reason,

24
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,039
Speaker 1: like I'm getting in I want to solve this problem,

25
00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,039
Speaker 1: I want to do this. What was that for you?

26
00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,080
Speaker 2: Yeah? It was kind of most how fascinated for me.

27
00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,040
Speaker 2: I first say that I grew up in a family

28
00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,280
Speaker 2: of public servants. My father, I was a circuit judge

29
00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,120
Speaker 2: when I was born. My mother served in the legislature

30
00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,199
Speaker 2: for about six years prior to running for a circuit

31
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,760
Speaker 2: judge herself. So, you know, a lot of the kitchen

32
00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,480
Speaker 2: table conversations that we had always sort of you know,

33
00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,040
Speaker 2: revolved around politics or policy or what was going on

34
00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,279
Speaker 2: in our city and our state and in our country. Uh.

35
00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,520
Speaker 2: And you know, growing up, you know, going to our

36
00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,440
Speaker 2: high school, serving in the student councils, something that was

37
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,840
Speaker 2: a really natural knack for me. But when I came

38
00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,919
Speaker 2: home at the graduating from Howard University, attending law school,

39
00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,200
Speaker 2: I noticed something very interesting, which was, you know, this

40
00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,120
Speaker 2: sort of criticism that is directed to young people about

41
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,040
Speaker 2: you know, not exercising their rights to vote, not you know,

42
00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,880
Speaker 2: helping either political party, you know, with their margins. And

43
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,520
Speaker 2: what I really recognize is that there is just such

44
00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:24,720
Speaker 2: an empty void with young leadership on all levels, city, county, state,

45
00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,600
Speaker 2: and I want it to be a part of changing that. So,

46
00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,800
Speaker 2: at age twenty seven, decided to run for an open

47
00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,040
Speaker 2: seat in my area and that's really how I got involved.

48
00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:39,000
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting. I feel like there's quite a

49
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,160
Speaker 1: few in people in your generation in Mississippi who've decided

50
00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,520
Speaker 1: to quote not wait their turn right and try to

51
00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,880
Speaker 1: beat go challenge the establishment a little bit, particularly on

52
00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:53,240
Speaker 1: the Democratic side, because I think there's been some what

53
00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,560
Speaker 1: have you guys been doing right? You know, we're still

54
00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,639
Speaker 1: in the same place, you know, haven't made the progress

55
00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,440
Speaker 1: that I think people they should be made. There was

56
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,320
Speaker 1: a new mayor of Jackson not that long ago and

57
00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,880
Speaker 1: sort of the same mindset. So I do feel as

58
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,480
Speaker 1: if whether you're whether we call you older gen Z

59
00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,080
Speaker 1: or younger millennial, where do you feel like you fall

60
00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:13,520
Speaker 1: in that?

61
00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:19,320
Speaker 2: A younger millennial? But there's also a great bucket of

62
00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,920
Speaker 2: young gen Z folks who are interested in politics in

63
00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,080
Speaker 2: Mississippi as well. It's just that we need to find

64
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,600
Speaker 2: space for them to serve in elected office. I think

65
00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:36,840
Speaker 2: that there is an umptem amount of leadership development courses

66
00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,040
Speaker 2: and leadership cohorts you know. I mean there's so many

67
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:41,920
Speaker 2: that you can't even name them. But you know, once

68
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,120
Speaker 2: they are prepared, we shouldn't send them to the next cohort. Weh'

69
00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,000
Speaker 2: just the elected office. We should put them in a

70
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,120
Speaker 2: position of making these decisions that are going to be

71
00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,120
Speaker 2: solidified when we are raising our families. You know, and

72
00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:54,840
Speaker 2: I agree with you. I think that that it is,

73
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,520
Speaker 2: you know, we can't treat our elected offices as property.

74
00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:00,880
Speaker 2: You know, I think that it's okay to pass the

75
00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,480
Speaker 2: baton or to say that, you know, your expertise can

76
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,200
Speaker 2: be used outside of the electric faction.

77
00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,440
Speaker 1: So, you know, it's been interesting, you know, particularly with

78
00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,720
Speaker 1: you know, one of these these generational arguments have actually

79
00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,320
Speaker 1: been sometimes sharpest among African American communities where you've had

80
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,479
Speaker 1: somebody who was a long time hero maybe stay in

81
00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,440
Speaker 1: office a little bit too long because you know, they

82
00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,360
Speaker 1: broke the barrier right they got there, and there is

83
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,360
Speaker 1: so I under I weirdly understand the sense of entitlement. Hey,

84
00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,480
Speaker 1: I broke down this barrier. You know, I made this happen.

85
00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,000
Speaker 1: The reason this is possible is because of what I did.

86
00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,800
Speaker 1: What do you say to that older generation that feels

87
00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,159
Speaker 1: as if Hey, wait a minute. I did all this

88
00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,880
Speaker 1: hard work I took, you know, I took literal beatings

89
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,840
Speaker 1: in order to break through these barriers. But some of

90
00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:52,120
Speaker 1: them aren't ready to pass the baton.

91
00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,159
Speaker 2: What do you say to that, Well, the first part

92
00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,240
Speaker 2: of your inquiry was the word I. You know, I

93
00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,360
Speaker 2: did this, I did that, I took the So if

94
00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,920
Speaker 2: I did this, then I'm entitled to this. When it's

95
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,240
Speaker 2: never really supposed to be about the eye. It's supposed

96
00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:08,240
Speaker 2: to be about the community. It's supposed to be about

97
00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,159
Speaker 2: the progress. And if it's about the eye, well I

98
00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,840
Speaker 2: also did that. I mean, as a young person at

99
00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,160
Speaker 2: age twenty seven, I remember knocking on doors and people

100
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,880
Speaker 2: thought I was selling cookies, you know, and I'm like, no,

101
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,159
Speaker 2: here's my pushcard. I'm running for elected office just because

102
00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,800
Speaker 2: of the mindset of my community. And it's not to

103
00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,440
Speaker 2: criticize them, but it's just what you have known about

104
00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,159
Speaker 2: who should serve an elected office, what they're supposed to

105
00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,520
Speaker 2: look like, what are the tackles, you know, the twenty

106
00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,480
Speaker 2: years of experience, the thirty years of experience, without the

107
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,000
Speaker 2: question being what have you done within that twenty or

108
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,200
Speaker 2: that thirty years. So when a young person comes to

109
00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,279
Speaker 2: your door, you know, you don't expect them to run

110
00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,240
Speaker 2: for elected office. So my point is, you know, I

111
00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,800
Speaker 2: could also have that entitled attitude of saying, you know,

112
00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,240
Speaker 2: I broke down a barrier because there's not I'm the

113
00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:58,800
Speaker 2: youngest Democrat stay elected official in Mississippi. But instead I'm

114
00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:01,440
Speaker 2: also focused on that next generation. How do we find

115
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,520
Speaker 2: space for them to serve. But if we start to

116
00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:10,919
Speaker 2: look at it as a holistic mission of changing this

117
00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,440
Speaker 2: state without it being you know, I've been here for

118
00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:17,760
Speaker 2: so long and you know, and you should, you know,

119
00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:20,480
Speaker 2: pay homage to me. There's many ways that we can

120
00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,280
Speaker 2: pay homage. And it's not just you know, continuing to

121
00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:27,600
Speaker 2: support the person you know and elected office. Now there

122
00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,160
Speaker 2: are also some great stuff. But I think that we

123
00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:32,320
Speaker 2: have to create that space.

124
00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:40,080
Speaker 1: So Mississippi is one of these states where it looks

125
00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:44,120
Speaker 1: like a deep red state, but when you look at

126
00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,280
Speaker 1: the potential of what it is, when you look at

127
00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,680
Speaker 1: the what I would say, the unregistered population or the

128
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,799
Speaker 1: unengaged population, this should be a fifty to fifty state.

129
00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,360
Speaker 1: This should be a state to put it in and

130
00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:05,799
Speaker 1: where that should have African American senators plural. There should

131
00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:11,120
Speaker 1: be a state that has as a bastion of political

132
00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:16,240
Speaker 1: power for African Americans, and it hasn't been. What do

133
00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,560
Speaker 1: you see today, What have been some of the mistakes

134
00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,840
Speaker 1: of the past that you hope to fix just tactically.

135
00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,400
Speaker 1: I mean, look, there's this is bigger than just tactics.

136
00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,720
Speaker 1: But I just look at the last thirty years and think,

137
00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:37,280
Speaker 1: just better tactics would make this state a more competitive politically.

138
00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:39,880
Speaker 1: But I think those that feel underserved would feel as

139
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:41,520
Speaker 1: if they had some political power.

140
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you know, I'll tell you. I remember the

141
00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,120
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen gluminatorial race with Jim Hood and Tay Reeves,

142
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,800
Speaker 2: a race that was decided by forty five thousand votes.

143
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,120
Speaker 2: And then four years later, we have a race for

144
00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,360
Speaker 2: Governor Patwey, Brandon Pressley and Tate Reeves that was decided

145
00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,040
Speaker 2: I think between twenty four thousand votes. You know, that's

146
00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,240
Speaker 2: a two to three point race. And I don't think

147
00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,680
Speaker 2: that the country and the folks who are in leadership

148
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,120
Speaker 2: positions country why to understanding that Mississippi can be the

149
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:19,560
Speaker 2: epicenter of changing the American South, of actually becoming not

150
00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:21,720
Speaker 2: only a purple state but a blue state one day.

151
00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,920
Speaker 2: I mean, we are seeing statistically based going in the

152
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,400
Speaker 2: right direction because we are investing in candidates who are

153
00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,680
Speaker 2: meeting people where they are explaining to people in rural

154
00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,760
Speaker 2: areas who have to drive five to ten miles and

155
00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,720
Speaker 2: even further just to go to an emergency room or hospital,

156
00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,600
Speaker 2: why policies that they've been voting on are optuse to

157
00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,640
Speaker 2: their way of life, the quality of their way of life.

158
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:48,960
Speaker 2: I think that what we have to start doing is

159
00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:54,920
Speaker 2: we really need to bring the alarm on the donor

160
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,160
Speaker 2: base of national politics and all of the money that

161
00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,920
Speaker 2: we pour into these national races, and there seems to

162
00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,360
Speaker 2: not be that seems to not be an eye on

163
00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,200
Speaker 2: states like Mississippi because it's on the ground. Man, we

164
00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:11,640
Speaker 2: are a resilient party. It's the fact that we don't

165
00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:13,720
Speaker 2: have the tools and the resources that we need to

166
00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:15,160
Speaker 2: do what it is that we need to do.

167
00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:17,800
Speaker 1: And a little bit of money if we want to

168
00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,719
Speaker 1: put this in our in terms of ROI, I think

169
00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,360
Speaker 1: the return on investment you take five if you have

170
00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,400
Speaker 1: five million dollars to spend, it's going to get lost

171
00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,640
Speaker 1: in Georgia. Five million dollars, No offense to Georgia. It

172
00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:31,680
Speaker 1: just is what it is. A very expensive state. Now

173
00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,719
Speaker 1: five million dollars in voter registration efforts in Mississippi in

174
00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,040
Speaker 1: an off year that could lead to three to five

175
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,520
Speaker 1: new Democrats in the state legislature.

176
00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:47,040
Speaker 2: Absolutely, absolutely, and also just on the judicial front. I mean,

177
00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,600
Speaker 2: we just had a redistricting case that was decided by

178
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,520
Speaker 2: a federal court to redraw our maps because of extreme

179
00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,800
Speaker 2: jerry mendering, which you know, of course found to violate

180
00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,400
Speaker 2: Section two of the voting Rights at So I think

181
00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,440
Speaker 2: we look look at we brush the surface and we say, well,

182
00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:07,760
Speaker 2: Mississippi has a supermajority Republican controlled legislature, they have a

183
00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:12,120
Speaker 2: Republican governor, all state wide offices are Republican. Well we're not,

184
00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,080
Speaker 2: you know, getting deeper down into understanding the reasons as

185
00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,080
Speaker 2: to why it's it looks like that when the citizens themselves,

186
00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:24,520
Speaker 2: the constituency, a lot of people have struggled, would whether

187
00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,800
Speaker 2: I go with the group think and go with with

188
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,920
Speaker 2: with the sority of who looks like me and the

189
00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,160
Speaker 2: culture in which I've grown up, or do I go

190
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,120
Speaker 2: with what makes realistic sense for my children, for my grandchildren.

191
00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,720
Speaker 2: I think we really can be the epicenter of that change.

192
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,880
Speaker 1: I mean, let's just put it in little starker race terms,

193
00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:51,360
Speaker 1: is the bigger problem unengaged African American voters or moderate

194
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,680
Speaker 1: white voters who can't who aren't ready to leave the

195
00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:56,720
Speaker 1: Republican Party Like you know, if you were to say

196
00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,760
Speaker 1: in the state wide race, what should be the priority?

197
00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,880
Speaker 1: Is it registering the less engaged and getting more engagement

198
00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:08,400
Speaker 1: and just because the numbers are there, or is it

199
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,880
Speaker 1: better persuasion campaign for that? Because right now, you tell

200
00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,959
Speaker 1: me if I'm wrong, I think Brandon Presley got nineteen

201
00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,079
Speaker 1: to twenty percent of the white folk. Does that sound right?

202
00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:18,560
Speaker 2: And I think you are.

203
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:20,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the numbers have got to be closer

204
00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,240
Speaker 1: to high twenties, you know, somewhere between twenty and thirty

205
00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,720
Speaker 1: two to win. So what do you see? And I

206
00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,360
Speaker 1: obviously maybe the answer is a little bit of both.

207
00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,920
Speaker 1: But if you were to put more effort into one

208
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:34,200
Speaker 1: or the other, where would you put it?

209
00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you're right, it is both. I know that

210
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,680
Speaker 2: that's a basic answer, but you really have to do

211
00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,439
Speaker 2: both at the same exact time. I'd say that Presley

212
00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,760
Speaker 2: has been focusing on his rule coalition, which is very

213
00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,880
Speaker 2: important for the Democratic Party to invest them, and that's

214
00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:51,679
Speaker 2: going into the rural areas. You know, when you look

215
00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,360
Speaker 2: at the maps on the presidential election night and they're

216
00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:56,760
Speaker 2: adding up all of the counties and it's just, you know,

217
00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,400
Speaker 2: one hundred votes here, a couple hundred votes here. But

218
00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,800
Speaker 2: in the grand scheme of things, that is how you're

219
00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,080
Speaker 2: able to be an epicenter of like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, you know,

220
00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,600
Speaker 2: or Detroit, Michigan. So I think that what we should

221
00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,760
Speaker 2: do is is make sure that there are folks in

222
00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,080
Speaker 2: the party that feel included and feel inclusive to be

223
00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,520
Speaker 2: able to do what is their strong set, which may

224
00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,880
Speaker 2: be you know, breaking it down to the rule of voters,

225
00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,120
Speaker 2: but also doing the work of making sure that we

226
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,480
Speaker 2: find ways of getting unengaged African Americans out to vote

227
00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,480
Speaker 2: at every election. I noticed in my community when I

228
00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:37,040
Speaker 2: was running for office, there are folks that are are

229
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,959
Speaker 2: blue collar, white collar folks who don't vote. They don't

230
00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,280
Speaker 2: vote the process. They just I mean, I mean, what

231
00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,720
Speaker 2: do you go to do that's different, you know, And

232
00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,840
Speaker 2: that's why I decided to try to focus my first

233
00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:52,040
Speaker 2: two years in the legislature on actually bringing about visual change,

234
00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,319
Speaker 2: visual reality for people to say, oh, that's why it's

235
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,520
Speaker 2: so important to elect people in this specific.

236
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,800
Speaker 1: I mean an example of that is that what is something?

237
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,600
Speaker 1: When you say visual change, I think like a mayor.

238
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,480
Speaker 1: I would think like making sure to restreet light has

239
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,640
Speaker 1: afe working light bulb, right, Like that would be a

240
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,240
Speaker 1: visual change. What's something? Because it's a little harder from

241
00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,840
Speaker 1: a state legency in the when you're in the political minority.

242
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, very hard, very hard. And so with ways and

243
00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,680
Speaker 2: means and appropriations, of course, you know, we do have

244
00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:25,080
Speaker 2: an ability of sending state dollars to our communities for

245
00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,600
Speaker 2: various projects. And it goes back to the discriminatory nature

246
00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,320
Speaker 2: of our legislature in a way in which it was

247
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:37,120
Speaker 2: crafted in eighteen nineteen, meaning that Democratic majority districts or

248
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,200
Speaker 2: African American majority districts don't usually proceed. They're just doing

249
00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,960
Speaker 2: state of appropriations. But I've been able to start the

250
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:50,400
Speaker 2: first state sponsored solar surveillance camera program that is giving

251
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,920
Speaker 2: a lot of my residents the ability to feel more

252
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,840
Speaker 2: comfortable and safe in their communities. It's attached to the

253
00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,400
Speaker 2: County Sheriff's office and the real time command Crime Center

254
00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,520
Speaker 2: of the able to repay streets, repave roads because we

255
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,640
Speaker 2: know that city and Jackson has had of course, invest

256
00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,959
Speaker 2: in a lot of other, you know, issues that we

257
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,160
Speaker 2: have had. But if we can get all of our

258
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,440
Speaker 2: elected officials to work together to try to help the

259
00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,320
Speaker 2: city and whatever it is, we're improving the quality of

260
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,960
Speaker 2: life of residents. And that is also how you get

261
00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,080
Speaker 2: people to show back up to the polls. If they

262
00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,480
Speaker 2: can point to something in their communion and say, well,

263
00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,160
Speaker 2: you know what he said he was going to work

264
00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,840
Speaker 2: on this, and he did it. Then this is my

265
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,480
Speaker 2: state representative matters, right.

266
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:40,920
Speaker 1: You know, let's talk about Jackson. I used to say

267
00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,880
Speaker 1: when I was sitting in the doing meet the press,

268
00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:46,040
Speaker 1: meet the present. Now, I spent a lot of time

269
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,040
Speaker 1: on the Jackson water crisis. I thought this should be

270
00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:51,440
Speaker 1: more of a national story. I think when one of

271
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:57,680
Speaker 1: America's fifty state capitals does not have reliable drinking water,

272
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:03,160
Speaker 1: this should be this should be the focus of somebody

273
00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:08,320
Speaker 1: in federal government, the singular focus. And I found and

274
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:12,040
Speaker 1: it hasn't mattered whether it was Republican administration or Democratic administration.

275
00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:15,440
Speaker 1: You get the lip service, but there doesn't seem to

276
00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,000
Speaker 1: be this what are we doing? Just figure out how

277
00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,040
Speaker 1: to fix this problem. Stop trying to figure out whose

278
00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,160
Speaker 1: fault it is, and I felt as if there was

279
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:26,400
Speaker 1: a lot of effort being put in well a bad

280
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,000
Speaker 1: contract that the mayor did, or a bad thing that

281
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,000
Speaker 1: the government, and everybody was pointing fingers and nobody was

282
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,960
Speaker 1: getting their clean drinking water. Give me an update on

283
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,840
Speaker 1: the situation and how much of this is just caught

284
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:43,480
Speaker 1: up in just old fashioned political you know, finger pointing.

285
00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Well, we're of course under a Feroe receiver

286
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,640
Speaker 2: shit now. And you know, we have a gentleman named

287
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,080
Speaker 2: Ted Hitefen who has been brought to the city of

288
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:58,840
Speaker 2: Jackson to try to revitalize the city's war system. There

289
00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,160
Speaker 2: have been, of course, those who satisfied. There have been

290
00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,560
Speaker 2: a lot of businesses in Jackson has threatened to leave

291
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,520
Speaker 2: because of the situation that are back on their feet

292
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:11,400
Speaker 2: with consistent, reliable drinking water and water that's just being

293
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,520
Speaker 2: you know, sent to their businesses on a consistent basis.

294
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,840
Speaker 2: But you know, we also still have our struggles. We

295
00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:23,000
Speaker 2: still have our struggles with the federal receivership understanding the

296
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,560
Speaker 2: differences between the sections of the city and what some

297
00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,320
Speaker 2: areas of the City of Jackson has struggled with versus

298
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:30,320
Speaker 2: what others have struggled with.

299
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,680
Speaker 1: You is it somebody with at least a knowledge of

300
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,760
Speaker 1: Jackson in charge of the receivership or is it just

301
00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:37,000
Speaker 1: some outsider.

302
00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,000
Speaker 2: Well, the judge, I mean, we're talking about the federal

303
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,440
Speaker 2: judge who does live and frequent in Jackson, So that

304
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,960
Speaker 2: does give us a leg up. Somebody doesn't understand, right,

305
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,840
Speaker 2: you know, the history Jackson, and of course it is

306
00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:54,320
Speaker 2: really his authority that is given to NFN. In relation

307
00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,280
Speaker 2: to how they actually revive the system, I will say

308
00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,320
Speaker 2: that there have been improvements made, but again we can't

309
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,760
Speaker 2: get caught up. And I think you talked about how

310
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:04,439
Speaker 2: people are caught up in where to blame the thing,

311
00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:06,679
Speaker 2: where to point the finger and who the place blame on.

312
00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,920
Speaker 2: But we also can't also figure out who to blame

313
00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:11,960
Speaker 2: in terms of where the contracts go. You know, we

314
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,480
Speaker 2: kind of get into this conundrum sometimes when we do

315
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,440
Speaker 2: have power, the power now goes to, well who else

316
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,960
Speaker 2: do you get power to? Right? Like, where do I

317
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,720
Speaker 2: have money? And I didn't want you to send the

318
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,000
Speaker 2: money so that company. It should have went to this company.

319
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,199
Speaker 2: And now we're losing sight on what it is that

320
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:28,400
Speaker 2: we're supposed to be improving.

321
00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,200
Speaker 1: The main thing should be the main thing, which is yeah,

322
00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,280
Speaker 1: clean drinking water, that's the main thing. Let's not take

323
00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:34,919
Speaker 1: our eye off of it.

324
00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,879
Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah, And some people want that. They just

325
00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,679
Speaker 2: want effectiveness. They don't care how you do it. Just

326
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,159
Speaker 2: don't break the law, do it the correct way, and

327
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,520
Speaker 2: get it as consistent and reliable as possible.

328
00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,000
Speaker 1: What are you attribute it to. You've lived in Jackson

329
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,040
Speaker 1: your whole life, and so what it may mean is

330
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,080
Speaker 1: this been sort of a norm you've understood. Yeah, this

331
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:08,040
Speaker 1: is how it works sometimes. What you talk about growing

332
00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:12,679
Speaker 1: up with politics around the table, How did something like

333
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,520
Speaker 1: this happen? And why is? Why is the state leadership

334
00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:16,679
Speaker 1: so laise fair about it?

335
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:21,080
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, you know again, I can't say that there's

336
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,160
Speaker 2: one person that you placed blamed to, but I think

337
00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,479
Speaker 2: that there's been a variety of factors. I think that

338
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,760
Speaker 2: you can blame on flight people leaving Jackson, our tax

339
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,960
Speaker 2: based decreasing, But I also think that you can blame

340
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,840
Speaker 2: it on previous administrations and their lack of sounding the

341
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,000
Speaker 2: alarm at the appropriate time. But I also think that

342
00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:41,879
Speaker 2: you can blame it on the states leadership and the

343
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,959
Speaker 2: state not coming in and giving the city adequate resourcesests

344
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,159
Speaker 2: of what it actually needs. But that also goes to

345
00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:53,320
Speaker 2: the breakdown between democratic administrations and Republican administrations. So growing

346
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,520
Speaker 2: up at the table, you know, the stories that my

347
00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,560
Speaker 2: parents would tell me and my sister was in relation

348
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,399
Speaker 2: to how Democrats and Republican work together. A lot of

349
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:02,560
Speaker 2: the times, you know.

350
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:06,320
Speaker 1: Back in the eighties and nineties, they did, because Mississippi did,

351
00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:11,800
Speaker 1: by the way, regularly. Shoot, it was all Democrats until

352
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,919
Speaker 1: you know, until in somewhere in the nineties that the

353
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,159
Speaker 1: Republicans broke through. So it wasn't an unusual you know,

354
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,680
Speaker 1: late eighties in the Senate and then in governor's races.

355
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,479
Speaker 1: So you had this I think because both parties had

356
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,360
Speaker 1: a shot at winning the governorship, the relationship to Jackson

357
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,120
Speaker 1: was better for both parties.

358
00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,520
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, yeah. But but I will say that that

359
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:39,760
Speaker 2: I have seen the state leadership because of the culture

360
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,960
Speaker 2: and political culture of the city of Jackson within the

361
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,480
Speaker 2: past eight years, say I'm going to hault any type

362
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:50,080
Speaker 2: of assistance to the city, and we are now getting

363
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,159
Speaker 2: away from that. We have new leadership. We have a

364
00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,399
Speaker 2: much more inclusive city government and that sees all areas

365
00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,639
Speaker 2: of Jackson as being important and included in the future

366
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,600
Speaker 2: of jack And also though we had a new leadership

367
00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,639
Speaker 2: in the legislature which has started things like the Capital

368
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:11,000
Speaker 2: Revitalization Committee focused on creating legislation and policy to help

369
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:14,680
Speaker 2: the capital city. You cannot have a successful state without

370
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,200
Speaker 2: a successful capital city. And Jackson is going through metic city.

371
00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,880
Speaker 2: So you know, it's almost like get out of your

372
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,760
Speaker 2: you know, put your big pants on and just staying that, yes,

373
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,639
Speaker 2: you are going to have to work with democratic leadership

374
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,680
Speaker 2: in the city of Jackson. You know it's going to

375
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:30,320
Speaker 2: help the state.

376
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,320
Speaker 1: This is a this is a virus that's going through

377
00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,840
Speaker 1: our political system, which is and you're seeing it a

378
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,760
Speaker 1: lot more on the right, which is we're only going

379
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,880
Speaker 1: to govern for our supporters, and if you didn't vote

380
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,159
Speaker 1: for me, you're not going to get in your.

381
00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:45,199
Speaker 2: Like no, no, no, no no.

382
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,359
Speaker 1: It just means we've let you make the decisions. But

383
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,640
Speaker 1: there's a spaceline assumption that you're going to keep services

384
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,080
Speaker 1: where they're at or improve them, not decrease services because

385
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,320
Speaker 1: they didn't give you political support. I mean, I got

386
00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,080
Speaker 1: the sense that Republicans and state government felt like there

387
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,359
Speaker 1: was no political price to pay to punish Jackson and

388
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,679
Speaker 1: that and I think twenty years ago that wasn't the case.

389
00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. I agree with you,

390
00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,439
Speaker 2: and not listening to the people on the ground, the

391
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,639
Speaker 2: people who've lived in Jackson for decades. Those are the

392
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:22,600
Speaker 2: folks who you go to, you know, in order to

393
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,199
Speaker 2: understand the dynamics of the city or what it is

394
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,879
Speaker 2: that the city needs. What are they asking for. I

395
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,119
Speaker 2: can tell you the countless amount of years that the

396
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,680
Speaker 2: City of Jackson has asked for appropriations for our state

397
00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,920
Speaker 2: government and it's fallen on deaf ears. Now, I think

398
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,280
Speaker 2: that there's blame that you can place on both parties,

399
00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:39,760
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, there are people

400
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,680
Speaker 2: behind these offices, these elected offices. They're folks who were struggling,

401
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,320
Speaker 2: and so that's what I'm saying. The finger pointing at

402
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,120
Speaker 2: some point has to stop because there are people who

403
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,399
Speaker 2: need the support from their government. You know, we're not

404
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,240
Speaker 2: exempt from pans state taxes because we're a democratic city.

405
00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,240
Speaker 2: So that's again why important for appropriations to these d

406
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,240
Speaker 2: equably around the state of Mississippi, not just in areas

407
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,680
Speaker 2: where you can go and toout you know, being a

408
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,399
Speaker 2: proud conservative Republican or where you can say that you're

409
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:11,280
Speaker 2: a strong Democrat.

410
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:18,320
Speaker 1: Would you say Mississippi is culturally conservative across the board,

411
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,760
Speaker 1: meaning the average Democratic district is just culturally more conservative

412
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,119
Speaker 1: than the average Democratic district say in the northeast, or

413
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,760
Speaker 1: is or is are we missing something here? How would

414
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:37,040
Speaker 1: you describe the Democratic Party in Mississippi? Is it more

415
00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:38,639
Speaker 1: conservative than the national Party?

416
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:43,960
Speaker 2: Yeah? I would say socially conservative potentially yess, But again

417
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:45,600
Speaker 2: you still have and what.

418
00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,720
Speaker 1: Does that mean? Is that just on abortion issues or

419
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,400
Speaker 1: is that on other sort of cultural issues like same

420
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,000
Speaker 1: sex marriage and things like that.

421
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,960
Speaker 2: I think all of that, I would say when it

422
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,080
Speaker 2: comes to abortion, I think a majority of us are

423
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:01,760
Speaker 2: pro choice that are within Theocratic Party. But I do

424
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,199
Speaker 2: think that there can be some disagreement. It may not

425
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 2: be as loud as others disagreement in regards to gay

426
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,840
Speaker 2: marriage as well as other other social issues. But again,

427
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,479
Speaker 2: what I think we have to continue to focus on

428
00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:21,160
Speaker 2: doing is staying unified as the party the super minority.

429
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:25,040
Speaker 2: Attacking the super minority or ostracizing other folks in the

430
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,320
Speaker 2: super minority because you don't agree on one specific issue

431
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,200
Speaker 2: is not going to get you in the majority. It's

432
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,400
Speaker 2: not going to move you there, you know. And one

433
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,159
Speaker 2: thing I've noticed. I mean, I can count all of

434
00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,440
Speaker 2: the moderate Republicans even in the state of Mississippi, Chuck,

435
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,680
Speaker 2: who told me and all of my colleagues, so, we'll

436
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,680
Speaker 2: never support Donald Trump again after January sixth, We'll never

437
00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,400
Speaker 2: you know, you know, we we can't be loud about it, Justice,

438
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 2: but we're not going to go and vote for him

439
00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,520
Speaker 2: in the ballot box. To see the previous election and

440
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,520
Speaker 2: the man has over seventy million votes, Well, what that

441
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,000
Speaker 2: that's to me is, Yeah, there may be some folks

442
00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 2: who disagree, but when it comes to the end of

443
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:07,080
Speaker 2: the day, they're going to unify and align with their

444
00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:09,159
Speaker 2: party with the person who they believe is going to

445
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,800
Speaker 2: do more good than the bad that they see. I

446
00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,920
Speaker 2: think that we need to start to adopt that more

447
00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:18,520
Speaker 2: in the Democratic Party in Mississippi. There are going to

448
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:23,040
Speaker 2: be Democrats who are lifelong Democrats who may disagree on

449
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:23,919
Speaker 2: one or two issues.

450
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,000
Speaker 1: Look, Brandon Presley on the issue of abortion, I think

451
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,800
Speaker 1: is in the minority of what you just said about

452
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:31,040
Speaker 1: the Democratic Party Mississippi.

453
00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,320
Speaker 2: Right, that is correct, that is correct. But what you saw,

454
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,000
Speaker 2: Chuck in that election, as you saw us unify at

455
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,520
Speaker 2: the end, No, there was not large groups of Democrats

456
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,479
Speaker 2: protesting saying how dare we support this guy who is

457
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,240
Speaker 2: putting his hand on the Bible and has spent millions

458
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,880
Speaker 2: of dollars on television and saying that he is pro life. No, no, no,

459
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,600
Speaker 2: we understood the gravity of the moment. The gravity of

460
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:59,400
Speaker 2: the moment is this current Republican state administration needs to go.

461
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,680
Speaker 2: And the person that we have that is our most

462
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,600
Speaker 2: powerful opponent to him is someone who we need to

463
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,879
Speaker 2: stand behind now when it comes to governing. Yeah, of

464
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:10,719
Speaker 2: course we'll get into the nice and the weis then

465
00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,800
Speaker 2: because now we have someone who's more responsive in the

466
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,439
Speaker 2: governor's office. So that's again what we have to focus

467
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,719
Speaker 2: on to get out of this super minority, to not

468
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,919
Speaker 2: ostracize each other, but to find ways of unifying, to

469
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:23,760
Speaker 2: get to the mango.

470
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,800
Speaker 1: As an observer of national politics and of what the Democrats,

471
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,159
Speaker 1: how the Democrats are doing, I'm sure you see the

472
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,439
Speaker 1: same you're seeing what we see, which is, you know

473
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:39,040
Speaker 1: how unpopular the party's brand is. Right now, what's your

474
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 1: diagnosis for that and what's your cure?

475
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,720
Speaker 2: Yeah? Well, one, when it comes to young people, I

476
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:50,600
Speaker 2: think we need to listen to understand young people and

477
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:55,280
Speaker 2: not listen to respond. There needs to be I think

478
00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,359
Speaker 2: we can be a little bit more inclusive to the

479
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,439
Speaker 2: ideas that young people bring about, and the idea is

480
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,920
Speaker 2: a Southern Democrats bring about to the national party and

481
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,520
Speaker 2: the national platform. But you know, again, I think that

482
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,119
Speaker 2: we do need a new generation of leadership in the party,

483
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 2: and I think that we do need to be captivated

484
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 2: as a party. I remember in two thousand and eight,

485
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,679
Speaker 2: you know, the way that our community felt when we

486
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:21,879
Speaker 2: had a new leader, someone who kind of took the

487
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:25,879
Speaker 2: party by storm, and it got everybody excited and involved

488
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 2: about wanting to vote again, wanted to be involved again.

489
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,159
Speaker 2: I think that we need that in the Democratic Party.

490
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:34,960
Speaker 2: You know, a little caffeine in the system. I felt

491
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,880
Speaker 2: a lot of that of electricity at the DNC when

492
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 2: Vice President Kamala Harris was our nominee. But how do

493
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,600
Speaker 2: we keep that electricity going and how do we revelop

494
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,919
Speaker 2: that electricity again in twenty twenty eight, I think is

495
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,200
Speaker 2: what's most important. Listen, this is the party for working

496
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:53,879
Speaker 2: class people. This is not the party of billionaires. There

497
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 2: are more working class people than billionaires in the United States.

498
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,480
Speaker 2: So when we start to surgically pick apart the platform.

499
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:04,439
Speaker 2: I don't necessarily think that there's anything wrong with with

500
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,439
Speaker 2: with what we stand for. I think it's who do

501
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 2: we see. Who are we showing in America that their

502
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 2: voices matter, that their priorities. Similar to what I said

503
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:18,160
Speaker 2: about Mississippi, sometimes I don't feel like the National brand

504
00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,120
Speaker 2: sees Mississippi or seize the Democrats in Mississippi.

505
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:24,439
Speaker 1: No, they don't know the way that they should.

506
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,800
Speaker 2: And I will give credit to d NC vice sheer

507
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,160
Speaker 2: Malcolm kin Yata because he traveled to Mississippi, and while

508
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,400
Speaker 2: I didn't get a chance to meet him, he did

509
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,480
Speaker 2: the work that should have been done decades ago here,

510
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,879
Speaker 2: you know, and not only just seeing us but giving

511
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,400
Speaker 2: us those resources because we need money, we need funds,

512
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,480
Speaker 2: and we need to you know, these are six electoral

513
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 2: votes down here, you know, and there are votes that

514
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:49,840
Speaker 2: we can pick up one day if we get the

515
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 2: right investment.

516
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:52,480
Speaker 1: Well, and do you start looking at the census of

517
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,199
Speaker 1: twenty thirty and where you know the blue wall of

518
00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,960
Speaker 1: the Midwest won't be enough for Electorala to need another state,

519
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,160
Speaker 1: and then you're gonna have to narrowly hope you win Georgia,

520
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,280
Speaker 1: North Carolina, or do you need some padding? And when

521
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,240
Speaker 1: you start looking at the board, you know, I look

522
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,239
Speaker 1: at I do I look at Mississippi. Is you know

523
00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,520
Speaker 1: this is this is a lighter red state than its repute.

524
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 1: I always say my favorite way is it ain't Idaho. Okay.

525
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,720
Speaker 1: Idaho is dark red and that is what it is, right,

526
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:25,439
Speaker 1: just like Massachusetts is dark blue. Okay, those you know

527
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 1: that you're going to have that on both sides of

528
00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 1: the aisle. Mississippi ain't Idaho, but the National Party treats

529
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:31,159
Speaker 1: it like Idaho.

530
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, and envision the freak out that will happen on

531
00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:37,200
Speaker 2: the other side. You know when when that state does

532
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 2: turn purple or it does.

533
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,719
Speaker 1: You saw it in Georgia. I mean, look what it

534
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,719
Speaker 1: did to the state party. Republican Party are still divided

535
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,520
Speaker 1: over this. They're still fighting that. I can't believe they

536
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,320
Speaker 1: blew it right and they're still seeing it. They still

537
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 1: don't quite think it was it was a one offer,

538
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,360
Speaker 1: it was this or was that, but it did it

539
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,040
Speaker 1: scrambled them. I mean, you know, it's it's like any

540
00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,400
Speaker 1: if you really want to do game theory, it's a

541
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,680
Speaker 1: version of game theory. You radially your opponent by suddenly

542
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,560
Speaker 1: taking a territory that they never thought they had.

543
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:12,280
Speaker 2: To protect, right and now kick another domino right and

544
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 2: allow Mississippi to to do the unthinkable because what it

545
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 2: will do.

546
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 1: But no, no, no, you say it, because I think

547
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:21,520
Speaker 1: you're going to say it. I was just about to

548
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:21,960
Speaker 1: prompt you.

549
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 2: What I'm saying is that now where is their attention focused.

550
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,600
Speaker 2: The attention is now focused in the South. Wait a minute.

551
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 2: This has been saved territory for as long as we've

552
00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,719
Speaker 2: known that, and now you've taken the attention to focus

553
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,480
Speaker 2: the resources, the money off of the Wisconsins, off of

554
00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,160
Speaker 2: the Michigan's, off of the swing states.

555
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,720
Speaker 1: This is exactly it what Iowa being in the center

556
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 1: of the political debate for presidential races allowed the ethanol

557
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,640
Speaker 1: industry to be to essentially punch above its weight, and

558
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 1: that benefited financially the state of Iowa. If Mississippi is

559
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,760
Speaker 1: in play, you suddenly will get real investment in the state. Attention.

560
00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 1: National politicians will make prom says that they have to

561
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:05,440
Speaker 1: keep right when you're considered already in one column or

562
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,400
Speaker 1: the other, like the voters benefit being I always say this,

563
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,080
Speaker 1: the most valuable voters in America are swing voters because

564
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,120
Speaker 1: politicians obsessively need you. And if you are seen as

565
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,719
Speaker 1: hard to get, not easy to get, it's amazing what

566
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,200
Speaker 1: you're going to the largest that will come your state's wife.

567
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,800
Speaker 2: Absolutely and and and I can feel it when you know.

568
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,959
Speaker 2: I served as a surrogate for Kamala Harrison's campaign, and

569
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 2: I went to North Carolina on the campus of the

570
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,920
Speaker 2: University of North Carolina, Charlotte. And you could see it

571
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 2: in the eyes as well as the conversations I had

572
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,120
Speaker 2: with young college voters. They knew how much their vote mattered.

573
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 2: It was like, if you can get me, if you

574
00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,840
Speaker 2: can convince me to write down, not being on the

575
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,120
Speaker 2: side of that, you've done a number. You know, your

576
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,600
Speaker 2: flight here was worth it. And I noticed when I

577
00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,360
Speaker 2: came back home in Mississippi the difference and how people

578
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,200
Speaker 2: saw their vote on the presidential level. You know a

579
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:06,960
Speaker 2: lot of Democrats, Yeah, we're going to go and exercise

580
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,880
Speaker 2: our right, but we don't see it as you know,

581
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,000
Speaker 2: as so much of importance to the political candidates and

582
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,239
Speaker 2: their machines themselves. And I agree with you when you

583
00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:19,920
Speaker 2: talked about investment. You know, while we're talking about the

584
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:21,760
Speaker 2: things that come along with it. You know that we

585
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,120
Speaker 2: may not be paying attention to we're paying attentions to

586
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 2: who wins so who loses this. But there's so much

587
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:32,680
Speaker 2: more that comes with your state turning to purple, with

588
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,280
Speaker 2: the becoming a suite. And like you said, folks have

589
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,760
Speaker 2: to make promises that they have to keep because they

590
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:39,680
Speaker 2: have to come back to you.

591
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:41,840
Speaker 1: I got to land this plane because I always a

592
00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:46,240
Speaker 1: promise on these youtubes to make it a hard thirty.

593
00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,040
Speaker 1: But I promise you you'll be able to find Republicans

594
00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 1: in Mississippi and some day that you can lead the

595
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 1: charge to say, hey, let's make Mississippi an early presidential

596
00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,040
Speaker 1: primary state because both parties will benefit. This is one

597
00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:04,280
Speaker 1: of those areas both parties have benefit in Iowa, both

598
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,800
Speaker 1: parties benefit in New Hampshire, both parties benefit in Nevada,

599
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,080
Speaker 1: both parties benefit in South Carolina. Stay like Mississippi, that

600
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,959
Speaker 1: could use a little bit of just It's like hosting

601
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 1: a big event. You get to host a big event

602
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,560
Speaker 1: and you get all sorts of money pouring into your economy.

603
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,600
Speaker 1: If you're hosting the NCAA Regionals in Jackson or something

604
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,080
Speaker 1: like that, it's no different except and then politicians might

605
00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:28,480
Speaker 1: learn a thing or two about what's going on in

606
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:30,120
Speaker 1: Mississippi and they may change things.

607
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 2: That's all right, and now we can have the double

608
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,480
Speaker 2: A in Mississippi because we've changed that divisive flat with

609
00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:41,040
Speaker 2: conservative emblem. Unfortunately, people only pay attention to money and

610
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,320
Speaker 2: opportunity to eliminate the divisive you know, culture that we've

611
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:46,680
Speaker 2: had in Mississippi for quite some time. So I think

612
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,680
Speaker 2: you bring out a really good point. Shok, there's so

613
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,280
Speaker 2: much more to you know, put us in the right

614
00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,240
Speaker 2: direction and to really have meaningful progress in Mississippi.

615
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,840
Speaker 1: You know, I just find that every time I get

616
00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,840
Speaker 1: to know Mississippi leaders, I think there's so many good leaders.

617
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:05,480
Speaker 1: This it's it. It's just more people in the state

618
00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,640
Speaker 1: need to believe in their leaders because it does feel

619
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 1: as if just a little bit of effort would allow

620
00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,680
Speaker 1: Mississippi to punch, punch, punch higher on the list here.

621
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,000
Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely right, and we have the power now, I

622
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,880
Speaker 2: mean up Hints County, one of the most populous counties,

623
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,400
Speaker 2: could have won that gubernatorial seat. We had the votes,

624
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,560
Speaker 2: just that county, just the county that I'm in right now,

625
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,240
Speaker 2: week on that. So, so that is the message to

626
00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,720
Speaker 2: the donor class, that is the advanssage to those that

627
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:41,440
Speaker 2: have the resources as of how we can change this

628
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,680
Speaker 2: state if we are able to be fully invested in. Yeah.

629
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,400
Speaker 1: No, I'm convinced. It's a you know, I look at

630
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,960
Speaker 1: sometimes I look at states in the electoral map the

631
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,840
Speaker 1: way I look at you know, rising college football powers.

632
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,680
Speaker 1: Mississippi could be a power here. They just need a

633
00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,280
Speaker 1: little investment. So this is all right, let me ask

634
00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:02,760
Speaker 1: before I let get you out of here on this

635
00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:04,680
Speaker 1: Ole Miss Orssissippi.

636
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:09,160
Speaker 2: State, University of Mississippi. Man. I got my law degree there,

637
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:13,160
Speaker 2: my father got his law degree there, and I'm a

638
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 2: big fan of Ole Miss football. I think we're going

639
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,399
Speaker 2: to do amazing things. We're going to just erase last year.

640
00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:24,200
Speaker 2: We're not going to talk about it, and we're gonna

641
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:25,600
Speaker 2: do some amazing things this year.

642
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,120
Speaker 1: I will say this, Lane Keffen is a press conference

643
00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:31,000
Speaker 1: I always want to pay attention to because you never

644
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:32,120
Speaker 1: know what he's gonna say.

645
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,040
Speaker 2: That's right, that's right. You never know you never know

646
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:36,400
Speaker 2: who he's going to recruit either.

647
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:41,799
Speaker 1: It's it's very true. It's very true. You didn't say

648
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:43,520
Speaker 1: Southern mess I thought you might throw that in there

649
00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:45,759
Speaker 1: as my curveball or Jackson State. I was prepared for

650
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,840
Speaker 1: either one of them, but ultimately it's you know, or

651
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,160
Speaker 1: Mississippi State. Right there, there's sort of the stepchild. I

652
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,080
Speaker 1: feel like sometimes they can be.

653
00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,080
Speaker 2: They can be my mom went to a sudden miss

654
00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 2: But I am always a Jackon. I grew up going

655
00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,719
Speaker 2: to Jackson State football games. So if you live in

656
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,560
Speaker 2: Jackson and you're not a Jackson State fan, have.

657
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,719
Speaker 1: You become a Colorado Buffalo's fan by sort of proxy now?

658
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,280
Speaker 1: Or are you bitter about about Dion leaving.

659
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,840
Speaker 2: I was not one of the ones to become a

660
00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:21,280
Speaker 2: Colorado Colorado fan. I will say after the coach damn Jackson.

661
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,920
Speaker 2: Let's just say that. Maybe I'm in the minority. But

662
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:29,200
Speaker 2: in a way which was rolled out, I am a

663
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,839
Speaker 2: Jackson State fan, uh and been a Jackson State fan

664
00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 2: when we've had coaches like Coach Comogy, the coaches where

665
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,160
Speaker 2: I don't even want to say their names, but you know,

666
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,160
Speaker 2: I stay true to the universities that I represent.

667
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,520
Speaker 1: I love it. Well, it would have it would have

668
00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,080
Speaker 1: been just as fun to see Shador and Travis Hunter

669
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,600
Speaker 1: spend three years staying in Jackson State.

670
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,160
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, oh, yeah, we love we enjoyed them, We

671
00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:56,759
Speaker 2: enjoyed them.

672
00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,440
Speaker 1: Uh, just great to get to know you appreciate the

673
00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:00,560
Speaker 1: time check.

674
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:06,640
Speaker 2: This is amazing. Thank you, ma'am, M