WEBVTT - Leading With Joy 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.760 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to ok F Daily with 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:19.680 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:26.920 I'm starting off this week and just I mean, I 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:31.560 don't know why I'm shocked, but on some culture news 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:36.000 and first and not any political news as of yet. 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:38.600 But you'll know if you follow me, you know that 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.519 I love Beyonce right. Not only do I think that 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:48.120 Beyonce is one of the most innovative, creative, brilliant artists 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:52.960 of our time, I think that she is a genre shifter, 0:00:53.479 --> 0:01:00.000 bender and an expansionist. Whenever you see someone who starts 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.840 in one art form kind of boxed in as this 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:07.399 pop star when she was younger, and then you know, 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:11.000 moves through the evolution of Destiny's Child and then becomes 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:17.600 a solo artist and then from the Beyonce album to Lemonade, 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:22.920 you know, to what we have in this moment of 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:28.880 Cowboy Carter. Not to mention, you know, obviously just the 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:37.360 other Boundless albums. To not be recognized when you are 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:43.480 the most brilliant star out there at the CMAS, to me, 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:49.680 is just like the racism at the Country Music Awards 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.840 is on another level. Let me be clear, I'm not 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:55.720 a fan of country music. As a matter of fact, 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:59.120 when anybody ever asked me, like, what is your favorite 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:01.840 genre of music, I'll say I like all music except 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:06.080 for country music. And the reason that I always had 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:10.480 that response is because country music, to me, was steeped 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:15.760 in racism and misogyny in a way that like, I 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.359 didn't vibe with. And I will be honest with you 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:24.280 that Beyonce's Cowboy Carter usually her albums when they drop, like, 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.560 I will just ingest them as quickly as I possibly can, 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:33.400 because I've written essays on Beyonce's work, I've gone on 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:36.960 television to talk about the politics of her work. But 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:40.799 Cowboy Corter was like, you know, she doing country, so okay, 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.200 you know, like not my vibe. Not everything is for everybody. 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:48.520 When I listen to that album from start to finish 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:52.799 on a train ride, I was in tears. I had 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:59.400 never felt more patriotic and connected to the roots of 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:04.000 this country tree more than listening to that album. And 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:08.040 I am not being hyperbolic. Folks have to understand that 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.480 while I was born in the United States, my family 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:17.840 is from Jamaica. So the roots of black American history 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:22.000 is something that I have learned, not necessarily something that 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:26.520 I have experienced, right, It is a very different experience 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:30.320 in America when your family are immigrants to the country, 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:33.360 And I've learned that over the years. There is a 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:39.480 difference experience that my Black American friends have, right, whose 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:45.160 families are from you know, this country, versus my friends 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:49.160 who were born here but their families are from the Caribbean, 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:53.320 or their families are from different countries in Africa. We 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:57.640 have very different experiences. While White America may see us 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.720 all one way, we definitely do not see our selves 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.920 all one way, nor do we have the same experiences 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:08.320 outside of racism. But I'm talking about like our familiar experiences. 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:14.080 So to be introduced to like the roots of country music, 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:18.679 to understand like terms like cowboy and where that came from, 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:24.760 to really get what I believe that her album offered, 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:33.360 which was a tutorial, if you will, a masterclass into Americana, 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:40.760 right music, and to say that like this is our music, right, 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.080 this is black people's music, this is black people's culture, 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:48.320 was extraordinary. So is it a shock that then the 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:53.800 Country Music Awards would like give the ultimate snub to 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.599 the number one country album of the year. It's not 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:00.120 a shock. I mean, look what they did to the 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.640 Dixie Chicks, right, we're now the Chicks, right, Look what 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.159 they did the only time that Beyonce was on the 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:10.960 CMS and performing with the Chicks, they completely erased her 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:15.960 performance whatsoever from their social media. Like, is anyone who 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.800 is black or a person of color shocked by this? No, 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:24.919 But I think that it just draws into our vision 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:29.039 that it doesn't matter if you are a billionaire, it 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:32.560 doesn't matter if you are the most talented, it doesn't matter. 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:37.200 Racism will always exist and will always hit in any 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.800 way that it can. But the reality is is that 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:44.960 they hit and miss because Beyonce gonna stay, Beyonce gonna 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:49.840 stay rising, gonna stay having a conversation like who knows 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:53.200 who else was nominated? We know who wasn't nominated, and 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.919 that's what's running the conversation on social So you know, 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:02.080 she stays starting converse station, you know, and that's power, 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.800 that's power. I have to give that nod because I'm 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:10.200 just I was annoyed so much, but again, like not shocked, 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:16.440 but you know, annoyed. Nonetheless, in today's episode, I'm excited 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:21.200 to bring back to the show the managing partner at Arena, 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:26.320 Lauren Bear, to discuss their recent get out the Vote 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:32.359 workshop series that they are doing. And you know, as 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.760 we get closer and closer to the election, it is 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.520 really important that we continue to lift up the different 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:42.640 ballot measures that are up for vote in states, as 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:47.159 well as the down ballot tickets. It is really important, folks, 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.479 that we deliver in this election in so many different ways. 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:54.200 So Lauren and I get into really good conversation about 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:58.040 the great work that Arena is doing, you know, with 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:03.120 less than sixty days to go, So that conversation is 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:10.560 coming up next, folks. I am happy to welcome back 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:16.000 to WOKF Daily the managing partner at Arena, Lauren Bayer, 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:20.000 to talk to us about all things get out the vote, 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:25.440 and frankly, there's been a change since we last spoke 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:29.520 Lauren understatement of the century, understayment of the Century, I've 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:33.960 been calling it a seismic shift that happened at the 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:37.240 end of July. We are now at the end of 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:40.160 August at the time of this taping. Talk to me 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:44.560 about how you are feeling personally about the shift at 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.800 the top of the ticket and how your organization has 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.800 adapted to the change at the top of the ticket certainly. 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.200 And first, fal Danielle, thanks for having me back again. 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:57.880 So to frame all of this, I'll just remind folks 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.040 that I'm the managing partner at Arena, where we build 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:04.720 the teams that power democratic victories, and so we're in 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:08.960 the business of recruiting and training campaign staff and deploying 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:12.560 them to critical races up and down the ballot across 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:17.400 the country. And just six eight weeks ago, I would 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:24.080 say the overwhelming feeling was exhaustion, perhaps despair, a lot 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:29.560 of concern. People definitely recognized the stakes, they knew what 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:33.679 was on the line in this election, but there was 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:36.200 a lot of concern about how we were going to 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.800 jump over that hurdle and put a Democrat in the 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.960 White House again. And I think what we saw after 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:46.880 Biden made that truly historic and selfless decision to step 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:51.880 aside was a collective exhaling. First, I talked to so 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:56.440 many people, myself included, the overwhelming feeling was relief, and 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:01.240 then quickly followed by this excitement and this joy and 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:05.280 this coalescing around Kamala Harris and then Tim Walls and 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:09.559 what that has meant for us at Arena is figuring 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:11.920 out how to take all of that joy, all of 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:14.880 that enthusiasm, all that excitement that we. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.880 Have seen in the past six weeks, and translate. 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.320 It into action, because one thing we know super well 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:25.320 is good vibes don't win elections, votes votes. With elections, 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.720 we are in the business now of training and deploying 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:30.520 all of the folks that we need the boots on 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.439 the ground, we need to get voter polls in November. 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:36.440 I think that for me, and I've stated this so 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.959 many times on the show since the shift, that people 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.559 listen to wooke af and they know that I am 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:45.440 no stranger to rage, that I am no stranger to 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:48.360 anger and finding ways in which to articulate that. But 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.200 I will say Lauren that I did not truly realize 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:58.960 how devoid of possibility and joy I was until this 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:02.920 shift happened. I did not realize how much I was 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:06.560 just like kind of hanging on for dear life in 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:11.319 the hopes that us articulating the stakes of this election, 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:15.240 we're going to be enough to get people engaged. And 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:19.880 so talk to us about how the engagement has shifted. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.000 Because while we say and folks are saying like, oh, 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.560 vibes are not votes, But what I realize now is 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:30.240 that vibes are necessary to get votes possible. People need 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.480 to feel good. It is not enough for people to 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:37.040 have a sense of dread and to be fearful to 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.959 get them to the polls. Honestly, I think that that 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:43.920 level of fearfulness will just keep you complacent. What have 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.520 you seen in terms of your folks on the ground. 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:48.800 Yeah, so, I mean the first thing I want to 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:52.240 acknowledge is that there were people who were doing the 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.120 hard work before this shift. You know, we have trained 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:58.720 a couple thousand people this election cycle. We were in 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.840 Georgia and a role and did a massive in person 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:04.360 training with more than five hundred people there. 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.000 And the groups who stood to lose. 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:12.080 The most under a second Trump term, women, people of color, 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:16.320 members of the LGBTQ plus community. These folks were showing 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.079 up and ready to put in the hard work then, 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:22.520 and I don't want to undermine or discount that. I 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.480 think what we have seen in the past six weeks 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:29.920 is a broaderingly of that coalition who's willing to get 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:33.599 up and do the work, and like you said, individuals 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:38.240 who are motivated not just by fear, but by possibility. 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.920 Something that I have heard over and over again over 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.400 the last eight years is do Democrats have an answer 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.120 to maga? What is it that we can put on 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:53.040 a hat and tell the electorate that we're going to 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:54.920 provide for them? And all of a sudden it struck 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.320 me that we have an answer with what Kamala is 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.800 doing when she talks about how we're not going back right, 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:06.640 that simple refrain is the answer to making America great again, 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:11.360 which is a backward looking perspective that's really regressive in 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.880 so many ways because we know what Trump means is 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:18.719 a restriction on our rights, lessening of our freedoms, and 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.280 so at Arena, what we're really doing is saying, Okay, 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.440 we've got these good vibes. Now we've got this energy. 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:28.200 How do we take people and give them tangible skills 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:32.000 that can actually translate those good vibes into votes. 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:38.640 Talk to us about what folks can expect inside of 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:43.640 those workshops and how if they are not connected with Arena, like, 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:47.160 why it's important to actually get this level of training. 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.040 Sure, so, first of all, one thing I will say 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:53.160 is it takes skills to run a campaign. I think 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.720 so many people out there think that all you need 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:59.080 is some of your buddies, some volunteers, and you can 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:02.280 send out a team of people with no background or experience. 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:06.960 But campaigning is just as much of a skilled profession 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.240 as is anything else, so we treat it really seriously. 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:11.600 In the arena world. 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.240 Getting out the vote is one of the most important 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:18.160 times of an electoral cycle. It's the few weeks before 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:22.040 election day when we're taking those folks who we've identified 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.280 as voters on our side and we're mobilizing them to 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.000 get to the polls. And so what we're doing at 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.800 these training sessions is taking individuals who are going to 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:35.280 be participating in GOOTV programs or running them themselves, and 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:39.160 teaching them how to run the most effective and efficient programs, 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.480 whether that's how to develop your GOOTV plan, how to 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:46.960 develop your GOOTV budget, how to strategically target voters with 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.040 the best data available, how to choose the tech stack 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:53.600 that your campaign is using. These are really nitty gritty 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:56.960 things that most individuals who work on campaigns never have 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.840 the experience or the opportunity to have delivered to them 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.760 in an interactive classroom setting. And so that's what we're doing. 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.520 How do they vary from I should say, do they 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.760 vary from state to state? Like, is what you're teaching 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.559 folks that may be in Georgia, let's say, different than 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:13.959 what you would teach people that are in New York. 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:15.720 I'll give you two answers to your questions. 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:17.640 The first thing I will say is we are set 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:22.080 teaching a set of skills and best practices that are 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:23.600 applicable anywhere. 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:24.400 And we have. 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:29.160 Individuals who are working on campaigns everything from small city 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:33.760 council and state legislative races to the abortion ballot amendment 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.760 in Florida all the way up to the Harris Walls 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.480 campaign itself. So we were teaching broadly ap pickable skills. 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:44.320 But we also tell everyone that you've got to take 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:47.240 these skills and apply them to the particular nuances and 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:52.120 set of circumstances in your district that you're running in. 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.680 So nothing is cookie cutter. You can't take. 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.560 Something that is, you know, a campaign plan that's going 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:01.360 to work in rural Nebraska, try to apply it in 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:02.080 South Florida. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.200 But if you do have those skills that teach you 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:04.880 how to. 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.480 Develop a plan, you can tailor to the context that 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:07.920 you're in. 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:10.920 Let me ask you this, like, in terms of your 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:16.360 evaluation of how you saw the Biden ticket, the Biden 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:22.080 Harris ticket working versus what you've noticed has changed with 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:23.640 the Harris Walls ticket. 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:28.960 So one thing that I find so fascinating is, on 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.040 the one hand, not much has changed, right, so many 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:33.760 of the people who are working for Harris are the 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:37.080 same people who were working for Biden. But on the 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:41.840 other hand, everything has changed. The campaign has a fundamentally 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.920 different feeling. And what I think that speaks to is 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:49.280 really the importance of the principle on the campaign, who 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.840 is the candidate at the top of the ticket. Kamala 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:56.120 was an excellent running mate for Joe Biden, but he 0:15:56.280 --> 0:16:00.080 was leading with his approach to politics and his way 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.800 of being in Washington and way of being with voters. 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:08.280 Hers is is fundamentally different for any number of reasons, 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.800 due to her background, due to her age, due to 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:14.480 her particular experience that she brings to the race. And 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.840 what I think she's really done is empowered this incredibly 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.040 talented group of people who are already on that campaign 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:26.440 to do their very best work. So you're not seeing 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.000 the product of an entirely new digital team. What you're 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.560 seeing is the product of a digital team that has 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:38.840 been really unleashed and allowed to effectively communicate on behalf 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:42.320 of a candidate who is resonating with so many Americans. 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.160 And I think that's a really cool thing and also 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:48.160 just really a testament to the importance of those folks 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:51.880 who are working behind the scene, whose work isn't often noticed. 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.520 What I have seen is a difference too, between these 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.600 two campaigns. While the people are not different, you know, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.400 we both recognize that the end energy is different. And 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.480 I think that there is an authenticity to what I'm seeing, 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:08.200 just as it relates to messaging that we didn't see before. Right, 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.520 So when you open up and you talk about what 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:12.280 is the slogan that we're going to put on a 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:14.920 hat in the way that make America great again works 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:17.239 and it's like we're not going back. Well, you know, 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:21.040 Joe Biden's slogan was like, we're saving the soulovan you know, 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:22.879 a soul of a nation. It don't roll off the 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:25.160 tongue in the same way. And I think that we 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:29.000 live inside of a very commodified culture that, like I 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.000 need to want to wear it. I need to want 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.879 to slap it on a hat, on a sticker, on 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.280 a T shirt and for better or for worse, right, Like, 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.480 that's kind of the way that our society works. So 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:45.240 when you're looking at this re energized campaign and you're 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:49.080 looking at like even the way that the Twitter feed 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:53.560 operates as opposed to how Biden's Twitter feed was operating, 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.960 what are some of the standout points for you there? 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:01.720 And is that something that also so helps other candidates 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.720 say there needs to be like a level of authenticity 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:08.800 that I'm rolling with that I can insert myself into 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:11.159 this and not what the focus groups are telling me 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:12.600 I need to insert into this. 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.560 Two things that I'll point out here, Danielle, because I 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:19.040 think you're right that authenticity is important. But it's not 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:23.520 just about authenticity. It's about meeting the particular historic moment 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:26.600 that were in And I actually do think Joe Biden 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.080 was being very authentic. I think he is one of 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:33.320 the most authentic politicians I've ever ever interacted with in 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:38.000 my lifetime. But he met the moment in twenty twenty 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:43.119 when what we wanted was a quote unquote return to normalcy. 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.479 When I think a lot of the electorates felt that 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:48.919 we could roll back the clock on Trump and just 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:51.560 get back to where we were at the end of 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:55.280 the Obama administration. But what voters made very very clear 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:58.840 is in twenty twenty four they weren't interested in a 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.840 continuation of status quo. We were no longer looking to 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:06.320 roll back to any point in time in the past. 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:09.760 We were looking to move forward. And so what kamalabroad 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:13.000 is yes authenticity, which is going to look different than 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.480 Joe Biden's authenticity because she's a very different person, but 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:21.119 also a meeting of the particular moment now in twenty 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:24.960 twenty four where we know the stakes, but we don't 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:27.719 want just want to know that Democrats are going to 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:30.119 save democracy. We want to know what they're going to 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:33.159 deliver for everyday working people. 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:34.040 We want to know. 0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:36.919 About jobs and the economy, and we want to know 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:40.120 how they're going to product reproductive freedoms and the rights 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:42.440 of LGBTQ people, and what they're going to do about 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:45.679 gun violence prevention, all of these things that she is 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:49.760 able to speak to with a positive, forward looking agenda, 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:52.959 in part because she is in the prime of her 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:56.679 career and not in the sunset days of her career, 0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:00.119 and so you know, Joe Biden was the messenger I 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:02.560 think we really need it in twenty twenty, and Kamala 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:06.400 is just meeting the moment right now in twenty twenty four. 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:09.760 And what's been interesting to me to see is how 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:13.200 that has resonated not just with the core Democratic base, 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.640 but also with so many undecided voters, with so many 0:20:16.760 --> 0:20:21.920 swing voters who see in her an alternative to Trump 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:24.960 that's going to take our country into the future. 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:31.280 How do you see now the difference of the Trump 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:37.439 campaign and what had been energizing that group in twenty 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:41.760 sixteen versus twenty twenty to now, what have you seen 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:44.480 in terms of if there has been, in your opinion, 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.160 a shift in how they are meeting the electorate at 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:52.360 these different points of the infinity of this man's run 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:53.360 for the presidency. 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:55.960 Yeah, uh, that's right. It seems like it's been going 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:59.080 on for a lifetime. I think at heart Trump's campaign 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:02.639 in twenty sixteen and twenty twenty and now, it's always 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:06.920 been a grievance campaign, right, It always centers himself. He 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:11.520 is somehow always wronged, and he taps into feelings very 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:15.959 much legitimate for some folks that they're somehow losing out 0:21:16.480 --> 0:21:20.520 in today's America. I think what you saw before Biden 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:26.639 exited the race was individuals who weren't necessarily excited about Trump, 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:30.320 but just couldn't get on board with another four years 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:33.720 of Biden, who we're toying with the idea of maybe 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:37.120 grievance politics is going to deliver for me now. And 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:40.719 what Kamala really offers as an alternative is not grievance 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:46.800 but possibility. And so I don't think actually Trump has 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:51.440 much more to go or much much space to expand 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:56.880 beyond that grievance caucus. And if you look at American politics, 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:59.840 if you look at how historically we responded to folks 0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:03.680 like Barack Obama or even Bill Clinton back in the heyday, 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:08.679 when folks offer a message a positivity and potential, I 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:13.040 think ultimately that's what most Americans want to believe in. 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:15.760 So I'm really hopeful that this is as a. 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:19.160 Real turning point in the election. The polls are starting. 0:22:19.119 --> 0:22:22.240 To show that, and frankly, Trump is also showing his cards. 0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:25.920 He's been caught pretty flat footed because he doesn't know 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:30.400 how to respond now to a campaign that is bringing 0:22:30.520 --> 0:22:34.480 out so much enthusiasm and excitement and enjoy in the electorate. 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:41.640 How do you see the vice president's campaign different than 0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:45.040 Hillary Clinton? Hillary Clinton? And it was something that I 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:49.639 noticed that convention. Right One, I think that Hillary Clinton 0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:52.439 still remains in her prime. I think that she has 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:56.280 been one of the best surrogates thus far of the 0:22:56.359 --> 0:23:00.080 vice president's campaign. And I remember going to convention in 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:02.960 twenty sixteen, and we didn't have a convention in twenty twenty, 0:23:03.000 --> 0:23:06.359 and then going just this last week, and I wonder, 0:23:06.640 --> 0:23:10.840 like what you see in terms of this difference, because 0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:15.080 it's history still. It's a woman still, but it's history 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:17.840 in a different way and a different type and a 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:19.800 different generation of women. 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:23.280 One thing I've heard a number of folks say, which 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:26.000 I think is very true, is is Kamala doesn't have 0:23:26.080 --> 0:23:30.120 to announce her difference. Her difference is present every time 0:23:30.160 --> 0:23:34.080 she steps on stage, every time she speaks, and so 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:38.920 the mere sight and sound of Kamala announces that it's 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:42.080 a change, that it's a step forward for our country. 0:23:42.400 --> 0:23:46.080 And I think that's very exciting for people. And something 0:23:46.080 --> 0:23:49.320 else that I think is different, frankly from twenty sixteen 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:52.720 is in twenty sixteen, there was I believe a sense 0:23:52.720 --> 0:23:57.520 of inevitability to Clinton being elected. There was certainly the 0:23:57.680 --> 0:24:00.480 feeling in Washington, where I was working at the time 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:02.760 that we were going to follow on the election of 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:06.119 America's first black president with the first female president, and 0:24:06.119 --> 0:24:10.360 we were sort of inexorably marching towards progress. No one 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:14.920 is under that false illusion now, and so I think 0:24:14.960 --> 0:24:20.600 what Kamala's campaign is able to project is both possibility 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:24.760 and the real weightiness of this election, of the moment, 0:24:24.920 --> 0:24:29.119 the significance of it, the fact that it's not only 0:24:29.160 --> 0:24:31.439 something it's not something that we inevitably will happen, but 0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:34.719 that we have to make happen. I think is Michelle 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:37.840 Obama made so clear in her beautiful convention speech, we 0:24:38.000 --> 0:24:40.760 have to do something, each and every one of us 0:24:41.040 --> 0:24:43.639 if we want to see her in the White House. 0:24:43.680 --> 0:24:47.159 And so I really think, you know, Kama's beautifully navigating 0:24:47.200 --> 0:24:50.040 this moment as fraud and consequential as it is. 0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:52.760 Yeah, I think that that's right. I think that the 0:24:53.040 --> 0:25:00.199 inevitability of Clinton perpetuated the complacency that people had, like 0:25:00.240 --> 0:25:02.280 I don't really need to do the work because this 0:25:02.440 --> 0:25:05.639 is just, you know, part of the Clinton dynasty. And 0:25:05.720 --> 0:25:07.760 I do think that there is a deep sense of 0:25:07.800 --> 0:25:11.359 regret that a lot of people have and not wanting 0:25:11.400 --> 0:25:15.600 to make that same mistake again. Lauren, tell folks you 0:25:15.600 --> 0:25:18.719 know how they can get connected with Arena, because I 0:25:18.720 --> 0:25:21.800 think we have at the time of this taping sixteen 0:25:21.880 --> 0:25:25.320