WEBVTT - Sen. Ron Wyden & Gov. Mat Meyer 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:04.160 Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics, 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:07.120 where we discussed the top political headlines with some of 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:11.400 today's best minds. And Jade Vance says the January sixth 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:15.360 rioters who committed violence should not be pardoned. And I 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:18.479 hate to agree with the Jade Vance, but he is correct. 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:21.120 We have such a great show for you today. Senator 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:24.800 Ron Wide and stops by to talk about. 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.120 His book It Takes Hotspa. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:32.680 Then we'll talk to newly minded Governor of Delaware Matt 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:36.519 Meyer about going from a teacher to a governor in 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:37.599 under a decade. 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:38.960 But first the news. 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:44.400 Somali, California and then Los Angeles in particular is still 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.440 under these fires. It's very, very sad to watch. And 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:52.120 of course Republicans are playing politics with aid because it's 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.800 a democratic state and that's when they play politics with it. 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:55.400 What do you see? 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.480 So I live in New York, but I feel very 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.120 connected to Los Angeles because my brother lives there, my 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:04.920 father lives in California, and my other brother lives in California. 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.759 So I'm very connected there and I go a lot 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:12.640 and I was just there and you know these fires. 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:17.280 There are multiple fires all around the area of Los Angeles. 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:22.560 They are catastrophic and they are you know, supercharged because 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:25.720 of climate change. So there's really good Jon Denny an 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:30.600 essay about the Almina wind and what the sort of 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:34.640 historic significance of it and how it burned during the 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.560 Watts riots. It's a real phenomenon in California that is 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.959 not connected to climate change, but because it's so dry 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.839 in the winter months, that is connected to climate change. 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:48.520 So it's something made worse by climate change, but would 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:52.080 not necessarily be only because of it, which I think 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:54.280 is an important nuance. The other thing I want to 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:58.760 say about the California fires is that the reservoirs were filled, 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:03.280 but the water pressure was bad because calvinu is not 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.960 ready for these kind of fid you know, they're ready 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:11.440 for some fires, but they're not ready for these supercharged fires. 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:14.640 And a lot of America is having this experience where 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:17.560 we are ready for some hurricanes, but we're not ready 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:21.480 for these supercharged hurricanes. And that's what we saw with 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.959 Hurricane Sandy here in New York, and that's what we're 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.560 seeing in North Carolina as we're ready for some weather, 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.440 but not weather like this. And so even though Republicans 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:34.480 are spending all their time talking smack about Gavin Newsom 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.360 and Karen Bass. And look, definitely, Karen Bass, there's a 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.720 lot going on here, and for sure Gavin Newsom too. 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:45.000 I mean there's definitely there were for you cannot have 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:46.120 a response. 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:47.480 Like this and not have mistakes being made. 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.000 That said, this is a moment to talk about building 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:54.680 more resilient cities, about how we're going to address climate change. 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:56.720 I think of New York, like after. 0:02:56.600 --> 0:03:00.240 Sandy, we built a lot of things to mitigate our 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.400 flooding problem. Right We're building a green zone around the 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:07.280 city which will hopefully mitigate some of the flooding. But again, 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:09.840 this is a question of like, are we going to 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.120 spend our time blaming each other or are we going 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:17.079 to move on and try to create more resilient America. 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.280 Now two things are happening right here. 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:23.080 Republicans are mad that a blue state is getting disaster aid. 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.079 So Representative Warren Davidson from Ohio, which has never had 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.960 an environmental crisis, I'm kidding, because they have had many. 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.520 He sounded off about the problem with California's policies as 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.880 a threat to withhold disaster relief aid from the devastated 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:41.840 Los Angeles wildfires. This is super disgusting. It's also stupid 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.720 because you know what California is. It's the fifth largest 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:45.400 economy in. 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.760 The world, about to be the fourth, right, And when. 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.720 You start taking playing chicken with federal aid with the 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:57.640 state that paid that raises almost all your taxes, that's crazy. 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:00.920 And what I think Republicans can't to read the needle 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:05.120 on is that there's a world in which these states say, Okay, 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:07.160 we're not going to pay federal taxes if we're not 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.040 going to get federal funds, and we're not so far 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:14.720 from that, and that world will be catastrophic for those 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:15.240 red states. 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:16.919 I mean, it'll be catatrophic for all of us. 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:20.039 It'll be like Brexit will ruin our economy, It'll make 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:23.960 everything just a fiasco. But it will also be ultimately 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:27.479 the states like Alabama that don't have the kind of 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:31.039 federal money, that don't pay in the way California does, 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.080 will be completely screwed. So I do think it's worth 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:36.440 these people, if they could look at a map and 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.720 understand what states they want, that they should just give 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:41.280 California to the money they want. 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.560 Yeah, And it's almost like when you have a more 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.680 progressive tax system that taxes people at the top, and 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:48.840 they don't hoard their wealth. You have money to do 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:49.480 things like this. 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:51.520 Yeah, but that's not what this is. 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.320 These Blues states just there's more business, there's more I mean, 0:04:55.400 --> 0:05:00.240 I also think it's interesting too. Davidson told Maria Bartaroma, honey, 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.120 who used to be normal but is now Barry maga. 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.719 If they want the money, there should be consequences where 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.719 they have to change their policies. Davidson wants Hollywood to 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:12.840 change its policies, right, I mean, by the way, like 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:16.480 this is so stupid, Like California could just be like, Okay, 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.800 you don't want our money, we won't pay in. And 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:22.280 I think that's really a really stupid plan that Davidson 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.279 wants to make California, you know who wants to make 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:27.520 them anti choice or whatever. 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:28.400 It's stupid. 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.599 So in other not so fun news, Jack Smith has 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:34.440 resigned from the Justice Department. 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:37.240 What do you see here, Molly, It turns out that 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:40.520 Mary Garland is just as disappointing as you thought he 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:42.799 might be. I think, look, the thing I think about 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:44.560 this when I think about Merrick Garland is I think 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:46.920 there was a sense in which there was a belief 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.320 among a lot of us that Trump could be held 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:54.080 accountable for doing crimes by these guys. What I think 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.159 was a mistake on the part of the mainstream media, 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.280 and I include myself in this is the idea that 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:05.040 somehow these guys would be able to hold a very powerful, 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:09.280 very wealthy man accountable. And we've seen through you know, 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.280 I'm thinking about Enron. I'm thinking about all of these 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:16.279 times when powerful people, even Jeffrey Epstein to a certain extent, 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:19.240 where powerful people just continually got away with it. 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.440 The idea that Donald Trump was so. 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:26.000 Powerful and so good at politicizing things would somehow be 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.640 held responsible was I think really a pipe dream. 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.600 And also, but beyond that. 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.400 Really the worst person for this job was Merret fucking Garland. 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:38.479 You know, there's a long line of people who have 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:42.920 managed to completely not do anything, And I'm thinking about 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:47.320 You'll remember Robert Muller, who did nothing, Merret Garland, who 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:51.040 did nothing, Jack Smith, who now has resigned. And by 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:54.080 the way, Jack Smith doesn't have to resign. He could stay. 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:56.720 He could make Trump fire him. He could do that, 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:58.880 but he doesn't want to do that because he doesn't 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.960 want to have to fight with Trump. And I'm telling you, 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:06.359 when you criticize these Republican senators like you remember Joany 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.200 Arns said she didn't want them, but johny Arns didn't 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:10.600 want to confirm Pete Hegsath. 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:12.080 She got a lot of pushback. 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:15.840 Maybe she was bullied into going along with Mega. We'll 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:19.160 see during the hearings. We don't really know, but either way, 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.640 so that's Jony Arns. Here's Jack Smith, a person who 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:26.200 is also terrified of Trump right, who was also who 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:27.520 could have stayed and made. 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:28.840 Him fire him and was like no. 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:34.200 At every point, we've seen elected and government officials be 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:39.000 cowardly and it doesn't matter their party affiliation. They've all 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:43.680 just been wildly cowardly. And it's really it's so depressing, 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.920 I am to say. And we shouldn't be surprised. 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:49.800 Well, another thing we shouldn't be surprised about is when 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:54.960 authoritarians rise to power that the people amongst them below 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.800 them start fighting like dogs all the time. And now 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:01.840 we have a fight between Steve Bennon and the tech pros. 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:03.920 Yeah, this is actually kind of fun. 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:05.480 I'm popping the popcorn. 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:07.680 This is sort of the best the best news of 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.600 this whole cycle. So this is not the first time 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:12.640 that Bannon has gone after Elon. 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.000 It's not I know, yeah he was. 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:17.800 He was no fan of him until he gave Trump 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:18.800 a lot of money. 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:20.560 And even now he's still not a fan. So here's 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.040 what's interesting about this. There are two things going on here. 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.240 One is tech bros want H one B one visas. 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.880 These are these visas for skilled workers. Tesla uses them, 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.160 all the tech companies use them. It's a way to 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.800 get really smart programmers and scientists into this country. 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.360 But Mark Zuckerberg Joe Rogan basically said, yeah, I don't 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:41.120 care because we're going to get rid of those for AI. 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:46.720 So yeah, yeah, who knows. But these people are a 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:50.400 lot of them are not white. Steve Bennon, you know, 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:55.400 is very maga. He's very much very maga. Now I 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:56.280 want to point. 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.120 Out, would you make the distinction though, that he's a 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:01.600 very America first. It's now all these people fall under maga. 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.000 Is that the distinction though, is it's like the America 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:05.400 first versus the tech pros. 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:07.600 I mean, I don't know, I mean I want to 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:11.640 reach you two things. This is the translated version. So 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.719 it has been translated and now retranslated, so there may 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:19.200 be some foibles and piccadillos with this translation. But two 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:24.160 things here that we saw Bannon say about Elon okay, 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:26.320 and I'm going to read them to you because they're 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:29.720 kind of sort of mind blowing. This is a direct quote. 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:33.480 So this is for Corierra dela Sera, the Italian newspaper. 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:35.800 I will have Elon Musk run out of here by 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.280 inauguration day. He will not have a blue pass the 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.600 White House. He will not have full access to the 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:43.160 White House. He will be like any other person. 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:44.040 Okay. 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:47.319 He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.840 I made it my personal thing to take this guy down. 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:53.200 He is the richest guy in the world. So this 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:55.559 is not just. I mean, this may not be as 0:09:55.600 --> 0:10:00.520 easy as Steve thinks before because he put mone I 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.559 was prepared to tolerate it, but I'm not prepared to 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:06.800 tolerate it anymore. Now I'm going to read another part 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:10.080 of this interview, which I think is even more interesting 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:10.560 and strange. 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:12.480 This is where the popcorn gets nice and buttery. 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:17.680 Yeah, Peter Theiel, David Sachs, Elon Musk are all white 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.400 South Africans, A right, you're ready, You're ready. 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:22.600 He should go back to South Africa. 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.760 Why do we have South Africans the most racist people 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:29.320 on earth, White South Africans. We have them making any 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:33.320 comment at all on what goes on in the United States. Okay, 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:36.800 let's stop here for a minute. Does this mean that 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:43.120 Steve Bannon doesn't like racism? Like discuss and also let 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:46.080 us pause for another minute here. These are the guys 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:48.640 who are fighting for the H one B one visas. 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:53.280 Mega doesn't want H one B one visas because it's 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:56.760 bringing in people who are not white, right, A lot 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.319 of Indian people, a lot of European people, a lot 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:01.199 of Muslim people. 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:01.800 You're right. 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.160 So does he not like them because he thinks they're racist, 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:07.880 or does he not like them because he doesn't want 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:08.240 these H. 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:11.560 One b right? I mean, there's a real interesting. 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:15.240 Lack of consistency here, which I find fascinating. 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:17.120 You know, he's the richest guy in the world. 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:22.480 Steve is very very I mean, I again, appalling, but smart. 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:24.360 So we'll see where this goes. 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:27.720 But this is a really interesting tension that I think 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:31.160 is going to define the Trump years unless Trump is 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:34.400 somehow able to get rid of Elon, which is hard 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:35.240 for me to magic. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:39.240 Agreed. Sobody, let's talk about a Senator John Fetterman, who's 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:41.800 caused a lot of controversy on the left of MO. 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:43.920 We're talking about infighting on their side. I think a 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:46.360 lot of people are weighing in a lot about Fetterman's 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.080 recent actions. What are you seeing here? 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.160 So this is if Fetterman's an interesting case. 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.080 I wanted to talk about him, not because of some 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:56.720 of the other controversies he's been involved in, but because 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.439 of something else. So Fetterman says he's going to go 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:02.480 down tomorrow Lago to visit Trump. A lot of people 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.080 are mad about this. A lot of people feel that 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:07.120 if you go to mar A Lago to visit Trump, 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:11.520 you are obeying in advance. Now I agree that it's 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.520 very bad to obey in advance, and I agree that 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:18.240 Zuckerberg and Bezos and all of these people going back 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:21.200 and forth to kiss the ring, giving millions of dollars 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:22.280 to the inaugural Fund. 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:23.560 They're trying to curry favor. 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:26.120 They think they can manipulate him into getting what they want. 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:30.360 They've forgotten the truism that everything Trump touches dies. But 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.000 I want to point out that a Democratic senator going 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:37.040 down tomorrow a lago to talk to Trump, well, he 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:41.000 may not get what he wants. And who even Fetterman 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:46.120 is wild, so it's hard to even know ideologically what 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:50.000 he wants. But I have to ask myself, like, do 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:53.360 I think that Fetterman going down tomorrow lago to talk 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.000 to Trump is obeying in advance? 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.160 Now I think he's trying to go and talk to Trump. 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.080 Do I think it's going to work? No? 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.680 Do I think that ultimately Trump will have some ridiculous 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.720 picture of Fetterman, you know, with the thumbs up, and 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:09.559 he'll use it to try to troll Fetterman one hundred. 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:10.880 That's always what happens. 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:13.120 Well, we basically have a repeat of Mitt Romney in 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.120 a New York steakhouse with Donald Trump. 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.520 Yes we will, Yeah, we definitely will. 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.760 But I don't think that trying to talk to Trump 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:24.400 before he's in office. And again this is the whole idea, like, 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.600 should Democrats be cursing Trump when he hasn't. 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:30.480 Done anything yet? I think no. 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:33.280 I think that it's much more important to push back 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:37.320 on the policies when they happen versus when you think 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:39.680 they are going to happen. So I think that just 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.440 getting hysterical about everything is not going to serve us, 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.640 and I think that it's much more important. Will all 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.600 of this offends my sensibilities, Well, all of this is 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:52.160 not what I believe. While all of this is not 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:56.400 who I am, I do think that it's important to 0:13:56.480 --> 0:14:03.200 distinguish between what is distasteful and what is really absolutely 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:07.520 an ending block for American democracy. What are the things 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.040 that are our red lines? And so I really do 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.160 think that getting mad There are plenty of reasons to 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:15.720 be mad at John Fetterman, let me tell you, but 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.120 him going to mar A Lago, in my mind, is 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:18.760 not one of them. 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.160 Let me ask you this. I think a lot of 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.840 people also are forgetting that around twenty sixteen, one of 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.880 the things that tactics just for Democrats to see reasonable 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:28.920 to independent voters is they kind of did this thing 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:31.120 of like, okay, we'll see what happens. We have an 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:33.760 open mind here about some of these policies. It seems 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:35.800 like that is what some of the Democrats. I don't 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:37.600 know necessarily Fetterman is doing here. 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.080 Yeah, and so just think it's okay to try to 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:43.960 strike a deal with him. It has never worked before, 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.680 but you know, he's not in office yet. And something 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:51.480 that happens every four years or sometimes eight years when 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.400 incumbents are able to stay, though who knows that that 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.200 will ever happen again, is that people sort of come 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.280 to the new administration with all of their fantasy and 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.880 hopes about what this new administration will do, even if 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:08.160 it's not necessarily their party. You know, there's a fantasy 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:10.480 out there. I do not engage with it because I 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:15.120 have a memory that somehow Donald Trump will cut through 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:18.960 some of the government red tape and you know, fix 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:21.200 some of the problems in the federal government. Now, I 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.040 happen to know that for a fact, that these people 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.880 want to make the government fail so that they can 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.360 make even bigger tax cuts for billionaires. 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:32.400 And that was what they were installed to do. 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:36.280 But it's okay to be hopeful, and it should end 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:46.760 by January twenty first. Senator Ron Wyden is the senior 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.400 Senator from the great state of Oregon. 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.200 I Senator Wyden, welcome to Fast Politics. 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:55.360 So tell me why you decided to write this. 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:58.960 Book, Mollie. I decided for a couple of reasons, the 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:03.360 first of which most political books are sort of canned 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:07.560 and very predictable. Somebody in Congress starts out and they 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.120 talk about all the wonderful things they did for the 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:14.040 American people. They passed this bill, they passed that bill, 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.400 they did this, they did that. And after the kind 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:21.200 of bragging is over with, they usually say, you know, 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.880 I'm being asked frequently to think about running for president. 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:28.800 And then they feign interest and they said, well, you know, 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:31.160 maybe I'll think about it some data. Right now, I'm 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.200 thinking about my family. And then the next and third 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:38.480 point is usually well, here's my presidential Exploratory Committee, and 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.760 you can contribute to the following twenty two sites to 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:46.720 support my exploratory Committee. And I said that I'm doing 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.640 public service for a very different reason, and I believe 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:56.120 that HUTSPA in particular is the indispensable instrument for doing 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.560 well and doing good in America. And that's what I 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.640 wanted to right about. Then, this book is for somebody 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:05.840 who might be interested in public service. It might be 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.360 for a person who's thinking about trying to ask their 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.639 boss for a promotion, and it's going to take a 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.200 little bit of hoodspeed to work up the nerve, and 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:18.280 it might be somebody who's a small business person or 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.920 a teacher or a firefighter who's looking for a chance 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:23.679 to make their world a better place, and they've got 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.080 to have some nerve and speak up and out. 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.640 So talk to me about what it is like right 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:33.480 now in the Senate. Democrats have turned over the Senate 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:38.520 to the Republicans. There is a majority the new leader. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.399 I think of you as a Democrat who's famous for 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.760 working really well with Republicans and doing a lot of 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:49.000 bipartisan stuff. Have you worked with John Dune and what 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.560 are your feelings about him becoming majority leader. 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:53.560 First of all, he's been a member of the Finance 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.640 Committee and I have worked with him on a number 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:00.600 of occasions. The central issue, though, is there is a 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:04.760 very clear difference of opinion on some of the central 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.880 issues of our time. And let's just take taxes. I mean, 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:11.480 what the Republicans want to do is supersize the twenty 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.640 seventeen tax break and just look at all the billionaires 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.680 in the cabinet. You know what a surprise. And I'm 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.800 very concerned that we got two tax codes in America. 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:23.600 One is for a teacher and a firefighter. They pay 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.320 taxes with every paycheck, and the other is for the 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:29.080 billionaires who can sort of heay what they want when 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:33.400 they want to. So there's no question that the differences 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:36.600 are very stark. And I will tell you Donald Trump 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.240 always campaigns as a populist who's going to be for 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.280 the working person. And he said I'm going to help 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:46.000 waiters and waitresses and all kinds of people you know 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.120 who are serving in restaurants. And then when he's out 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:53.120 of the campaign, then he automatically gaws off and gives 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.760 the goodies out to the billionaires, forgets what he said 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:59.040 for the typical working people. And in this case, I 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:01.439 mean he did that in his first campaign, but in 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.120 this case he didn't even wait a month to walk 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:06.520 away from his effort to take on the big food 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:09.080 monopolies and throw in the towel on trying to hold 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:10.200 grocery prices down. 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:14.040 My question is more like, will soon be a traditionalist? 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:18.800 Like we have of these confirmation hearings coming there is 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:22.640 some of these people are really scary. I'm thinking about 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.720 cash but now adding the FCI, I mean, do you 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:30.000 think that the Senate will do its Article two job 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:34.840 or do you think that soon is gonna give Trump's 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:38.160 people a pass. I mean, remember Trump had used about 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:41.560 Reci's appointments. I mean, do you what's your sense you 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:43.600 are on the ground there, Mike. 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:47.520 My sense is a lot of Senate Republicans, and we've 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:52.000 seen this now for several years, are frightened of Trump. 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.560 You know, he always plays the same card. He says, well, 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.000 we got a primary, so and so they didn't stand 0:19:58.080 --> 0:19:59.680 for MAGA or whatever. 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:00.240 You know. 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:04.119 I think that one of the reasons John Thune was 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:08.600 elected the Republican leader is that a number of these 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:12.919 Senate Republicans who really are, in my view, frightened of Trump. 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.440 We're sort of hoping that somebody who'd been a little 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:17.159 bit more independent would be the leader. 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.800 But isn't he more independent than the other choices? I mean, 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:23.720 the other choices were Rick Scott, who was Trump's s guy, 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:30.360 and also John Cornan, who I mean, isn't doing the 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:33.000 most sort of independent of those of that group. 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:36.120 Fine and large, I think that's right. But the bottom 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:41.960 line is that the Republican Senate Caucus is very much 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.760 tethered to Trump in terms of their political well being. 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:50.400 And the big thing is is whether or not they're 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:52.920 going to give John Thune the ability to be independent 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.720 and speak up. And I think you saw already in 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.359 the House that a lot of those members were kind 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.560 of reluctant because they weren't supportive of what Trump was 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:03.920 talking about and didn't want to put their political careers 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:05.600 on the line. They were far right. 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:08.440 Right now, there's like a lot of discussion in DC 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:11.399 of whether it should be so Trump has two things 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:13.920 he wants to do, right or he says he wants 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:15.919 to do. Who even knows what he really wants to do, 0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:19.880 but he is advertising wants to fix immigration whatever that 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:23.480 looks like, probably nothing like what he's saying, and then 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:26.800 wants to make sure the taxes stay low for the very, 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:29.040 very wealthy. There's a lot of talk about whether there 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:32.000 should be two bills or one. Do you think the 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:35.520 Democrats should be pushing for it to be two bills. 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:38.000 She's sort of making the case that if Donald Trump 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:41.160 really cares about immigration, he would do an immigration bill 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:43.560 right now, and as a way to sort of force 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:47.359 his hand to delay the tax cuts, or do you 0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:48.800 think it's not even worth trying. 0:21:49.200 --> 0:21:53.359 I'm for making sure that the American people have the 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:57.239 kind of transparency and openness to know what's going on 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:02.040 in American government. Let's take immigration, for Republicans and Democrats 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:05.760 tried to pass a bipartisan immigration bill last year, but 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:09.159 then Donald Trump barked and the Republicans went back on 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:13.240 the deal. So Trump is now responsible for that mess. 0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:16.439 And I want to see what the details are of 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:19.520 his immigration you know plan is he focusing, for example, 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:23.240 on law binding and Americans and folks who came here 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:26.600 as kids just because they're easy to grab up, or 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:29.240 is he talking about people who might actually be a 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.840 danger to our communities. I mean, what we have seen 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:35.600 in the in the past is Donald Trump takes a 0:22:35.600 --> 0:22:39.240 lot of detours when it becomes getting into details, and 0:22:39.280 --> 0:22:40.560 we're not going to let him get away with it. 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:43.960 So do you think that that bill that he refused 0:22:44.000 --> 0:22:47.080 to let Republicans pass earlier could still pass. 0:22:47.359 --> 0:22:50.199 He's not interested in that anymore. I mean, what we 0:22:50.320 --> 0:22:54.400 wanted to do, we had a big bipartisan group, Amali. 0:22:54.520 --> 0:22:57.000 We wanted to get it on the floor, and we wanted, 0:22:57.119 --> 0:22:59.240 you know, for example, to get a fair shake for 0:22:59.320 --> 0:23:02.080 the doctor kid, the kids you who wanted a brighter 0:23:02.160 --> 0:23:04.760 future in the country. And you know, I think when 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:08.000 you talk about these topics. You have to say, is 0:23:08.040 --> 0:23:12.800 Trump even beginning to keep his promises? And on taxes? 0:23:13.200 --> 0:23:14.840 You know, I mentioned the fact that he made all 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:16.919 these promises. We don't see any sign that, you know, 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:20.000 he's doing it. On immigration, I mean, he put the 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:22.359 Congress in this mess of a position here in the 0:23:22.440 --> 0:23:24.360 last few months when we could have started to buy 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:24.960 partisan bill. 0:23:25.000 --> 0:23:28.000 Andy walk yesterday Matt I decided they're not going to 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:32.119 fact check anymore. We've really seen tech companies have refused 0:23:32.160 --> 0:23:34.479 to provide any kind of regulation. 0:23:34.240 --> 0:23:35.919 Of themselves at all. 0:23:36.280 --> 0:23:40.000 They're mad at Democrats for even trying to hold them account, 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:42.240 but to some amount of account. Do you think there's 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:45.320 any world in which you could get Republicans to work 0:23:45.400 --> 0:23:48.640 on a bipartisan kind of regulation of some of these 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:50.760 tech companies or do you think that door has just 0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:52.680 closed right now? 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:56.880 You know, big tech has been dumping money in the 0:23:57.000 --> 0:24:01.040 Trump coffers for just about everything in sight. I mean, 0:24:01.040 --> 0:24:05.840 there is no question, for example, on privacy, that elected 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:08.000 officials are going to have to step up and say 0:24:08.040 --> 0:24:10.760 whose side are you on? You know, we have seen 0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:13.919 these data brokers, for example, Molly and you and I 0:24:14.000 --> 0:24:17.040 have talked about this, you know, running wild with people's 0:24:17.080 --> 0:24:21.600 personal information. Folks at six hundred planned parenthood sites saw 0:24:21.640 --> 0:24:26.680 their information, their geolocation information gobbled up. Of course, Republicans 0:24:26.680 --> 0:24:28.720 ought to be supportive of efforts to do it, but 0:24:28.760 --> 0:24:31.200 they're not even using the example I just cited. They're 0:24:31.200 --> 0:24:33.720 not even for planned parenthood in the first place, let 0:24:33.720 --> 0:24:35.479 alone then privacy for folks. 0:24:35.840 --> 0:24:38.920 You think it's unlikely that any kind of tech regulation 0:24:39.080 --> 0:24:39.480 is going to. 0:24:39.400 --> 0:24:43.600 Get passed, well, I think that when you have these 0:24:43.880 --> 0:24:48.160 really outrageous examples. And I'll give your listeners one. I'm 0:24:48.200 --> 0:24:50.919 sult Typhoon this question of the Chinese. You know hacks, 0:24:50.960 --> 0:24:55.240 I mean our phone records, and some very conservative senators 0:24:55.280 --> 0:24:58.520 have recently said that's been the biggest hack in American history. 0:24:58.560 --> 0:25:01.880 They were supposed to be protected twenty years ago, and 0:25:01.920 --> 0:25:04.440 they weren't. And I'm pushing right now and I hope 0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:07.400 I'll get some Republicans to fill those gaps. And I'm 0:25:07.440 --> 0:25:10.439 going to introduce a peace of legislation that says the 0:25:10.520 --> 0:25:13.960 Congress is now going to do what it was under 0:25:14.280 --> 0:25:18.160 legal requirements to do twenty years ago and protect people's 0:25:18.200 --> 0:25:21.879 phone records. Because salt Typhoon has basically been one of 0:25:21.960 --> 0:25:25.600 the biggest hacks in American history, if not the biggest, 0:25:25.960 --> 0:25:29.480 and there have been cybersecurity problems with people's healthcare records. 0:25:29.640 --> 0:25:32.040 These are the kinds of scandals that people are going 0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:34.120 to pay attention to, and I hope the Republicans, when 0:25:34.160 --> 0:25:36.639 I put them out there these proposals will sign on. 0:25:36.840 --> 0:25:38.480 We spend a lot of time talking about what it 0:25:38.480 --> 0:25:41.720 would look like to resist trump Ism in this second 0:25:41.880 --> 0:25:46.200 Trump term, and to be sort of thoughtful about pushing back. 0:25:46.440 --> 0:25:48.399 There are certain things he's going to try to do 0:25:48.560 --> 0:25:51.879 we think that will crush norms and institutions and certain 0:25:51.920 --> 0:25:55.280 things that are just a bostic language with the hopes 0:25:55.320 --> 0:25:59.080 of sort of getting maybe some trade negotiation. How are 0:25:59.160 --> 0:26:03.240 you personal dealing with this with Trump two point zero 0:26:03.320 --> 0:26:06.080 and the new challenges opposes. 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:10.400 Well, you know, we're trying to get ready for basic 0:26:11.240 --> 0:26:14.200 rule of law, you know questions. I mean, for example, 0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:18.000 if he tries to invoke, you know, rules that don't 0:26:18.240 --> 0:26:22.320 respect posse comatatis statutes and decide to walk all over 0:26:22.359 --> 0:26:24.639 the rights of the American people, you know, we're going 0:26:24.720 --> 0:26:27.760 to We're gonna step in. And I think that that's 0:26:27.920 --> 0:26:32.399 part of what has concerned a number of citizens in 0:26:32.440 --> 0:26:35.399 the last couple of days, looking at all these you know, pronouncements, 0:26:35.480 --> 0:26:40.359 I mean, Trump's trampling on even relations with with allies 0:26:40.440 --> 0:26:43.200 and no evidence that there's going to be any kind 0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:44.639 of legal framework for it. 0:26:44.640 --> 0:26:47.199 It does seem like all of this like he's going 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:50.600 to take over Canada, He's gonna, you know whatever, take 0:26:50.640 --> 0:26:54.280 over Greenland. I mean, this stuff seems like a pretty 0:26:54.280 --> 0:26:57.359 clear distraction from the you know, not being able to 0:26:57.359 --> 0:26:59.800 make egg prices cheaper. And do you think that's what 0:26:59.880 --> 0:27:02.119 it is or do you think he really thinks that 0:27:02.520 --> 0:27:06.639 America could somehow buy or take over Greenland from I 0:27:06.720 --> 0:27:07.560 hope you're right. 0:27:07.600 --> 0:27:10.920 I mean, to me, he'll change his mind every ten 0:27:10.960 --> 0:27:14.439 to fifteen minutes if he thinks he's got some hypothetical 0:27:14.640 --> 0:27:17.400 to kind of distract people. But what we're focused on. 0:27:17.840 --> 0:27:20.160 I tell people, Molly, I've had eleven hundred town hall 0:27:20.240 --> 0:27:22.119 meetings at home, and people say, what do you do 0:27:22.160 --> 0:27:24.640 at the meetings? And so we talk about issues where 0:27:24.720 --> 0:27:28.520 the second word is almost always bill. It might be 0:27:28.760 --> 0:27:32.199 medical bill, it might be housing bill, it might be 0:27:32.359 --> 0:27:35.359 food bill, it might be insurance bill. Trump said he 0:27:35.520 --> 0:27:37.879 was going to work on those things in this campaign. 0:27:38.200 --> 0:27:41.639 What I talk about in this book is having the 0:27:41.800 --> 0:27:44.399 nerve and the guts to take him on and do 0:27:44.480 --> 0:27:46.200 it regardless of political party. 0:27:46.640 --> 0:27:50.199 Do you think that there are possible things that you 0:27:50.280 --> 0:27:53.639 can do with Trump that could actually be productive or. 0:27:53.760 --> 0:27:57.679 Now I've had people, you know, talking about Oregon. You know, 0:27:57.720 --> 0:28:00.440 the federal government owns most of our land. We've got 0:28:00.520 --> 0:28:04.240 a place, the awahis that are called Oregon's you know, 0:28:04.400 --> 0:28:07.880 version of the Grand Canyon. And we've got environmental folks 0:28:07.920 --> 0:28:10.960 who care about wilderness, We've got farmers who care about agriculture. 0:28:11.000 --> 0:28:13.040 I'm talking to those who are going to be in 0:28:13.119 --> 0:28:16.640 key positions about the possibility of advancing those kinds of issues. 0:28:17.040 --> 0:28:19.879 The question of states rights is going to be really huge, 0:28:19.920 --> 0:28:23.679 because what I'm concerned about is if the state is 0:28:23.760 --> 0:28:26.919 really doing the right thing in terms of curtailing emissions, 0:28:27.119 --> 0:28:29.240 whether here in Washington, d C. Trump is going to 0:28:29.359 --> 0:28:31.120 leave them alone and let them continue to do it. 0:28:31.359 --> 0:28:33.320 Yeah, that's really interesting. 0:28:33.480 --> 0:28:35.439 I'm wondering if you can talk about you know, we 0:28:35.560 --> 0:28:38.640 spent so much of the last couple of months talking 0:28:38.880 --> 0:28:42.960 about what happened and what Democrats can do to win. 0:28:43.800 --> 0:28:46.400 I can what do you think Democrats need to do 0:28:46.520 --> 0:28:46.880 to win. 0:28:47.080 --> 0:28:51.440 I think Democrats really need to laser in on those 0:28:51.560 --> 0:28:55.360 kinds of issues that give people a sense that they're 0:28:55.360 --> 0:28:57.320 going to have a better future. For example, I'm working 0:28:57.360 --> 0:29:00.640 on a housing package molley young people today. We saw 0:29:00.720 --> 0:29:04.440 some of them over New Year's They are having trouble 0:29:04.680 --> 0:29:07.920 paying the rent right now, let alone being able to 0:29:07.920 --> 0:29:11.080 get a starter home. So I've got several tax proposals 0:29:11.120 --> 0:29:13.680 as a senior Democrat on the Finance Committee that deals 0:29:13.720 --> 0:29:17.000 with taxes, something called like TCH low Income Housing tax credits, 0:29:17.000 --> 0:29:19.800 but in particular, a lot of those families care about 0:29:19.800 --> 0:29:23.960 something called MIKECH middle income Housing tax credits. So what 0:29:24.080 --> 0:29:27.240 people are looking for is are you going to respond 0:29:27.640 --> 0:29:29.480 to things that they talk about in their kitchens and 0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:33.640 living rooms. And they felt in this campaign that Trump 0:29:33.680 --> 0:29:37.320 would just break the door down to do things for him, 0:29:37.320 --> 0:29:41.200 that he was all kind of loud and pushy, and 0:29:41.240 --> 0:29:43.479 maybe they didn't agree with them in terms of some 0:29:43.520 --> 0:29:45.160 of the things he said in the light, but they 0:29:45.160 --> 0:29:46.800 thought he was tough and he thought it was strong, 0:29:47.200 --> 0:29:50.000 and they felt, for a variety of different reasons that 0:29:50.040 --> 0:29:52.400 Democrats didn't bring that kind of strength to the game. 0:29:52.440 --> 0:29:55.360 And we're going to change that. Healthcare housing, and an 0:29:55.400 --> 0:29:58.520 economy that works for all Americans, not just billionaires, would 0:29:58.520 --> 0:30:01.920 be the three things that I'd say really get you 0:30:02.200 --> 0:30:05.280 in the direction of a winning agenda for Democrats. 0:30:05.520 --> 0:30:08.160 Do you think Democrats should be more forward facing? 0:30:08.680 --> 0:30:11.440 There's no question you know about it. I mean, you 0:30:11.520 --> 0:30:14.720 pay healthcare, something I've been working on for some time 0:30:14.800 --> 0:30:16.880 since I was director of the Great Panthers. I think, 0:30:17.000 --> 0:30:19.800 talking about forward thinking, I think Democrats ought to be 0:30:19.800 --> 0:30:23.440 thinking about getting rid of the for profit insurance department 0:30:23.840 --> 0:30:27.160 and having nonprofits who will have no incentive but to 0:30:27.280 --> 0:30:29.720 keep your prices down and make sure you and your 0:30:29.760 --> 0:30:32.080 family are as healthy as your doctor in hospital can 0:30:32.120 --> 0:30:36.200 make you. That's the kind of priority approach I'm hearing about, 0:30:36.320 --> 0:30:39.920 and you know looking you know, particularly at get getting 0:30:40.000 --> 0:30:42.760 rid of the for profit insurance sector and having a 0:30:42.760 --> 0:30:46.160 different approach where you replace nonprofits so there's no incentive 0:30:46.160 --> 0:30:46.960 to rip people off. 0:30:46.960 --> 0:30:47.680 It's the way to go. 0:30:48.000 --> 0:30:48.959 That's really smart. 0:30:49.040 --> 0:30:51.400 Tell us one thing that people will be surprised about 0:30:51.440 --> 0:30:52.760 in this book, well. 0:30:52.560 --> 0:30:55.440 I will tell you. I had some discussions over the 0:30:55.520 --> 0:30:58.040 last couple of days with young people, and they said, 0:30:58.320 --> 0:31:02.480 we've never seen a political book that basically wasn't just 0:31:03.000 --> 0:31:07.800 some congress critter, somebody with an election certificate bragging about themselves. 0:31:07.840 --> 0:31:11.520 You were giving us ideas that we could use to 0:31:11.600 --> 0:31:14.160 help build a better and stronger future. And I finally 0:31:14.200 --> 0:31:16.280 said to one of the young people was asking me 0:31:16.320 --> 0:31:18.440 a question about it. I said, you know, when you 0:31:18.520 --> 0:31:22.720 look at it, so much of what has happened in 0:31:22.760 --> 0:31:28.200 America since our very birth has been people showing hutzpa. 0:31:28.520 --> 0:31:28.760 You know. 0:31:28.840 --> 0:31:31.000 That was what the founding fathers did. That's what Abe 0:31:31.080 --> 0:31:33.920 Lincoln did, That's what doctor Martin Luther King did. People 0:31:33.960 --> 0:31:36.640 who are willing to show nerves and take risks and 0:31:37.160 --> 0:31:41.320 say we're going to not necessarily march to where the 0:31:41.320 --> 0:31:44.280 odds makers were going, but do the right thing. 0:31:44.560 --> 0:31:47.719 Thank you, thank you, Thank you, Senator Widen, thank you. 0:31:48.360 --> 0:31:50.120 To be continued, Mollie, thank you. 0:31:52.720 --> 0:31:55.400 Matt Meyer is the governor of Delaware. 0:31:56.120 --> 0:31:59.640 Welcome to fast politics. I'm not going to call you 0:31:59.680 --> 0:32:03.200 governor or Matt because that's bad, but governor Meyer. But 0:32:03.400 --> 0:32:06.360 it feels like governor Matt is like a pretty good. 0:32:06.360 --> 0:32:08.680 Name means the name to matth here. 0:32:08.960 --> 0:32:13.040 Yeah, So I'm so excited to have you. You are 0:32:13.240 --> 0:32:18.400 the governor elect of Delaware, a tiny but super important 0:32:18.440 --> 0:32:20.720 state that many of us have spent a lot of 0:32:20.720 --> 0:32:23.720 time in recently. Talk to me about you have a 0:32:23.800 --> 0:32:26.040 I think a bold vision for your state. 0:32:26.400 --> 0:32:28.720 Yeah, well, it's an exciting time. It's a new time 0:32:28.880 --> 0:32:32.600 for Delaware. As of when we're recording right now, the 0:32:32.640 --> 0:32:35.080 only delaware enever to serve as President of the United 0:32:35.120 --> 0:32:37.200 States is still the president. There are also a lot 0:32:37.200 --> 0:32:39.240 of great new leaders coming up with a new vision 0:32:39.640 --> 0:32:41.920 for what we think a blue state can be, and 0:32:41.960 --> 0:32:44.760 we're excited about it. We have the for you know, 0:32:45.040 --> 0:32:48.760 for every day that Delaware has been a state for 0:32:49.360 --> 0:32:51.480 I should know two hundred and fifty seven years. I 0:32:51.520 --> 0:32:55.360 think it is there's been a white man representing us 0:32:55.440 --> 0:32:58.360 in the US Senate. That changed earlier this month with 0:32:58.560 --> 0:33:01.320 least the Rochester is the I think the fifth or 0:33:01.320 --> 0:33:03.320 sixth black woman ever to serve in the US Senate, 0:33:03.320 --> 0:33:06.000 along with Angela Also Brooks was sworn in. And it's 0:33:06.000 --> 0:33:09.320 not just she's an incredible individual with a vision for 0:33:09.360 --> 0:33:11.920 our state. Sarah McBride, of course, is our congress woman, 0:33:12.080 --> 0:33:15.760 the first individual identifies as transgender ever elected to the 0:33:15.880 --> 0:33:18.480 United States Congress, and I in a few days and 0:33:18.600 --> 0:33:20.920 we sworn in as governor I in ten years have 0:33:21.000 --> 0:33:22.600 gone from me in the sixth and seventh grade math 0:33:22.640 --> 0:33:25.960 teacher to one of the fifty governors in the US. Obviously, 0:33:26.040 --> 0:33:28.840 I'm being sworn in at the dawn of the Trump 0:33:29.000 --> 0:33:32.160 err Trump two point zero. I'm trying to find silver 0:33:32.240 --> 0:33:34.400 linings or We're going to make sure that Delaware ins 0:33:34.400 --> 0:33:36.080 are protected. We're going to make sure we have a 0:33:36.120 --> 0:33:38.720 bold vision to move things forward. We're going to show 0:33:38.880 --> 0:33:41.920 that a lot of core democratic principles, when put into 0:33:42.040 --> 0:33:44.680 practice in a small state like Delaware, can make a 0:33:44.720 --> 0:33:47.200 world of difference and produce the kind of society and 0:33:47.200 --> 0:33:48.320 communities that we want. 0:33:48.560 --> 0:33:51.680 So let's talk about what Trump two point zero looks like. 0:33:51.880 --> 0:33:53.800 One of the things I love about your story is 0:33:53.800 --> 0:33:55.800 that you were a middle school math teacher and then 0:33:55.880 --> 0:34:01.480 you decided to get into politics. And were you spurred 0:34:01.560 --> 0:34:03.800 on into politics because of Trump? 0:34:04.000 --> 0:34:06.880 I was spurred on because I was a pissed off 0:34:06.920 --> 0:34:09.960 math teacher. I was initially in a program called Teaper America. 0:34:10.239 --> 0:34:13.720 Oh I know it well, yes, in DC public schools 0:34:13.719 --> 0:34:16.800 in Anacostia. Ended up going to law school and was 0:34:16.840 --> 0:34:19.680 a diplomat in Iraq for a year fourteen years ago, 0:34:20.000 --> 0:34:22.800 embedded with on a US Army base and most Iraq 0:34:22.920 --> 0:34:25.279 as a diplomat. I came home and decided what I 0:34:25.280 --> 0:34:27.120 really wanted to do was go back to teaching, and 0:34:27.160 --> 0:34:29.520 so I taught in one of the highest poverty middle 0:34:29.560 --> 0:34:32.040 schools in our state. And I was just pissed off 0:34:32.080 --> 0:34:35.520 that it was shocking to me that things really hadn't 0:34:35.600 --> 0:34:39.160 changed that much here since my childhood, that there was 0:34:39.239 --> 0:34:42.520 no sense of urgency, and there certainly was a sense 0:34:42.560 --> 0:34:45.919 that our public education system was deteriorating. And I felt 0:34:45.920 --> 0:34:48.560 like that was no way to build a community or 0:34:48.600 --> 0:34:52.520 a country. And so I eight years ago, in twenty sixteen, 0:34:52.840 --> 0:34:55.080 I was fully expecting it was the last year of 0:34:55.120 --> 0:34:58.759 the Obama administration. I was inspired in part by Obama 0:34:58.840 --> 0:35:01.799 and his vice president Joe, and thought we could do 0:35:01.880 --> 0:35:04.560 things differently here in Newcastle County, which is the largest 0:35:04.600 --> 0:35:07.600 county of Delaware. I ran for a position called County Executive. 0:35:07.640 --> 0:35:09.960 I was the outsider. I was this kid with no 0:35:10.040 --> 0:35:13.000 political experience, and I won, and we've had a good 0:35:13.080 --> 0:35:16.520 run for eight years. As of last week, I'm no 0:35:16.600 --> 0:35:18.880 longer than County Executive, and we have a Bowld vision 0:35:18.960 --> 0:35:21.359 for lean ar State forward. Now at the heart of 0:35:21.400 --> 0:35:25.839 my political service is making sure that our schools are 0:35:25.880 --> 0:35:28.400 the best in the world, and so I think Delaware 0:35:28.400 --> 0:35:30.840 is a great laboratory to do that. It's a small place. 0:35:30.880 --> 0:35:34.719 We have just over a million people. It's urban, suburban, rural, coastal. 0:35:34.920 --> 0:35:38.560 We have a diverse mix that somewhat mirrors the diversity 0:35:38.600 --> 0:35:40.480 across our country, and we think if we can make 0:35:40.560 --> 0:35:42.560 it work here in Delaware, it's a great model for 0:35:42.600 --> 0:35:43.080 the country. 0:35:43.239 --> 0:35:45.759 Yeah, so let's talk about I'm married to an ed 0:35:45.840 --> 0:35:50.160 tech VC, so we spend a lot of our personal time. 0:35:50.600 --> 0:35:54.120 Our hobby is talking about how to make American education better. 0:35:54.320 --> 0:35:56.399 I do feel I have a horse in this race. 0:35:56.520 --> 0:35:59.239 I'm wondering if you could talk to us about sort 0:35:59.280 --> 0:36:02.680 of what it looks like in Delaware is really small, 0:36:02.760 --> 0:36:06.120 so you have an opportunity there to really get into it. 0:36:06.160 --> 0:36:09.520 And also it's a pretty wealthy state, right. 0:36:09.600 --> 0:36:13.080 Yeah, it is. Delaware has a few unique attributes. One 0:36:13.160 --> 0:36:15.640 is because of DuPont, we were kind of we're not 0:36:15.840 --> 0:36:18.640 as much anymore, but we were basically we call it 0:36:18.719 --> 0:36:21.960 Daddy DuPont here. We're basically our whole state was kind 0:36:21.960 --> 0:36:25.799 of a company town for a century, and because of 0:36:25.840 --> 0:36:30.840 that legacy, of advanced chemistry. We, depending on how you 0:36:30.880 --> 0:36:34.160 measure it, have among the highest rate of PhDs per 0:36:34.239 --> 0:36:37.879 capita in the country. It's a well educated community. We also, 0:36:38.040 --> 0:36:42.000 based on recent testing scores, OURK twelve public schools are 0:36:42.320 --> 0:36:44.680 rated forty fifth forty six in the country. 0:36:44.760 --> 0:36:46.920 The fifth or sixth that's not good. 0:36:47.200 --> 0:36:50.600 Yeah, it's sort of a case study of how public 0:36:50.719 --> 0:36:54.480 education has been deteriorating even in a community that does 0:36:54.680 --> 0:36:58.680 value education, but just the attention and the thought and 0:36:58.719 --> 0:37:02.480 the appropriate investments have not been made. Our platform is 0:37:02.560 --> 0:37:06.080 mostly about nuts and bolts. It's probably, to be honest, Molly, 0:37:06.440 --> 0:37:08.600 not a whole lot. But an ed tech VS there's 0:37:08.600 --> 0:37:10.680 some stuff in there, but not a whole lot that 0:37:10.760 --> 0:37:14.399 an ed tech VC will get terribly excited about. It's 0:37:14.400 --> 0:37:17.680 about making sure that more money than ever gets directly 0:37:17.719 --> 0:37:20.239 to classrooms, cutting some of the fat out of that 0:37:20.400 --> 0:37:24.120 education budget. Not cutting the budget, but making sure that 0:37:24.120 --> 0:37:26.560 there are less people sitting in offices and more people 0:37:27.000 --> 0:37:29.840 in classrooms. Making sure the data we take is really 0:37:29.880 --> 0:37:32.920 good to understand where the shortcomings and how do we 0:37:32.960 --> 0:37:37.160 make sure we have quick responses to reallocate monies to 0:37:37.280 --> 0:37:40.880 address the needs that children are truly facing and also 0:37:40.960 --> 0:37:44.600 making sure that our curriculum continues to stay relevant in 0:37:44.719 --> 0:37:48.040 a workforce and in a world where if you teach 0:37:48.080 --> 0:37:50.400 in the same curriculum that you had twenty thirty forty 0:37:50.520 --> 0:37:53.520 years ago, you're probably not preparing kids for the workforce 0:37:53.640 --> 0:37:55.160 the communities of tomorrow. 0:37:55.400 --> 0:37:59.640 So there's a layer of people in education who are 0:37:59.719 --> 0:38:02.799 not who make a lot of money. Are you in 0:38:02.840 --> 0:38:06.840 a position to be able to cut that layer down 0:38:07.280 --> 0:38:09.120 or are those people protected? 0:38:09.600 --> 0:38:12.520 You mean protected by merit rules and various government rules. 0:38:12.680 --> 0:38:13.239 Yeah. 0:38:13.280 --> 0:38:17.160 I'm meeting with every state legislator, hopefully before I'm sworn 0:38:17.200 --> 0:38:19.480 in in a few days. There are sixty two of 0:38:19.480 --> 0:38:21.600 them here in Delaware, and what I tell them is 0:38:21.640 --> 0:38:24.080 everything's on the table. If there are rules that are 0:38:24.120 --> 0:38:28.040 a barrier, the state legislature and working being concert with 0:38:28.120 --> 0:38:31.720 the governor can change those rules. But what we're doing, 0:38:31.840 --> 0:38:35.680 I don't take a machete to existing budgets. I take scalpels, 0:38:35.920 --> 0:38:39.360 so we it's sort of like not cutting out entire layers. 0:38:39.520 --> 0:38:41.919 I think that to some extent, it seems like that's 0:38:41.960 --> 0:38:44.200 what they're trying to do at the federal government. And 0:38:44.280 --> 0:38:47.319 what you find is there are all sorts of unintentional 0:38:47.560 --> 0:38:51.480 sometimes intentional hazards that you end up having kids who 0:38:51.480 --> 0:38:54.440 are literally starving on the street or don't get lunch 0:38:54.520 --> 0:38:56.120 or breakfast. We're not going to do it like that, 0:38:56.320 --> 0:39:00.480 but we're going to be smart about reducing the people 0:39:00.520 --> 0:39:03.960 in offices, get getting resources to teachers, and also making 0:39:03.960 --> 0:39:06.359 sure our teachers are paid really well. As somebody who 0:39:06.360 --> 0:39:09.400 was in Teach for America who taught in three different 0:39:09.520 --> 0:39:13.680 high needs, elementary and middle public schools, it was always 0:39:13.680 --> 0:39:17.760 shocking to me that teachers in the highest needs schools 0:39:18.120 --> 0:39:20.960 with some of the hardest jobs in public education in 0:39:21.000 --> 0:39:24.359 the country, trying to educate some of the most challenging 0:39:24.600 --> 0:39:28.920 students really in environments where all sorts of data indicates 0:39:28.960 --> 0:39:32.760 that it's very challenging to ever get kids into college, 0:39:32.840 --> 0:39:35.239 ever to get them appropriate job training, ever to get 0:39:35.239 --> 0:39:38.080 them out of a cycle of violence and cycle poverty. 0:39:38.239 --> 0:39:39.759 The people who are on the front lines of that 0:39:39.800 --> 0:39:43.240 battle are often made the least in communities. That doesn't 0:39:43.280 --> 0:39:45.560 make sense to me. It's in our platform to try 0:39:45.560 --> 0:39:50.239 and create one hundred thousand dollars for high quality, experienced 0:39:50.239 --> 0:39:52.840 teachers who are willing to go to the highest needs environments, 0:39:53.120 --> 0:39:55.800 making sure that we're sort of paying people to be 0:39:55.880 --> 0:39:58.720 on the front lines and to address our most urgent needs. 0:39:58.719 --> 0:40:01.040 We think there are some basic things we can do, 0:40:01.320 --> 0:40:03.920 probably not that different than what vcs do, and looking, 0:40:04.000 --> 0:40:07.400 how do you allocate resources to where it's needed most, 0:40:07.440 --> 0:40:11.120 and how do you incentivize people properly to address the 0:40:11.520 --> 0:40:14.040 most pressing concerns. And we think that will at least 0:40:14.040 --> 0:40:15.600 start to bend the curve. 0:40:15.960 --> 0:40:19.120 Yeah, that's correct. So I'm curious. 0:40:19.280 --> 0:40:22.040 Trump and a lot of Republicans have for a long 0:40:22.080 --> 0:40:24.200 time wanted to get rid of the Department of Education, 0:40:24.880 --> 0:40:28.400 which of course came up this week because of the 0:40:28.440 --> 0:40:31.120 Carter funeral. Carter was the person who created the Department 0:40:31.160 --> 0:40:35.600 of Education. Explain to our listeners why the Department of 0:40:35.680 --> 0:40:39.000 Education is good and why Trump should not get rid 0:40:39.040 --> 0:40:42.000 of it. I'm sorry to ask you such an incredibly 0:40:42.080 --> 0:40:43.400 stupid question. 0:40:43.200 --> 0:40:46.359 But I just reflect for a minute and say, I 0:40:46.400 --> 0:40:49.440 hope we don't spend four years playing defense. I understand 0:40:49.600 --> 0:40:51.640 you have to ask the question. We need to be 0:40:51.719 --> 0:40:54.440 ready as a state. What I see is in our 0:40:54.480 --> 0:40:58.560 communities here in Delaware, there are real problems across the world. 0:40:58.760 --> 0:41:03.560 There are real problems. We need American leadership, and I hope, 0:41:03.680 --> 0:41:06.160 you know, maybe pray is a better word, but I 0:41:06.200 --> 0:41:08.880 hope that we find a way to move things forward. 0:41:09.000 --> 0:41:11.439 The Department of Education is about a lot of things, 0:41:11.440 --> 0:41:14.560 like Department of Education. My guess is most Americans, I 0:41:14.640 --> 0:41:16.520 haven't seen a poll, but if you ask them what 0:41:16.560 --> 0:41:18.960 they think of this department or that department, that sort 0:41:18.960 --> 0:41:22.000 of bureaucratic speak, that doesn't mean much. The Department of 0:41:22.080 --> 0:41:26.280 Education is about making sure that poor kids, that disabled kids, 0:41:26.600 --> 0:41:29.960 that kids who are treated wrong in a school environment 0:41:30.239 --> 0:41:34.160 are treated equitably and have real opportunity. And so when 0:41:34.160 --> 0:41:37.480 you get rid of the Department of Education, when you 0:41:37.480 --> 0:41:39.799 say get rid, are you saying we're going to get 0:41:39.880 --> 0:41:43.360 rid of the Title I program and replace it, hopefully 0:41:43.400 --> 0:41:44.680 replace it with blocker. 0:41:45.040 --> 0:41:47.400 Explain to our listeners what Title one is. 0:41:47.760 --> 0:41:53.200 It enables kids in poor communities to get to get educated. 0:41:53.480 --> 0:41:56.440 Yeah, it also does pelgrants that's right. 0:41:56.320 --> 0:41:59.480 For kids to go to college. And so if you 0:41:59.600 --> 0:42:04.160 look across our society and think that working class Red states, yeah, 0:42:04.200 --> 0:42:07.719 red states, blue states, urban suburban world, you think that 0:42:07.840 --> 0:42:10.880 working class people aren't getting the shot that they deserve, 0:42:11.120 --> 0:42:14.280 you get rid of the Department of Education. That problem 0:42:14.400 --> 0:42:17.600 is going to get ten, fifteen, twenty five times worse, 0:42:17.719 --> 0:42:21.240 not better. Right, And that you see when you see 0:42:21.360 --> 0:42:24.440 these big billionaires who are taking all the resources, that 0:42:24.480 --> 0:42:27.480 problem is going to get worse, not better. And you say, 0:42:27.520 --> 0:42:31.080 a workforce that you know is having difficulty competing, so 0:42:31.160 --> 0:42:35.200 all these the large corporations want to import foreign workers. 0:42:35.360 --> 0:42:37.640 That problem is going to get worse and not better. 0:42:37.680 --> 0:42:40.000 And that's what the elimination of the Department of Education 0:42:40.400 --> 0:42:42.520 is going to the federal Department of Education is going 0:42:42.560 --> 0:42:44.640 to mean the Delawareans and across the country. 0:42:44.880 --> 0:42:48.080 So here we've hit this really important moment in this interview. 0:42:48.160 --> 0:42:50.360 We're talking about all these things that you and I 0:42:50.440 --> 0:42:55.040 both know are real democratic values. Right, Department of Education 0:42:55.280 --> 0:42:59.560 started by Carter, FEMA started by Carter. Right, government should 0:42:59.600 --> 0:43:03.040 be there a disaster. Government will need to be there 0:43:03.080 --> 0:43:06.200 because we're about to have many more climate disasters because 0:43:06.200 --> 0:43:10.280 of climate change. Right, Like, all these things are nuts 0:43:10.320 --> 0:43:13.719 and bolts of democratic politics. Right, Republicans want to cut 0:43:13.719 --> 0:43:17.680 the federal government because they want tax cuts, they want 0:43:17.800 --> 0:43:19.200 unfettered capitalism. 0:43:20.000 --> 0:43:22.040 We have already seen huge. 0:43:21.719 --> 0:43:25.360 Wealth inequalities, and like we're already seeing the results of 0:43:25.400 --> 0:43:30.120 unfettered capitalism. So explain to me why Democrats, for whatever reason, 0:43:30.239 --> 0:43:34.840 can't explain to voters that they just elected a guy 0:43:35.000 --> 0:43:39.120 who is basically committed to making his rich friends richer. 0:43:39.480 --> 0:43:43.120 I think that there are a number of key points 0:43:43.160 --> 0:43:46.160 in recent history you can point to that led us 0:43:46.200 --> 0:43:49.279 to this moment, and one of the most important for 0:43:49.600 --> 0:43:52.399 me and what I've learned. I heard people say it 0:43:52.600 --> 0:43:55.359 before I ran for office, but I really understand it 0:43:55.400 --> 0:43:59.240 now and especially watching the national election, is citizens united. 0:43:59.600 --> 0:44:03.000 Is that you can have a couple billionaires who come 0:44:03.040 --> 0:44:07.800 together and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on media 0:44:08.280 --> 0:44:12.760 that can convince people of almost anything. And so when 0:44:12.800 --> 0:44:17.600 you have that dynamic, I think people who are making 0:44:17.920 --> 0:44:21.319 trying to make informed decisions to vote are making them 0:44:21.360 --> 0:44:23.759 based on the information they get, which is from these 0:44:23.760 --> 0:44:28.560 commercials which are almost entirely supporting a specific political agenda, 0:44:28.760 --> 0:44:31.840 and that the conservative crowd is playing that game better 0:44:31.880 --> 0:44:34.719 than the Democratic crowd. I think if you look at 0:44:34.800 --> 0:44:38.600 the Biden actual accomplishments like turn off the commercials and 0:44:38.680 --> 0:44:42.400 get in and like read what's on websites and information 0:44:42.520 --> 0:44:46.120 is being put out about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, about 0:44:46.120 --> 0:44:49.759 the American Rescue Plan Act, about expenditures in the Cares Act, 0:44:49.800 --> 0:44:52.800 and you look at who supported those things and who didn't, 0:44:52.960 --> 0:44:55.440 as Biden says, you didn't vote for it, but you're 0:44:55.440 --> 0:44:58.440 showing up at the ribbon cut. We are desperate in Delaware. 0:44:58.520 --> 0:45:03.120 We are desperate for infrastructure investment right, for investment in roads, 0:45:03.160 --> 0:45:07.279 for investment of transitioning to a green economy, for infrastructure 0:45:07.320 --> 0:45:10.960 that's fair in communities that historically have been underserved and 0:45:11.040 --> 0:45:15.319 not treated equitably in today's America. And the reality is 0:45:15.320 --> 0:45:18.239 that the Biden administration did that. If you don't look 0:45:18.239 --> 0:45:22.200 at the shows, look at what actually happened. Those investments 0:45:22.280 --> 0:45:25.480 are being made today. But we just haven't done a 0:45:25.520 --> 0:45:28.520 good enough job branding that. It's challenging. People don't want 0:45:28.560 --> 0:45:31.200 to get into the details of stuff. They're looking for 0:45:31.239 --> 0:45:33.640 people who can give, I guess, the most entertaining speech 0:45:33.800 --> 0:45:35.720 or you can get the you know, one hundred million 0:45:35.760 --> 0:45:39.040 dollar donations to make the best commercials. That's that's one 0:45:39.080 --> 0:45:42.000 aspect of it that I think really really hurts us. 0:45:42.440 --> 0:45:44.160 Yeah, it's just horrible to watch. 0:45:44.239 --> 0:45:47.600 So you said this thing about not playing defense earlier. 0:45:47.920 --> 0:45:51.080 Can you explain to us what you think Democrats should 0:45:51.120 --> 0:45:51.560 be doing. 0:45:51.960 --> 0:45:54.719 On Tuesday a few days ago, I end in my 0:45:54.840 --> 0:45:59.960 eighth year running Delaware's largest local government, Newcastle County Executive. 0:46:00.280 --> 0:46:02.719 Rob was in charge of parks and libraries. I was 0:46:02.760 --> 0:46:06.080 in charge of a police department, a nine one one 0:46:06.120 --> 0:46:09.799 system of paramedic service. My job for the last eight 0:46:09.880 --> 0:46:12.280 years has been to answered nine to one one calls 0:46:12.360 --> 0:46:14.960 as quickly as we can humanly answer them and get 0:46:14.960 --> 0:46:18.280 a quality paramedic police officer well trained to your door 0:46:18.400 --> 0:46:21.600 to save you grandma, your sister, your brother, your spouse, 0:46:21.680 --> 0:46:24.040 your child. I like to say that if we do 0:46:24.120 --> 0:46:27.280 that and do that well, whoever we're serving, it doesn't 0:46:27.360 --> 0:46:31.120 matter if they voted for Trump or Kamala Harris or Biden. 0:46:31.239 --> 0:46:33.120 If we do it well, they're going to support me, 0:46:33.320 --> 0:46:35.080 and if we don't do it well, they're not going 0:46:35.160 --> 0:46:38.720 to support. My job is sewards, keep in the sewage 0:46:38.719 --> 0:46:40.960 out of your basement. Right. If we do that and 0:46:41.000 --> 0:46:43.320 keep your sewer fees low, people are going to support 0:46:43.560 --> 0:46:47.280 And so I think what my advice to my governor colleagues, 0:46:47.280 --> 0:46:49.880 and particularly my Democratic governor of Couse is let's be 0:46:50.160 --> 0:46:54.239 a shining example during this very challenging time for our 0:46:54.280 --> 0:46:57.160 country and when, quite frankly, a lot of Delawares and 0:46:57.160 --> 0:46:59.920 a lot of Americans wake up in fear because of 0:47:00.200 --> 0:47:03.120 who they love or how they love, or their gender identity, 0:47:03.239 --> 0:47:06.320 or sometimes their race or nationality. Let's be a shining 0:47:06.320 --> 0:47:10.040 example of what government can be, of what American can be, 0:47:10.120 --> 0:47:14.279 and that starts with delivering, with delivering, making sure we're 0:47:14.320 --> 0:47:17.400 delivering the highest quality services. It's hard for me to 0:47:17.480 --> 0:47:21.160 stand up and talk credibly as a governor who's leading 0:47:21.200 --> 0:47:25.000 the way when our schools are the fifth, sixth, seventh 0:47:25.040 --> 0:47:28.320 worst in the country. Right to make sure we're showing 0:47:28.360 --> 0:47:32.520 that by making strategic and smart and efficient public investments. 0:47:32.680 --> 0:47:35.000 While the Republicans are out there saying cut everything and 0:47:35.080 --> 0:47:37.960 privatize everything, we're saying no, if you make smart public 0:47:37.960 --> 0:47:41.319 investments that bring people together, this country can work. And 0:47:41.400 --> 0:47:43.360 it starts in my community and in my state. 0:47:44.280 --> 0:47:47.879 Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope 0:47:47.880 --> 0:47:48.760 you'll come back. 0:47:48.719 --> 0:47:51.160 Definitely, Thanks so much. Thanks for your work. It's a 0:47:51.160 --> 0:47:53.000 lot of us out of here are following you and 0:47:53.320 --> 0:47:54.000 learning from you. 0:47:56.239 --> 0:47:58.400 No moment. 0:47:58.960 --> 0:48:03.359 Jesse Can Somali, this is a pet subject of mine 0:48:03.360 --> 0:48:05.640 that I have often. I was just saying to you, 0:48:05.719 --> 0:48:08.560 and you were calming me down on Friday that I 0:48:08.600 --> 0:48:10.560 was worried about people moving out of LA and what 0:48:10.560 --> 0:48:12.759 that could do for our electoral prospects. But what we've 0:48:12.760 --> 0:48:17.080 actually seen in data rather than just my antidotal feelings, yes, 0:48:17.600 --> 0:48:21.200 which is abundant, is that young people are getting out 0:48:21.239 --> 0:48:24.000 of and plan to get out of states that are 0:48:24.080 --> 0:48:26.560 enacting these crazed abortion laws and these red states, and 0:48:26.600 --> 0:48:28.640 they're going to move to states that do not have them. 0:48:28.920 --> 0:48:29.240 Yeah. 0:48:29.360 --> 0:48:31.880 I mean that was a weird anxiety you had on 0:48:31.920 --> 0:48:33.640 Friday where you were like, everyone's going to move out 0:48:33.640 --> 0:48:36.320 to California. I thought it was very good about explaining 0:48:36.360 --> 0:48:37.160 to you why. 0:48:37.040 --> 0:48:40.799 Well, you and I have for nearly five years had 0:48:40.800 --> 0:48:45.839 a mutually beneficial anxiety comic relationship of a two way 0:48:45.840 --> 0:48:48.359 street of it. And you definitely padded my head very 0:48:48.360 --> 0:48:49.319 well the other day, and. 0:48:50.680 --> 0:48:51.600 Well, I'm glad to hear it. 0:48:51.840 --> 0:48:55.560 So basically, these abortion bands and I would say, I mean, look, 0:48:55.719 --> 0:48:58.360 this is a really important paper we should put in that, 0:48:58.400 --> 0:49:00.000 you know, if we're going to go through scientific pates, 0:49:00.239 --> 0:49:03.120 we should also talk about that was the hottest Twenty 0:49:03.160 --> 0:49:05.920 twenty four was the hottest year on record. YEP, that 0:49:06.080 --> 0:49:09.840 was another bit of you know, hottest year on record. 0:49:09.920 --> 0:49:11.080 Wait, I'll just read it to you. 0:49:11.440 --> 0:49:15.520 Ocean temperatures reach record highs, ocean temperatures crossed into an 0:49:15.600 --> 0:49:19.360 average sixty six point five to grease fahrenheit, almost a 0:49:19.440 --> 0:49:22.279 half a degree higher, and then last year that will 0:49:22.280 --> 0:49:26.800 mean more hurricanes, less fish and published in a magazine 0:49:26.800 --> 0:49:30.360 that many of us read, Advances in Atmospheric Studies. 0:49:30.400 --> 0:49:31.840 Did you even know that was a magazine? 0:49:31.880 --> 0:49:34.960 The study revealed that the global mean temperature in twenty 0:49:35.000 --> 0:49:38.160 twenty four reach nearly sixty six point five de grease fahrenheit, 0:49:38.239 --> 0:49:41.600 could have devastating effects on the ocean ecosystem, ocean heat 0:49:41.719 --> 0:49:44.799 continent changes for the upper So anyway, the point is 0:49:44.960 --> 0:49:48.480 we are just cooking ourselves. But let's get back to 0:49:48.520 --> 0:49:51.240 tens of thousands of young people, single people in particular, 0:49:51.280 --> 0:49:53.320 have left states with total abortion bands. This is a 0:49:53.360 --> 0:49:57.040 paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. 0:49:57.000 --> 0:49:58.520 Another one that you and I both have. 0:50:00.040 --> 0:50:03.200 We get the apps, Yeah, I actually just subscribe to 0:50:03.239 --> 0:50:06.600 it so I can play the spelling game. A nonprofit 0:50:07.040 --> 0:50:13.440 economic research organization estimated population changes by analyzing address change 0:50:13.600 --> 0:50:16.040 data collected by the United States Postal Service. By the 0:50:16.040 --> 0:50:18.640 way you want to hear the worst fucking thing. You 0:50:18.640 --> 0:50:21.280 know who's still the head of the post office? 0:50:21.440 --> 0:50:23.680 I know Lewis to joy Lewis to joy. 0:50:23.680 --> 0:50:26.640 That fucking guy, and that since the fall the twenty 0:50:26.640 --> 0:50:29.319 twenty two fall of Roby Wade, the states with near 0:50:29.480 --> 0:50:32.120 total abortion bands thirteen at the time of the analysis, 0:50:32.160 --> 0:50:34.520 appears to have lost thirty six thousand people per quarter. 0:50:34.960 --> 0:50:38.560 Single person households would typically skew younger. We're more likely 0:50:38.600 --> 0:50:41.040 to move out of the states with bands. Our results 0:50:41.120 --> 0:50:46.120 show that reproductive rights policies can significantly alter where. 0:50:45.760 --> 0:50:47.000 People choose to live. 0:50:47.160 --> 0:50:49.439 Researchers wrote, and I don't think any of us should 0:50:49.480 --> 0:50:52.319 be surprised about this. The loss of young people has 0:50:52.400 --> 0:50:57.120 particular implications for states economic trajectory. States with abortion bands 0:50:57.120 --> 0:51:00.840 may be used challenges and attracting and retaining worker, especially 0:51:00.920 --> 0:51:05.320 young workers who represent future economic potential. These population flows 0:51:05.360 --> 0:51:09.640 in demographic shifts could affect a wide range of economic factors, 0:51:09.719 --> 0:51:13.120 from tax spaces to housing markets to the availability of 0:51:13.160 --> 0:51:17.640 workers in key industries. You did it to yourself, Republicans. 0:51:18.520 --> 0:51:22.839 That's it for this episode of Fast Politics. Tune in 0:51:23.160 --> 0:51:27.279 every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. 0:51:27.440 --> 0:51:28.960 To hear the best. 0:51:28.719 --> 0:51:33.000 Minds and politics make sense of all this chaos. If 0:51:33.000 --> 0:51:36.080 you enjoy this podcast, please send it to a friend 0:51:36.520 --> 0:51:38.160 and keep the conversation going. 0:51:38.600 --> 0:51:39.760 Thanks for listening.