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Speaker 1: Hey guys, Saga and Crystal here.

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Speaker 3: So Brad par Scale is a former top Trump campaign

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Speaker 3: official and is now a registered foreign agent for the

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Speaker 3: State of Israel and appears to be linked to this

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Speaker 3: project now. Interestingly, I've even I was with a friend

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Speaker 3: recently and they got a text metch that was very

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Speaker 3: similar to these. They come in asking you about Israel,

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Speaker 3: and as you respond, they you know it, then goes

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Speaker 3: back and forth about your positions on Israeloing us now

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Speaker 3: is Kai new Kirk, candidate for the fourth Congressional District.

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Speaker 4: Kai, thanks so much for joining us here. Great to

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Speaker 4: be with you. Good morning, Yeah, good morning.

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Speaker 3: So this is this is quite an extraordinary kind of

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Speaker 3: turn of events in American politics. We're very used to

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Speaker 3: of course a PAC or a Democratic Majority for Israel,

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Speaker 3: or any number of other packs that are headquartered here

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Speaker 3: in the United States and are funded by American citizens

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Speaker 3: who are supportive of our relationship with the State of Israel. Now,

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Speaker 3: APAK often often takes direction, and it is publicly known

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Speaker 3: that the Israeli government speaks directly with APEC routinely, which

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Speaker 3: a lot of people argue say means they ought to

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Speaker 3: be registering under FARA.

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Speaker 4: They do not have to.

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Speaker 3: They're they're an American funded organization. This, though, is something different.

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Speaker 3: So what what is going on in Arizona? What do

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Speaker 3: is you guys uncover? Well, we don't know, to be

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Speaker 3: honest yet what exactly is happening. All we know is

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Speaker 3: as much of the information that you reported there, that

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Speaker 3: we started getting these text messages asking if we wanted.

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Speaker 4: To talk about the US Israel.

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Speaker 5: Relationship, and then when people would engage what we think

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Speaker 5: is the AI chatbot. In that conversation, it was clear

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Speaker 5: that that program was pushing for deeper military and government integration.

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Speaker 5: Right at a time when most Americans are saying, we

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Speaker 5: don't want to be sending in less unconditional military at Israel.

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Speaker 5: We don't want to be complicit in this genocide. It's arguing, no,

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Speaker 5: you're seeing it wrong. We need a deeper partnership. Israel

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Speaker 5: is the best ally, etc. And then when people started

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Speaker 5: asking the chatbot questions about who was behind it, what

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Speaker 5: was going on, we got some information that we could

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Speaker 5: then follow back to the website that, to my great surprise,

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Speaker 5: said right there at the bottom, this is on behalf

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Speaker 5: of the state of Israel. I mean, this is not

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Speaker 5: some conspiracy theory, This is just the facts of what

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Speaker 5: but the people doing this are saying. And then the

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Speaker 5: public reporting that's from various outlets saying that it was

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Speaker 5: Brad Parscal who was behind Cambridge Analytica and all that

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Speaker 5: stuff on Trump's campaign is doing it. So to me,

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Speaker 5: it's shocking. We saw it in our district and then

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Speaker 5: we've seen it happening in other places around the country.

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Speaker 5: I think we don't know exactly what all they're trying

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Speaker 5: to do, but to me, it's clear that a foreign

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Speaker 5: government is trying to interfere in our elections. In our

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Speaker 5: politics using this AI political persuasion texting program, and my view,

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Speaker 5: that's clearly illegal. It's something that needs to be responded to.

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Speaker 5: It's not just about my election, but it seems from

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Speaker 5: those that are looking into it, that they may be

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Speaker 5: targeting areas where APAC is more invested or where these

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Speaker 5: issues are more at stake. And that's very much the

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Speaker 5: case in my race because I'm taking on one of

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Speaker 5: the most powerful corporate DEMS in the country whose top

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Speaker 5: contributor we're into open secrets, not me, open secrets is APEC.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, tell us a little bit about your race and

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Speaker 3: why the State of Israel might have might have an

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Speaker 3: interest in it.

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Speaker 5: Yes, as I said Greg Stanton, co chair of the

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Speaker 5: New Dems, that I'm taking on Apak is this top contributor.

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Speaker 5: He has been, in my view, actively complicit in the

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Speaker 5: genocide and gods that We've been pushing on him, pushing

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Speaker 5: him on this for years, but he's refused to take

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Speaker 5: any step to hold the extremist Israeli government accountable, not

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Speaker 5: only voting for endless, unconditional military aid, but pushing back

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Speaker 5: when anybody tried to do anything else. When Biden paused

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Speaker 5: the two thousand pound bomb shipments. You'll remember Stanton spoke

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Speaker 5: out against that, said he needed to resume those illegal

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Speaker 5: arm ceales. When the International Criminal Court indicted Netanyahu galant

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Speaker 5: hamas leaders for war crimes, he voted to sanction the

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Speaker 5: International Criminal Court, So he's pushed back on every front.

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Speaker 5: I've been a leader in the fight to try to

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Speaker 5: stop that genocide, to secure Palasin and freedom and human

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Speaker 5: rights for all the people in the Holy Land, and

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Speaker 5: this is a huge fault line in the selection, so

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Speaker 5: it would make sense that this would be one of

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Speaker 5: the areas that they would target with this persuasion program

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Speaker 5: to influence voters. We don't know for sure, but we

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Speaker 5: know enough that we followed this complaint with the Attorney General.

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Speaker 5: I called to follow up, as you saw on the video.

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Speaker 5: Yet on Monday, we haven't got a response yet, but

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Speaker 5: we trust that she will do something. She's been great

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Speaker 5: on standing up for integrity of Arizona elections, and we

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Speaker 5: hope that she will now.

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Speaker 3: And your your primaries on July twenty first, I saw

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Speaker 3: that you're even getting a little bit of attention reasoning

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Speaker 3: because people have noticed that you've been arrested something like

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Speaker 3: twenty five times. For people don't know I've been I've

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Speaker 3: known Kai quite some time because I cover these types

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Speaker 3: of protests, and every time I look up, you were

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Speaker 3: getting arrested for some for some protests or another. You

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Speaker 3: talk a little bit about your background. Usually when voters

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Speaker 3: find out that somebody's been arrested twenty five times, it's

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Speaker 3: it's a press conference and their resign and the resigning

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Speaker 3: from office, or they're dropping out of the campaign. But

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Speaker 3: for you, it's actually, I think kind of propelled your

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Speaker 3: campaign in this in this moment. So give people a

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Speaker 3: little flavor of how you got into politics and what

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Speaker 3: you've been doing up until this.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I've been a community organizer in many different non

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Speaker 5: violent movements for a long time, going back to the

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Speaker 5: anti war movement as a college student, what we call

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Speaker 5: the global justice movement, to the labor movement where I

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Speaker 5: was a shop floor leader in union, to immigrant rights movement,

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Speaker 5: a climate justice and what I'm best known for is

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Speaker 5: the work I've done in the democracy fight, trying to

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Speaker 5: end the big money corruption of our politics and protect

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Speaker 5: voting rights with ninety nine rids and democracy leading a

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Speaker 5: march from Sacramento from LA all the way to Sacramento,

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Speaker 5: five hundred miles, twelve straight days of sit ins at

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Speaker 5: the California Capital from the Liberty Bell all the way

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Speaker 5: to DC, and then mass sit ins at the US

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Speaker 5: Capitol there.

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Speaker 4: In twenty sixteen.

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Speaker 5: And I have been arrested over twenty five times in

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Speaker 5: non violence civil disobedience. Everyone to me is a badge

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Speaker 5: of honor, not a mark of shame. And I look

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Speaker 5: to people like Dolores werta Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

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Speaker 5: who has been arrested twenty five times, from War of

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Speaker 5: Martin with the King Junior twenty nine times, John Lewis

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Speaker 5: over thirty times. And it's an act of deeper fidelity

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Speaker 5: to the law, because it's fidelity to the spirit of

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Speaker 5: the law, which is about justice, which is about what

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Speaker 5: is right, and when that's in conflict, sometimes we have

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Speaker 5: to break the law. And we've done so non violently

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Speaker 5: and peacefully. And I've been encouraged by what people say

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Speaker 5: at the doors, you know, because people want someone who's

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Speaker 5: going to fight and stand up to Trump's authoritarianism. And

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Speaker 5: I've proven that I will put my freedom and my

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Speaker 5: safety on the line to stand up for justice many times.

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Speaker 5: And that's the kind of leadership people want when we're

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Speaker 5: taking on oligarchy, authoritarians and war criminals, and I'm going

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Speaker 5: to take them on as stand up to them no

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Speaker 5: matter what to win in Arizona. That we can afford

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Speaker 5: in America that's free of vice, is cruelty once and

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Speaker 5: for all, and a world where genocide never happens again.

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Speaker 3: We talked to Will Lawrence last week on Breaking Points.

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Speaker 3: He's running in a competitive you mind, guys may know

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Speaker 3: each other competitive primary in Michigan, and he was saying

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Speaker 3: that the issue that has really propelled his campaign was

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Speaker 3: opposition to data centers, which is a big issue across

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Speaker 3: the country, but particularly in Michigan. Has he has two

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Speaker 3: corporate backed candidates and even though they may recognize which

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Speaker 3: way the political wind is blowing, they're tied back and

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Speaker 3: they're not allowed to put their sale up in that direction.

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Speaker 3: Is our data centers an issue? Where you are and

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Speaker 3: where are you on AI and the Bernie Sanders backed

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Speaker 3: kind of an AOC back data data center moratorium?

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Speaker 4: Yes, well, I love Will.

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Speaker 5: We know each other from the Sunrise movement, So go brother,

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Speaker 5: and this is an important issue here in the district. Absolutely,

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Speaker 5: they're trying to build. Meta is trying to build an

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Speaker 5: AI data center in the district in the Awatuki neighborhood

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Speaker 5: is part of Phoenix. I've been standing with the community there.

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Speaker 5: We've helped to organize protests, We've been pushing back. The

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Speaker 5: incumbent Greg Stanton has been silent on the issue. He

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Speaker 5: takes a ton of corporate pack money and including money

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Speaker 5: from the big tech companies that are driving this. And

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Speaker 5: this is being built right within residential neighborhoods. It's homes

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Speaker 5: on across the street on every side zone commercial should

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Speaker 5: be like a shopping center. Instead, it's going to be

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Speaker 5: this industrial, mega industrial facility if it gets completed. We're

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Speaker 5: fighting to stop it. But I think that Bernie Sanders

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Speaker 5: and AOC are right that we need this moratorium on

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Speaker 5: new AI data center construction to make sure that if

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Speaker 5: they are being built right, they're being built in a

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Speaker 5: safe way with clean power, that they're not creating issues

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Speaker 5: in terms of water, local pollution, etc. But also that

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Speaker 5: this transformative technology, artificial intelligence, that I think has constructive purposes.

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Speaker 5: We're already seeing the scientific and medical research, for example,

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Speaker 5: but has, according to experts in the industry, existential risks. Also,

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Speaker 5: we need this moratorium, and we need, in my view,

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Speaker 5: negotiations toward an international treaty bringing all the world together

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Speaker 5: to create a regulatory framework to make sure that this

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Speaker 5: technology benefits all of us, not just the oligarchs, and

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Speaker 5: to address those existential risks. And my view, democratic socialists

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Speaker 5: like myself should be thinking about how we could make

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Speaker 5: something like this useful to bring down to a thirty

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Speaker 5: hour workweek, right, to be able to shift we're being

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Speaker 5: more productive to society. Let's have that wealth go to

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Speaker 5: all the people, because really AI is a product of

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Speaker 5: the collective sum of human cultural endeavor across generations, and

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Speaker 5: so the benefits of that should flow to everyone. But

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Speaker 5: that's not going to happen unless we stand up to

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Speaker 5: the oligarchs and the military leaders military industrial complex that

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Speaker 5: are the ones driving this right out of either greed

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Speaker 5: or fear, to say that no, we're going to have

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Speaker 5: a democratic process led by wisdom that is going to

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Speaker 5: decide what this technology is going to be and how

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Speaker 5: it's going to be used, and what the framework is

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Speaker 5: for that. So I think it's a critical issue standing

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Speaker 5: up locally in terms of the impacts with data centers

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Speaker 5: it's another corporate power versus democracy and people issue, but

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Speaker 5: also on the bigger front of AI and it's moving

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Speaker 5: so fast. We've got to make it a priority, even

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Speaker 5: if it feels more distant in places where the data

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Speaker 5: centers are not an issue. So I'm in that fight.

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Speaker 5: My incumbent is not taking money from those interests. It's

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Speaker 5: another reason why people are coming to support our campaign

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Speaker 5: and why I believe we can win.

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Speaker 3: And last question for me, I'm curious kind of as

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Speaker 3: a democratic socialist in this rising movement, rising moment, when

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Speaker 3: you are coming across a voter on the street, handing

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Speaker 3: out literature, you're knocking on a door, and you're trying

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Speaker 3: to get them to vote for you, and the kind

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Speaker 3: of democratic social agenda, Like how do.

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Speaker 4: You frame it? What's the fifteen to thirty.

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Speaker 3: Seconds you know, when you've got a voter's attention, like

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Speaker 3: what you stand for, and like why you're different than

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Speaker 3: the new damn corporate democrat who's in office.

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Speaker 5: Well, look, I say, if we're going to deal with

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Speaker 5: this cost of living crisis, if we're going to stand

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Speaker 5: up to Trump's authoritarianism, we need leaders that aren't beholden

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Speaker 5: to the same corporate interests that are screwing the working

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Speaker 5: class over that are running independently, that can fight stand

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Speaker 5: up for us, to shift power from the oligarchs to

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Speaker 5: the working class and give us a better life, from

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Speaker 5: Medicare for all to freezing utility rates, to getting ice

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Speaker 5: off our streets forever, disbanding that agency and ending our

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Speaker 5: complicity in war crimes. Democratic socialism doesn't come up very much,

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Speaker 5: to be honest, but if it does, I talk about

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Speaker 5: doctor King. I wrote an article about Kingyan Democratic socialism

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Speaker 5: in twenty twenty one, pointing to his legacy is something

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Speaker 5: we needed to follow in the left, and he said,

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Speaker 5: as Zurn said in his campaign, call it democracy, call

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Speaker 5: it democratic socialism. We need a better distribution of wealth

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Speaker 5: for all God's children. We have to focus on that.

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Speaker 5: I don't care what you call yourself. I'm going to

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Speaker 5: be honest about what I call myself. But I'm focused

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Speaker 5: on change for you and your family, for basic justice,

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Speaker 5: for democracy in our country. And that's what we're doing

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Speaker 5: in this race. There's no other primary in the country

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Speaker 5: this month. Right, we have a chance to be the

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Speaker 5: next big victory following on Colorado on New York. To

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Speaker 5: continue this wave of momentum, and we're asking people from

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Speaker 5: around the country to join us in this fight, to

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Speaker 5: go to Kyfhasy dot com and be part of this.

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Speaker 5: We can take out one of the most powerful corporate

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Speaker 5: Dems in the country and Apak is his top contributor,

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Speaker 5: and continue to send a message to the Democratic you

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Speaker 5: don't want to be beholden to corporations anymore or apex.

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Speaker 4: We want to go in a different direction. We want

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Speaker 4: to start now.

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Speaker 3: I can say, as somebody who's been watching for too long,

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Speaker 3: if the chair of the New Democratic New Democrat cauc

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Speaker 3: is that which.

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Speaker 4: Is basically the kind of pro corporate.

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Speaker 3: Wing of the party lost on July twenty first, it

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Speaker 3: would be it would be a shockwave here here here

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Speaker 3: in Washington. So we'll find we'll find out. Kai, thanks

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Speaker 3: so much for taking some time. Really appreciate it. Thank

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Speaker 3: you for having me have a great day. Appreciate it.

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Speaker 4: You got it. Take it easy.

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Speaker 3: Joining us now is State Representative Dave Morales, who is

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Speaker 3: a candidate for Providence mayor and maybe the next kind

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Speaker 3: of DSA backed mayor after New York and Seattle.

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Speaker 4: Are there any others that we know of?

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Speaker 6: We have to keep the movement going as of right now. Again,

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Speaker 6: I think those are the prominent examples that we have

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Speaker 6: of executive officers have that back, you know, be democratic, socialist.

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Speaker 4: Rhode Island is such an interesting state.

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Speaker 3: I will speak ill of it so you don't have to,

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Speaker 3: but you know, our smallest it is our smallest state

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Speaker 3: that's great, and by population, you know, quite small, yet

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Speaker 3: also has two senators just like just like every other state,

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Speaker 3: and the senators from a democratic kind of grassroots perspective,

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Speaker 3: are often good on some things, often bad on some

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Speaker 3: other things.

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Speaker 4: And being a one.

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Speaker 3: Party state, whether it's Republican or Democrat, creates an interesting

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Speaker 3: kind of political economy because the reactionary and corporate forces

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Speaker 3: have to go somewhere, and there's if there's only one party,

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Speaker 3: then they create kind of a massive faction within that party,

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Speaker 3: and for many years in Rhode Island, a very very

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Speaker 3: corrupt I would argue faction of democratic politics has been

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Speaker 3: just hegemonic. But I've been covering this, this push in

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Speaker 3: Rhode Island for almost you know, it's been going on

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Speaker 3: more than a decade now to say, wait a minute,

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Speaker 3: like what are we doing here? Like this state's small enough,

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Speaker 3: we should not actually be getting run over by just

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Speaker 3: a few, like if the many of us joined together.

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Speaker 4: So Rhode Island's left has done this in fits and.

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Speaker 3: Starts, like give us the kind of the the insight

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Speaker 3: of how you got into this, and like how we

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Speaker 3: got to a place where DSA might actually now you know,

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Speaker 3: take control of the most powerful position in the city

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Speaker 3: in the state, in the state's biggest city.

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Speaker 6: Yeah. So I'm happy to share that there have been

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Speaker 6: strides around the progressive movement all across Rhode Island really

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Speaker 6: since the start of twenty twenty. We saw a wave

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Speaker 6: of state representatives and senators get elected that sent.

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Speaker 4: Shock waves to the polinorandad out late. That is correct.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, so we had at the time what was known

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Speaker 6: as the Rhodeland Political Cooperative, which was running the slate

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Speaker 6: of candidates, in addition to DSA being actively involved, as

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Speaker 6: was the Working Families Party, and that led to this

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Speaker 6: systemic change in the sense that we were able to

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Speaker 6: shift the culture inside of the state House. I was

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Speaker 6: very proud to have been elected in twenty twenty and

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Speaker 6: during that timeframe being able to pass bold legislation around

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Speaker 6: raising the minimum wage. Finally towards fifteen dollars, being able

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Speaker 6: to guarantee healthcare coverage to every child in our state,

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Speaker 6: regardless of immigration status. Like those are meaningful victories that

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Speaker 6: we've been able to have, and in a large part

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Speaker 6: it was because of the electoral results of getting more

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Speaker 6: progressives in office between twenty twenty to twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 6: But we have seen the pendulum swing on the other side,

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Speaker 6: where the status quo in the political establishment has doubled

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Speaker 6: down to try to stomp this progress out. Now, I'm

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Speaker 6: happy to share that over the course of the last

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Speaker 6: several years, our Providence City Council in particular, has gotten

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Speaker 6: a lot more progressive and policy oriented than ever before.

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Speaker 6: This year they put forward rent stabilization, which would cap

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Speaker 6: rent hikes at four percent a year. They passed it.

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Speaker 6: Unfortunately it was vetoed by the current mayor, who is

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Speaker 6: the corporate backed incumbent that I'm taking on. And it

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Speaker 6: goes to show the strength that we've been able to demonstrate,

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Speaker 6: not just in the form of more presentation, but actually

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Speaker 6: in the form of delivering when it comes to meaningful change.

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Speaker 6: And so I'm running for mayor because right now Providence

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Speaker 6: is becoming far too expensive for so many working people,

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Speaker 6: and we've been building a movement unlike any other in

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Speaker 6: our city, where we have hundreds of volunteers that are

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Speaker 6: actively knocking on doors feeling inspired by our message of

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Speaker 6: building a providence for all, And in large part, we're

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Speaker 6: doing it alongside a coalition of other council candidates and

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Speaker 6: candidates for state legislature, because we want to make sure

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Speaker 6: that all levels of government have that level of representation

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Speaker 6: of those that align with the principles of democratic socialism.

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Speaker 3: And one reason I wanted to talk to you about

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Speaker 3: all of this is because obviously a lot of our

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Speaker 3: audiences in New York City, because a lot of the

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Speaker 3: public is in New York City, but it's a vast

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Speaker 3: minority of the overall number of people in this country,

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Speaker 3: and a lot of people who've been watching the success

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Speaker 3: of the DSA and the left more broadly populist move

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Speaker 3: more broadly in New York City are like, how can

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Speaker 3: I do this where I am? How like I want

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Speaker 3: to be in politics and I want to be able

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Speaker 3: to throw overthrow the old guard. Now Rhode Island is

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Speaker 3: Rhode Island's labor movement has historically been and you tell

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Speaker 3: me how much of this is a caricature associated with

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Speaker 3: the mob with kind of broad organized crime elements. How

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Speaker 3: yet organized labor seems to have become a real battleground

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Speaker 3: for this this fight.

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Speaker 4: How have you so?

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Speaker 3: How how has DSA been able to kind of DSA

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Speaker 3: and the cooperative and your movement more broadly been able

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Speaker 3: to kind of influence and penetrate organized labor in Providence?

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Speaker 3: And how true is that charricture today? Does it vary

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Speaker 3: by union?

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Speaker 4: Like? What is this? What is the situation with organized

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Speaker 4: labor in Rhode Island now?

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Speaker 6: So the same way that we've seen a shift in

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Speaker 6: terms of the culture we see at the state House

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Speaker 6: where there's more progressive representation and action that has been

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Speaker 6: met with urgency, we're seeing the same trend cross organized labor.

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Speaker 6: I'm really proud to share that we've been endorsed by

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Speaker 6: the SEIU State Council, which represents thousands of healthcare and

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Speaker 6: home care and childcare.

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Speaker 4: Workers, Which is kind of crazy, right the.

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Speaker 6: First time YEA over fifteen years that they had engaged

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Speaker 6: in a mayoral primary in profits. The fact that they're

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Speaker 6: flexing this muscle as a part of this race speaks volume.

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Speaker 6: In addition to that, we have the Providence Teachers Union

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Speaker 6: that again, in a shocking turn of events, is not

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Speaker 6: supporting the incumbent but instead of supporting our campaign because

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Speaker 6: it speaks to the vision that they want to align with,

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Speaker 6: which is one centered around progressive values. And that has

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Speaker 6: a lot to do with some of the shifts that

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Speaker 6: we've seen in organized labor in terms of leadership. So

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Speaker 6: I certainly believe that that's helped contribute. But also the

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Speaker 6: fact that.

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Speaker 3: So you've been challenging, like your folks, your movement has

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Speaker 3: been like winning leadership positions in the unions and like

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Speaker 3: organizing the members themselves, like how have you gotten to

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Speaker 3: this place?

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Speaker 6: I think what we have seen over the years is

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Speaker 6: just rank and file speaking up, rank and file speaking

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Speaker 6: up in recognizing that their legislators and that their advocates

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Speaker 6: and activists on the ground.

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Speaker 3: There's new young people coming into the unions, or these

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Speaker 3: are older people who are like just sick of how

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Speaker 3: things have been going.

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Speaker 6: It's a mix of both. It's a mix of both

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Speaker 6: those who have been a part of the union and

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Speaker 6: want their union to be a lot more active and

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Speaker 6: engaged as a part of the electoral process, and also

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Speaker 6: beyond that, also seeing a wave of new younger members

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Speaker 6: also being part of the union as well. So again

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Speaker 6: I'm very proud to just share that SEIU State Council,

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Speaker 6: the Providence Teachers' Union, and Local twenty six from Unit

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Speaker 6: here have been actively supporting us. And again these are

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Speaker 6: unions that generally speaking might have just stayed neutral when

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Speaker 6: it came to a mayoral primary, but instead have gone

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Speaker 6: behind our movement.

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Speaker 4: And so I give a lot of credit to.

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Speaker 6: The shift in the leadership that we've seen and also

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Speaker 6: their willingness to take what is otherwise seen as a

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Speaker 6: quote unquote political risk, which is going up against an

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Speaker 6: incumbent that is backed by corporate interests.

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Speaker 3: You know, and as people organize, go door to door

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Speaker 3: and like you know, they run campaigns, volunteer for camp pains,

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Speaker 3: they know that they're taking risks. Professionally, they're taking you know,

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Speaker 3: they're they're giving their time. But in some cases, like

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Speaker 3: there's an actual threat going on. And I'm curious if,

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Speaker 3: as as your movement has grown in Providence, if any

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Speaker 3: anybody has been kind of threatened or like the power

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Speaker 3: structure there, Like we're saying, like this is not a

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Speaker 3: small town council where you're just gonna like they're just

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Speaker 3: gonna like say, oh they it seems like the political

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Speaker 3: winds blow in their way. They got more votes. I

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Speaker 3: guess we're gonna, you know, fold up shop here. I

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Speaker 3: would imagine that they are fighting back and might be

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Speaker 3: fighting back in ways beyond just the ballot box, like

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Speaker 3: it have you been threatened?

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Speaker 4: Like?

439
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:46,040
Speaker 3: What's what has it been like for people who are

440
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,440
Speaker 3: trying to stand up for their communities here?

441
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,159
Speaker 6: So power concedes nothing without demand, and we have watched

442
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,240
Speaker 6: as a status quo will fight tooth and the able

443
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,560
Speaker 6: to try to prevent any shift.

444
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:58,480
Speaker 4: That little tooth and nail like what's so, what.

445
00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,720
Speaker 6: We've seen are certain city council members that essentially have

446
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:07,440
Speaker 6: corporate backed challengers. And I am talking specifically around large

447
00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:12,080
Speaker 6: developers and industrial facilities that have been polluting our waterfront.

448
00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,680
Speaker 6: These are corporate interests that do not want our movement

449
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,960
Speaker 6: to move forward because they don't want to cap around

450
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,640
Speaker 6: rent increases. They don't want us to transform the waterfront

451
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,720
Speaker 6: and tax industrial polluters at a higher rate. And so

452
00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,800
Speaker 6: what we've seen are members of the Providence City Council

453
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,480
Speaker 6: who voted, advocated, and spoke up in regards to rent

454
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:32,120
Speaker 6: stabilization are all now facing challengers, and some of whom

455
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,399
Speaker 6: we are actively backing and supporting as a part of

456
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,120
Speaker 6: our campaign. So it's been exciting to watch that despite

457
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,320
Speaker 6: the fact that, yes, the status quo and the political

458
00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,160
Speaker 6: establishment is now going on the offense. We're ready, We're

459
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,600
Speaker 6: ready to defend these existing legislative seats while at the

460
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,040
Speaker 6: same time also running candidates for open seats and recognizing

461
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:51,679
Speaker 6: that the establishment also has their series of candidates. So

462
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,520
Speaker 6: a lot of what we've seen are certain council members

463
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,159
Speaker 6: that during the legislative process, we're being pressured, We're being

464
00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,960
Speaker 6: pressured not to support rent stabilization, Otherwise they would face

465
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,600
Speaker 6: a major challenge when it came to reelection.

466
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,119
Speaker 3: Right, but at least we're talking democratically. You haven't seen

467
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 3: threats of political violence.

468
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,520
Speaker 6: Thankfully not, and I would hope that it remains that

469
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:11,080
Speaker 6: way over the next two months and beyond.

470
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,680
Speaker 4: And so what are you finding that is really landing

471
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,120
Speaker 4: with people? And are you.

472
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,800
Speaker 3: Are your opponents trying to use the democratic socialism label

473
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,520
Speaker 3: or do they recognize that it kind of backfires at this.

474
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,159
Speaker 4: Point and people like, oh, okay, then I know who

475
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 4: to vote for.

476
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,760
Speaker 6: What resonates is speaking to the needs of working families

477
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 6: all across Providence. Right now, we have so many of

478
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 6: our neighbors that are just being priced out because the

479
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,640
Speaker 6: cost of rent has gone far too expensive. So when

480
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,719
Speaker 6: we speak about rent stabilization, it is literally speaking to

481
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,440
Speaker 6: their needs. Because the working mom who just watched to

482
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,360
Speaker 6: rent and go up from fourteen hundred dollars to two

483
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,720
Speaker 6: thousand dollars, that knows that that's not sustainable. And so

484
00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:50,960
Speaker 6: when they hear that we have a plan to cap

485
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,800
Speaker 6: rent increases at four percent, it provides that level of reassurance.

486
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,480
Speaker 6: When we talk about the ways that we're going to

487
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,159
Speaker 6: maximize the city Solicitor's office to be able to prosecute

488
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,240
Speaker 6: fascist ICE agents and take action around the activity of

489
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,119
Speaker 6: ICE that has been abusing our neighbors, that speaks to

490
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,480
Speaker 6: the needs of what our immigrant community is going through.

491
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,000
Speaker 6: So I believe that our campaign and our movement as

492
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,440
Speaker 6: a whole is meeting the moment. And to your point,

493
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,159
Speaker 6: our opponents are certainly trying to use the term around

494
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,840
Speaker 6: democratic socialism and red Scare up against us, while also

495
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,640
Speaker 6: trying to demonize us as being overly radical and inexperienced

496
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:25,399
Speaker 6: to be able to take on the responsibilities of the

497
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:27,840
Speaker 6: mayor's office. But I think what has been shown over

498
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,840
Speaker 6: the last several months as a part of our campaign

499
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,560
Speaker 6: is that one we're speaking to the needs of our neighbors,

500
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:34,360
Speaker 6: but two we have a plan to make sure we're

501
00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:35,160
Speaker 6: actually delivering.

502
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,320
Speaker 3: And so for people who are outside of Rhode Island,

503
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,240
Speaker 3: outside of New York and are trying to figure out,

504
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,280
Speaker 3: like how to develop some kind of a movement like this,

505
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:45,760
Speaker 3: one thing I'm curious is maybe you could offer some

506
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,600
Speaker 3: advice on as I've watched Rhode Island's populist progressive movement

507
00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:54,280
Speaker 3: go through it's growing pains, and it's you know, fits

508
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,879
Speaker 3: and starts, you know, huge wins and then and then setbacks.

509
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,800
Speaker 3: Every movement has severe factionalism that develops at times, and

510
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,840
Speaker 3: you guys in your state had had some of the

511
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,080
Speaker 3: most dramatic that I've seen, and such that at times

512
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,160
Speaker 3: I thought, well, I guess this is over, Like they're

513
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,760
Speaker 3: just going to rip each ozz or others throats out

514
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:13,600
Speaker 3: at this point.

515
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:16,119
Speaker 4: Yet that didn't happen.

516
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 3: I mean throats were ripped metaphorically, thankfully, not actually.

517
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,399
Speaker 6: I'm a pro wrestler, Yeah, so I just want you

518
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,400
Speaker 6: to know I use these terms right, it means something.

519
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,320
Speaker 4: Else to me exactly.

520
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:32,879
Speaker 3: So, but you guys have thrived despite some extremely dark

521
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,960
Speaker 3: and you know, drama filled moments of sectarian factionalism that

522
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,760
Speaker 3: that kind of threatened to undermine the entire project. So

523
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,120
Speaker 3: what would you say to people outside who are who

524
00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:47,480
Speaker 3: are facing that? Because when when people come together to

525
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 3: fight for something, tensions are high and you're gonna have

526
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:53,840
Speaker 3: you're going just factionalism is going to develop.

527
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:55,080
Speaker 4: How did how did you?

528
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,320
Speaker 3: I won't say anybody ever overcomes it, but how did

529
00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:00,919
Speaker 3: you overcome it enough that you're now pulled together and

530
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 3: threatening power at the highest level.

531
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,560
Speaker 6: Here, it's all about coalition building, making sure that different

532
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,480
Speaker 6: leaderships of respective organizations are actively coming together and communicating,

533
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,119
Speaker 6: because more often than not, we've seen a breakdown communication,

534
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,240
Speaker 6: a mix up in disagreements around strategy, and that has

535
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:19,879
Speaker 6: led to exactly what you described, factions being formed.

536
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,000
Speaker 4: So happy hours, how do you like? What's like? Practically speaking?

537
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 4: How do you keep that?

538
00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,359
Speaker 6: Social gatherings are incredibly important? So thankfully we have a

539
00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:30,480
Speaker 6: grassroots organization called Reclaimer Rhode Island. They've been around since

540
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,520
Speaker 6: twenty twenty where some of the endorsing folks that allowed

541
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,760
Speaker 6: me to get elected the first time around, and they've

542
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,119
Speaker 6: been very intentional about building relationships with the working families party,

543
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,399
Speaker 6: building relationships with labor like SCIU. And some of that

544
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,800
Speaker 6: does take the form of social gatherings, being able to

545
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,040
Speaker 6: get together at our neighborhood bars and restaurants to just

546
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,080
Speaker 6: be able to get to know one another as neighbors,

547
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,400
Speaker 6: and then beyond that, having an actual unified strategy because

548
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,200
Speaker 6: leadership teams have had conversations on how do we want

549
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,440
Speaker 6: to tackle this next legislative session, and over the course

550
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,199
Speaker 6: of the last two years, for example, there has been

551
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,440
Speaker 6: an ongoing fight to preserve our public transportation system RIFTA,

552
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 6: and that's been a part of an organization called a

553
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 6: Provident Streets Coalition that has garnered a group of neighborhood associations,

554
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,119
Speaker 6: community organizations, unions, and nonprofits to get behind this basic

555
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,639
Speaker 6: principle that public transit is a right that all of

556
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,280
Speaker 6: our neighbors should be able to access and that has

557
00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:25,879
Speaker 6: led to very strong legislative advocacy that is now transitioning

558
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,960
Speaker 6: over to electoral organizing. And so I think what's always

559
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,040
Speaker 6: important to know is that the fight does not stop

560
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,639
Speaker 6: in September, November or the ballot box in general. That

561
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,080
Speaker 6: we need to maintain this level of advocacy year round,

562
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 6: whether it's during election season or during the legislative session.

563
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,439
Speaker 6: We need to consistently be partnering. And that's what I

564
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,200
Speaker 6: want to be able to help formulate and facilitate as mayor,

565
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,000
Speaker 6: making sure that once we're elected, going into office in

566
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:54,080
Speaker 6: January of twenty twenty seven, that we're mobilizing in our

567
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,400
Speaker 6: neighbors because we're gonna have a tough city budget that

568
00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:00,520
Speaker 6: will require large industrial facilities to pay more intact. But

569
00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:02,119
Speaker 6: we know the corporate polluters aren't going to want to

570
00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:03,800
Speaker 6: pay more in taxes. So it's going to be up

571
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,320
Speaker 6: to our office, alongside organizations like Reclaim, the Working Families

572
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,040
Speaker 6: Party in some of our labor unions, to be at

573
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,760
Speaker 6: these committee hearings to make sure that it is known

574
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,000
Speaker 6: that the public here in Providence wants to see a

575
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 6: more fair tax structure.

576
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:19,800
Speaker 3: And last question for me, like what made you think

577
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,280
Speaker 3: the mayor was vulnerable? Like what made you say, you

578
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,320
Speaker 3: know what, this is the year and we can do this.

579
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,840
Speaker 6: A series of poor decisions that he has made, the

580
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,439
Speaker 6: fact that he vetoed rent stabilization despite the fact that

581
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 6: it is an overwhelmingly popular issue that neighbors wanted to

582
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,560
Speaker 6: see actively passed, so they had a sense of reassurance.

583
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,400
Speaker 6: The fact that he allowed for Providence Police to be

584
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,040
Speaker 6: in a situation where they collaborated with Ice and then

585
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,720
Speaker 6: thereafter there was no accountability. There are many moments where

586
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 6: the mayor has missed the mark, and you combine that

587
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 6: with the fact that he is just simply out of

588
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 6: touch with the needs of so many of our neighbors.

589
00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,800
Speaker 6: Given who takes money from and I'm talking about corporate landlords,

590
00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 6: I'm talking about the lawyers representing these industrial facilities in

591
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,120
Speaker 6: corporate packs. Providence as a whole, a city of one

592
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,360
Speaker 6: hundred and ninety thousand plus people, is relatively progressive and

593
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:09,760
Speaker 6: they want to see change. And so I knew back

594
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,520
Speaker 6: when we launched in September of twenty twenty five that

595
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 6: we were going to meet the moment that we had

596
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,040
Speaker 6: an opportunity to mobilize, especially young people, immigrant communities, and

597
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,080
Speaker 6: folks who generally do not feel engaged when it comes

598
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,800
Speaker 6: to local politics and government.

599
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 3: All Right, David Morales, candidate for Mayor in Providence. The

600
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 3: election is September.

601
00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,720
Speaker 6: Wednesday, September ninth. Then you can visit David MORALESPVD dot

602
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 6: com to learn more about our movement.

603
00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,200
Speaker 3: All right, all right, so election of September will be

604
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,840
Speaker 3: following as closely the next next DSA target.

605
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,040
Speaker 4: Thank you so much, Riyan, you got it. Quick clarification.

606
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,800
Speaker 3: David Morales is a longtime DSA member. DSA itself is

607
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,480
Speaker 3: not endorsing in this particular may oral race that will

608
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,360
Speaker 3: do it for us. Today, I didn't make Sager sit

609
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 3: through the two comic questioning sessions. I'm not a total

610
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,320
Speaker 3: say this. I try to be a good colleague. But

611
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,800
Speaker 3: Soccer and I will be back for another Bro show tomorrow.

612
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 4: We'll see you then,