WEBVTT - Georgia's Blue Part Two 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:06.240 You're listening to Waiting on reparations, a production of I Heartry. 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:09.360 Get out the way, Mitch, get out the way, like 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:12.680 move Mitch, get out the way. Get out the way, 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:15.760 mich get out the way. Like move bitch, get out 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:19.840 the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Twenties in the past 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:21.959 made the good guy young. It's a new day and 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:24.240 for now the good guys one. We made Georgia blue 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:26.640 and Republicans mad the shortest suit and we can't rest 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:28.560 on our laurels now because there's more to do, because 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:30.560 we got to senate in the House to tell Mitch 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.320 McConnell not a word out his motherfucking mouth. They don't 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:35.760 like democracy to go in another route. So in about 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.040 two years, yeah, we gotta shut them out. But now 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:40.520 we stopped with the preaching the choir. Then go Biden 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:42.760 by the arms, hold his feet to the five war knock. 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:44.880 Did this thing something we should have mind? But y'all 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:47.199 get primaried. If you see you would lie, you will 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:49.880 need to retire. You receiving the ire we was calling 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.240 the truth because the situation was dire. You was thinking 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:54.680 of sweet and that's something really yush out. They said, 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.040 y'all radical I want to see what they're talking about. Hey, 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:02.760 my name's Dope Knife Franca and we are waiting on reparations. 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:10.840 So we won. Yeah, okay, it was a little bit 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:15.559 of background on like the last couple of days for me. Um, 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:19.240 Monday night, myself and Paul will be joining us later 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:21.640 a little later on the show. I met up in 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:26.160 Atlanta and got in the car and proceeded to drive 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:30.360 around the state of Georgia for twelve hours putting up 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:35.440 yard signs and then like five different countries and so 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:38.240 and then I went we went back to Atlanta and 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:43.040 I had just like a normal work day. Um, I'm 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:47.039 completely dead signed very excited that Mitch McConnell is going 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:51.080 to be sen minority leader and that we have two 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:53.240 senators elect here in Georgia that we will be able 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:56.600 to push towards things like universal health care and ending 0:01:56.640 --> 0:02:00.000 the world on drugs by ending betteral funding for UM 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.480 narcotic task forces and things like that. Well, I was 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:04.840 just about toside, So I just want to make that 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:06.920 clear from the top. Well, I was about to ask 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:08.799 you about that. Don't worry, We're gonna We're gonna take 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.160 it easy on you today because like one of the 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:14.040 whole things about this episode is like shining a light 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:16.000 on some of the work that you've been doing. You know, 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.160 I'm getting sworn into my second term as commissioner at 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.639 four thirty today, so it's just like, see, see your 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:26.359 girl is out there working hard jobs. So okay, well, 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.360 I mean today we're gonna be you know, just getting 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.240 some insight from Mariah with on the work that she 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.200 did in this campaign, some of her feelings about how 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.640 it's turned out, and by campaign, you know, for you know, 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:42.519 just for the sake of due diligence. I'm talking about 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:46.000 the recent Senate elections as well. We're also going to 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:49.880 be talking to the deputy campaign manager for Daniel Blackman, 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:54.520 who was running for public service public service commissioner. Yeah, 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:57.720 the yeah, candidate for Public Service commissioner. Candidate for Public 0:02:57.720 --> 0:02:59.959 Service commissioner. We're gonna be just getting little inside in 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.600 how that campaign went and everything like that. But um, 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:06.639 with this win for Warnock and us, of the apparent 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:08.440 win for us of if I don't want to jump 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:12.360 the horse, what does that mean for Democrats and like 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.200 how can progressives eventually leverage that? Well, what it means 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:18.360 for Democrats is they don't have any excuses for not 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:22.480 getting anything done. As you know, they tried to under 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:24.880 Obama when they you know, in his first two years, 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:28.720 had the House, in the Senate and the Executive and 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.440 like all we got was like the A C. A. 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:35.640 When we could have been tackling climate change like ten 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:40.200 years ago. Uh, you know, could have done so many 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:42.760 things and didn't because no one was paying attention. But 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.160 now we are. And so, um it means that the 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:49.800 sky is theoretically a little bit. I think this is 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.160 where social movements then come in to create a clear mandate, 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:58.800 like for what the people need. Um, and uh, making 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:03.240 it clearer that we were watching. Um. It is exciting 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.400 that we have senators elect that we can actually hold 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.680 accountable like Kelly Left. I wasn't accountable to ship like 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.640 David Purdue. Are you kidding? Um? And so I'm very 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:18.880 very very very excited to fight the Democrats and other Republicans. Finally, So, um, 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:20.960 I mean it means to you know, two thousand checks. 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:24.160 Hopefully that is now the floor. We can make that 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:33.720 recurring and retroactive to last March. Um, things like marijuana legalization. Um. Yeah, 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:35.400 there's no excuse for them to not just go ahead 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:37.560 and get these don then, in fact, it would behoove 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.280 them to do so, because treading lightly when you have 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.360 such a narrow margin of victory as these gentlemen had, 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:47.160 is it easy way to lose? I think, Um, who 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:49.320 see it is? It is up in like two years? 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.880 I think it's a yeah. So like if they sit 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:55.159 around and do nothing for two years, like he's gone, 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:00.280 it's gone, and so like it's it, behooves the go 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:03.279 ahead and get done. You know, double the minimum wage, 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:08.400 legalize it, um uh, you know, close private prisons, like 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:10.160 let's really do this, Like sure they might not be 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:11.800 even for better care for all, but let's go ahead 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:15.480 and get steps towards expanding, protecting the a C A UM, 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:17.359 getting a public option. Just like, go ahead, do that 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:21.120 this year to set the stage for truly universal health 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:25.360 care and years to come, so that in four or whatever, 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:28.599 I don't know, I don't know what year it is, 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.960 I don't know what year be. Um. So when you 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.240 come back around after everybody's votes again, you can tell 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.839 give them clear like, yo, we did it, and we 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:42.000 couldn't because you know, inter mcconnwell or anything. There's no 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:45.920 reason why there's no reason why they could. Can't you 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:49.920 gotta have like tangible benefits, you know what I mean, 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:52.159 and and changes to their lives for all the work 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:54.880 that is, get the Party of Working people fucking show 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:59.080 us like doing and if you don't, and if you don't, fine, 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.960 if you really don't, too fine, But like that's the end. 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:07.600 I mean, primary motherfucker's or you know, get ring choice 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.640 voting passed in places like Georgia, where Republicans now see 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:15.479 the dangers of a runoff challenging their you know, uh 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:20.400 they're lies like grip on our government structures. And I 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.839 just thought about popping like, yeah, let's do this. So 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:29.920 now after the presidential election and then these Senate elections, 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:33.760 like Georgia is like officially blue now, so I mean, 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:38.560 we still have a Republican control legislature. Um. I would also, 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:40.480 I mean, to me, the local is very important, and 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.040 so I would also look at the makeup of our 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:47.320 county commissions. It's not like you know, l A or 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:52.400 Detroit or Chicago where it's like democratic controlled like local 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.480 governing bodies either U And so like that's really important 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:59.080 for things like well, since that's what you're like, I know, 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:01.400 that's that's something that you really care about. Like what 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:05.479 can be done to like to make that the case? Like, 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:09.040 how can we start getting people more engaged for you know, 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:13.280 in the elections that aren't having five hundred million dollars 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:17.600 spent on them, to outside of elections that have half 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.080 a billion dollars spent on them? Yeah, Like what what 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:22.120 what can we do to get people more engaged in 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.480 their local and to care about the local makeup, you know, 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:26.840 because I mean if people were a little if people 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.680 were burnt out after the presidential election and we had 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:32.360 to like get on people's asses and you know, you 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:33.920 were out there doing the work that we're about to 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:38.000 get into to like get people to to actually be 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.720 engaged with the smaller election in this this past center election, 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:43.920 than it's like, how do we get people even further 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:46.960 engaged and less burnt out to where they're being involved 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:52.120 in their local politics and stuff? Yeah? Well, I mean 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:56.080 I believe Charline Caruthers put it that, uh, you know, 0:07:56.360 --> 0:08:01.040 good leaders in good movements create new leaders. That's the goal. 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:03.760 And so through my work, which I'll talk a little 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.480 bit more about in the second but like my general 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:09.160 principle for like the way I moved through the political 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:12.680 world is that like you bring people in at the 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:17.920 ground level to teach them the mechanics of organizing such 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:20.000 that they learn how they learn how to work, like 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:25.040 how to get to build coalition, to build support for ideas, 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.200 to learn to talk about ideas, and then learn how 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:31.680 to talk about process such that they then have the 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.319 tools themselves to run for something like county commission, um, 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:38.280 to run for statehouse or to you know, to go 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.280 from being just a canvas where we're paying to knock 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:45.000 on doors this time around, to being a field manager 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:49.960 for someone statehouse campaign or congressional campaign and so um, 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.480 I think that a lot of people that like might 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:57.040 vote reliably democratic previously, but like, given the fervor around 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.760 this election cycle, might have hit the pavement for the 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.360 stime knocking down doors or text banking or you know, 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:08.000 whatever forms of get out the vote they participant in. Like, 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.520 now they know how to do that, and now they 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.080 can be the one that's leading that effort and bringing 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:14.840 new folks, and now they get are the ones that 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:19.120 can be putting that expertise to work in winning running 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.439 and winning their own campaign. So that's at least my 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:26.440 hope for like the broader win out of all of this, um, 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:28.000 as well as just like what I try to do 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:31.480 all time. Word. Okay, so we're gonna get into the 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:47.360 specific work that you were doing after the bump. Alright, 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:52.880 So Mariah, so just pretend that somebody is listening to 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.920 the show for the first time and they don't know 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:59.280 exactly what it is you do other than host this podcast, 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:02.200 Like explain to then what is your position in the 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:05.240 city of Athens, Georgia, and then how did that extend 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:08.160 into the work that you were doing for the elections 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:11.240 this past few months. Yeah, I am Athens, Georgia's scariest 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:15.480 radical liberal. Uh. I can't wait for the day that 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.439 I ran for some runs for something bigger and they 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:20.080 like make my skin look darker in the in the 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.120 attack ads like they did like left warded for warnock um. 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.640 But no, like someone kind commissioner have been since to 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:31.320 thousand eighteen UM. But outside of that, like, uh, I 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:34.840 you know I got my start in uh politics, I 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.040 am I hold office now because someone tapped me to 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.800 run their campaign and I learned how to um do 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.720 that and talk about policies such that I was like, 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:46.840 oh I can do this like I'm gonna run dropics. 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.319 What's up? And so the idea behind this project I've 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:52.280 been working on for the last like six weeks Athens 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.880 Progressive Canvasing Corps. Mary's the need for that sort of 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:59.480 entry level experience building among just folks that are underrepresented 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.000 in politics. UM, understanding of just like what wins elections, 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.840 which is just face to face voter contact and it's 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:09.040 easiest to reach people at their homes. Um. And the 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:13.040 fact that people are fucking broke right now because they 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:15.319 gave us a hundred dollars like eight months ago, when 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:19.080 we're like, good luck with your eviction and stuff, and 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:21.720 so wanting to pay people a living wage to do 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.840 this work because as local elected officials, our hands have 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:28.880 been very tied by state statutes preventing us from providing 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.800 direct relief to our constituents. So it's like, all right, 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:34.040 I can't just cut you a thousand dollar check if 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:35.959 I can pay you a thousand dollars if you are 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:38.600 out of work, and I want to just like walk 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:41.439 around your neighborhood and talk to people about uh, you know, 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:44.920 where they can go vote. And so we recruited a 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:48.360 bunch of people, very diverse coalition of like students, like 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:52.880 working class folks of color UM, some season organizers, some 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:55.320 that were very very new to this had no idea 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:58.560 what canvasing even was when they started. UM folks you 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:03.280 know on the brink of eviction, experience in food and security, 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:07.280 like got kids at home that just like needed needed 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:09.839 work to do and needed it before the pandemic, that 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:13.160 thing like needed it before all of this. UM. And 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:15.520 so like bringing those folks in because they're probably not 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:17.520 paying attention to what's going on in the County Commission, 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:22.079 not because they're dumb, but because like there were then 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.199 trying to you know, teach their fourth grader math at 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.400 like ten o'clock at night, like I wouldn't either. So UM, 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.160 so we hired on a team. I think it's about 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:36.280 ended up being about twenty like core canvassers UM to 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:39.400 go out into their own neighborhoods and knock on nors 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:42.480 and talk to people about the importance of this election. UM. 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:45.959 We raised about twenty five dollars UM big shout out 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.720 of the proggressive Campaign Change colition. They ran a fundraiser 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.400 for US and raised about for US in addition to 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.120 what we were able to get through our own campaign 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:58.120 networks hour being myself to other county commissioners are mayor 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:02.440 and our Statehouse representative Spencer Fry and so um. Over 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.400 the course of the last six weeks, we went out 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.800 and knocked on about thirty two doors all around Athens, 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:12.120 which is interesting because thirty thousand is almost exactly the 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:16.680 number of votes that war knock us off and black 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.439 men were able to get out of our city. Well, 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.559 you don't win an election this close without those margins 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:25.960 actually mattering. You know what I'm saying. It's it's not 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:28.079 like this is a blow at or anything. So every 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:30.760 bit of it matters. I mean, do you look back 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:33.760 at it now. I mean, obviously they won, so it's 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:35.599 a success in that way, but do you see it 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:39.439 as something that like you can break out again for 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:43.000 more elections? Yeah? Now, I know Hobby, who is the 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.640 you know Oberlin student who was home from Athens, born 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.959 and raised here, would never participated in electoral politics before, 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.200 who knows how to talk policy at the door and 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.880 knows how to work the minivan app and like knows 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.120 who her commissioners are, and so like next time around, 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.920 when like a commission race comes up in her disc 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:02.480 like we got somebody on the ground that can train 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:06.920 new volunteers to do this work. Um uh, we got 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:11.199 you know, James and Elena and Eric who were in 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.360 the fresh out of high school, born and raised in 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.800 Athens that knocked on I think when I saw them 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:17.600 on one day, it was like one day at two pm, 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:19.960 and they knocked on two doors that morning, a bunch 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:22.400 of like seventeen and eighteen year olds. Like what they're 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.720 gonna be doing in ten years? Like think about that? 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:28.200 So like and so that to me, like like it's 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.480 important that everyone to get two thousand dollar checks and 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.320 like hopefully we can like get if not a green 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:37.240 new deal, like a substantial infrastructure slash climate like plan 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:42.480 out of these people. But um, but we don't get 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:44.800 there if we don't train new people to like be 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:48.960 a part of the of like continuous sustaining pressure of 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:53.000 helping build additional power through other offices that like help 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.520 support that work, you know. So I don't know, Like 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.960 it's great that we won, but it's not about that 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:02.320 for me to be comple on us. I organized pretty 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:05.880 hyper locally in the grand scheme of state. Uh here 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:07.920 in Athens, but there's a lot of great work being 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.320 done by folks who go everywhere, who go to the 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.880 places like where know that everyone counts out UM to 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:18.800 like help build organizing infrastructure there, to help elevate organizers 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.560 into candidates and who have been doing the work for 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:23.640 far longer than I have. And so I'm really stoked 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:27.440 to have one of those people with us today. Uh 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:31.520 Paul Glaize, deputy campaign manager for the Daniel Blackman campaign 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.200 for a Public Service Commissioner UM, to talk a little 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.920 bit about what he did both in this race before 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.640 and shout out some of our colleagues within the Georgia 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:44.440 political ecossystem UM that we got to hang out with 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:46.960 last night as we watched the results come in. So yeah, 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.240 we'd love to get your take. Thanks for being here. 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:53.600 I'm okay, I'm I'm it's it's it's a very there's 0:15:53.600 --> 0:16:00.600 a lot of emotions today and I think that honestly, 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:04.320 I'm just really happy that Georgia showed up. I'm really 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:09.320 happy we do have uh, I guess control of the Senate, 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:13.280 I think is the best way to say that. UM. 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.720 And it was after having just spent so you gotta 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:21.400 understand that, like this is my fifth election night this year. Like, 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:26.560 if you count this little bit of the end of UM. 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:34.320 I worked three different campaigns and two of them had runoffs. UM. 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.800 And when you do a statewide race, you get to 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:38.880 organized with so many people. I was like me and 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.160 I was just mentioning. UH. And it's really one of 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:46.280 the gifts that electoral politics can give you as an organizer. UM. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:48.160 It's the ability to go to a lot of different 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:51.680 communities UM and meet the people who care UM and 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:55.080 who are fighting fighting for stuff. UM. So right now 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:57.320 that network has been strengthened a lot. So I think 0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:59.880 even if we had lost a lot of people on 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:05.480 the ground, but actually still feel pretty good about this cycle. UM. Definitely. Yeah. 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:07.159 I mean like because and then and that's a real thing. 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.240 Sometimes whole cycles go by and no good Like it's 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:11.879 it's this one period of time where all of your 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.399 actions get a lot higher return on investment, and so 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:18.560 you have an ethical responsibility to use that intentionally. UM. 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:20.800 And there's whole cycles where people don't even care enough 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:25.120 to try. So like the regardless we did that successfully, 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:29.520 everyone feels pretty good about it. UM. Daniel. However, UM 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.199 is still in the throes of wondering when we're going 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.320 to find out the results. UM. Right now, Bubba McDonald 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.640 is ahead, UM. And in fact, he has more votes 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:43.280 than both of the Republican Senate candidates, UM, and all 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:47.840 of UM. I'm pretty sure, maybe not Warnock. I can 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:51.199 look that up real fast. UM, but he has I 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.280 think the most votes of anyone. Oh no, yeah, no, 0:17:54.359 --> 0:18:02.840 he beat out everyone except for Warnock. So how why 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:08.080 did he overperform the other Republicans? That is the million 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:12.879 dollar question? And I actually that you know that he 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.280 didn't hitch his wagon to Trump, and so for some 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.720 that have become disolution with the new direction of the party, 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.679 like he seemed like a you know, a solid Republican 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:26.800 to get behind. Uh. Sexism, you know, people who voted 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:31.879 for Purdue and McDonald but not Kelly Leffler because they 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:36.640 hate women, which I whoops, I don't know. I don't 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:38.760 know for sure, but like, I think these things are 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:42.640 interesting and probably work together. I don't think I think 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:46.359 we can roll out the Trump theory M because about 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:50.680 what McDonald was co chair of Donald Trump's campaign. UM, 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.440 so of the people that pay And now that being said, 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:57.639 there's a whole subset I think of Trump's voting populace, 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.640 UM that really don't pay attention like they're they're they're 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:04.040 they've had an emotional draw he's gotten them. He like, 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:07.920 he's they are an audience for him now for his brand. UM. 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:11.080 But they're not necessarily political people, which is really normal. 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:17.720 We we you know, kind of derisively refer sometimes to like, uh, 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:22.560 certain types of soccer moms UM that you know, gung 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.520 ho for democrats, UM will wave the flag, will you know, 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.320 get out there and put their sign their yard proudly, um, 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:33.960 and yet still harbord deep resentment towards people of other races, 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:36.600 you know, Like that's a that's a phenomenon that we 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:39.760 know on our side, uh exists. And so I do 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:43.920 think maybe that group of people you're thinking, like disaffected 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.479 white guy is like mid thirties trying to grapple with 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:50.600 the fact that he has no opportunities in his town 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:53.920 and feels like he can't ever achieve his life dream. 0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:57.719 Like that set of people, I can definitely see um, 0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:00.359 you know, being you know, being drawn to that. But 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:02.679 the people that pay attention would all know that this 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:07.040 guy literally co chaired the campaign for Georgia. UM. So 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:11.280 we still have a problem. We still have a problem there. UM. 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:14.200 I do think that there's a lot of people that 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.479 really are inspired more by a UM, you know, a 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:24.200 local candidate that's talking to the scale of the actual issues. UM, 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:26.320 someone that they are familiar with, someone who has spent 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:28.679 years coming to their community, and how as local community 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.560 members to vouch for them. UM. You know, when we 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:34.359 look at these numbers, it's pretty easy to you know, 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:38.480 it's it's easy to get down to yourself about a loss. UM. 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:46.040 But as of right now, Daniel has just under votes 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:49.560 less than David Purdue. So when you think about the 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.560 money that Daniel spent and you think about the money 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:57.960 that was spent on David Purdue, the fact that those 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:06.959 have parody proves a lot about the strength of organizing here. UM. 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:10.560 But you know, it's hard sometimes to know if there's 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:15.120 like analogous situations on the Republican side, UM, because by 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:20.040 and large, we you know, we're we're a party if 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:24.040 you like, if you're looking at Democrats, we are the 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:26.280 party where the vast majority of people of color are. 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:32.520 And simple, this is kind of the and it's gross 0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:34.840 to say, like we sometimes it used to be like 0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:36.400 a couple of years ago, you would bring this up 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:39.720 even if you've got you know, tiptoed towards it, people would, 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:43.359 um would start to get offended. But this is the 0:21:43.560 --> 0:21:50.600 literal structural and Democrats are not involved in rural hit communities, 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.760 Like this is what it looks like once the impact happens, 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:59.040 and you don't have to prioritize them. But if you're 0:21:59.080 --> 0:22:01.760 not even in them credibility, then you don't really know 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:03.359 what's going on. So now we're you know, now we 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:05.360 have to have this whole conversation trying to piece out 0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:06.840 I mean, this is gonna be a question for the 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:12.040 next four months. People right now are being paid mountains 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:16.719 of money to answer that question. Um, it really and 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:19.160 like honestly, I feel like just us sitting here talking 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:21.639 are gonna get closer to the truth. And typically that 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.119 has proven right in my in my organizing. And then 0:22:24.160 --> 0:22:26.879 it always frustrates people that spend lots of money on 0:22:27.760 --> 0:22:31.040 on other people, um, that they could have just had 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:35.639 good conversations and probably gotten pretty close to there. Um. 0:22:35.800 --> 0:22:37.159 So I don't know that that might have been a 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:39.439 rambling answer to your what we were talking about, But 0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:41.120 I do think we can rule the Trump one out, 0:22:41.280 --> 0:22:43.760 There's there's a lot of stuff there though. I'm definitely 0:22:43.800 --> 0:22:49.560 with Mariah on UM We're about to see a wave 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:54.480 of white feminist organizing around the issue of uh, sexist 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:58.080 Republican men who wouldn't vote for Leffler. It's gonna be 0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:00.720 a conversation under the like under you know, conversations like 0:23:00.760 --> 0:23:04.000 this that don't like, you know, like don't always like 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:07.440