WEBVTT - DOGE vs Everybody 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:04.080 Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:06.000 with Reasoned Choice Media. 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:08.360 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:12.719 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome home. Y'all, this is episode sixty six. 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:16.639 I'm glad it's just six and six and not the 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:20.880 other six because it's a crazy time of Native Lamppid 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:22.840 where we give you I break down on all things 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:23.960 politics and culture. 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:25.880 We are your hosts. 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:29.400 My sister is Tiffany Cross and Angela Rye, and of 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:32.199 course I'm Andrew Gillam. What's up, ladies, How are you 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:33.800 wherever you may be? 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:41.800 I'm Snowstorm and we had all kinds of errors today 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:46.200 and so I am at my workspace that I rent 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:48.440 broadcast from here on my computer. 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:49.480 You look good, girl. 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:51.720 We thank you, thank you very much. 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.120 I want to give Tip the real MVP Award today 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:57.920 for trudging through the snow. She went to and fro 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:00.680 and back again, and she is here and it's because 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.800 she would not miss you all connecting with our Native 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.120 lamppodfam as. We welcome you home and into all of 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:08.720 the craziness that's going on right now. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:10.080 So Hedrew, what are we talking about? 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:13.679 I want to know. I want to know. 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:15.200 I want to know. Well, let me just first say 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:18.400 we've got a very special guest joining us today. I 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.559 know you all are excited. I'm excited partly because from 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:25.880 my home state, the youngest member of the United States Congress, 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:31.520 the first gen Zier in the body, Maxwell Froz, from 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.920 the great state of Florida, the tenth Congressional District. 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.760 We'll be hearing from here later. Stay stay, stay tuned. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.120 It's gonna be a great conversation, I bet, and you 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:39.960 won't want to miss it. 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:41.280 Angela, what you got. 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:44.480 I want to talk about this bootleg Department of Government 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.319 efficiency and why it has more authority than most of 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:50.320 the agencies in the departments in the federal government, and 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:53.200 why this South African is running wild. So I want 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:57.120 to talk about this and why President Elon Musk is 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.400 still on a rampage. There's a new executive order granting 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:03.080 him even more authority. And with the skirting of court 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.280 orders that this administration is into, how much more authority 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:06.880 is he gonna gain? 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.040 I tell you, it sounded a little bit like Elon 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:15.160 Musk versus the rest of us. And I'm hopeful, Tiffany, 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:18.240 that you feel good about these topics and unless you've 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:19.520 got something that well. 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:21.480 I want to because we have so many of you 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:23.840 guys who send in your questions and comments, and so 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:25.760 this week I want to yield my time so we 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.120 can make sure that we're responding to your questions and 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.640 listening to your comments. So I'm looking forward to that 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.200 because I like it being an interactive conversation with our 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:35.760 listeners and our viewers. 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:36.520 I love it. 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:38.280 I love it, I love it. Thank you, tiff you 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:42.000 really are the all around MVPR this week. 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:45.680 Your graciousness as well as your accommodations, y'all, It's about 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:51.480 to be a great episode. Stay tuned, y'all. We have 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:55.640 the man with the master plan. I told you at 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:56.799 the top of the show that we were going to 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.320 have a very very special guest. 0:02:58.240 --> 0:02:59.399 And indeed we do. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:04.640 Born in nineteen ninety seven, low At Tiffany Angela. 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:14.800 I graduated from high school and all American at everything. 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.600 A wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:20.959 The good friend and member of the United States Congress, 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:23.120 Maxwell Alejandro Frost. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:25.680 Some of you all who are in. 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:29.079 The state of Florida will know a bit about Maxwell, 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:32.520 but he does represent Florida's tenth congressional district in the 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.720 United States Congress. Was elected in two thousand and twenty 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:39.200 three a member of the Democratic Party, but being in 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.880 Congress was not his first foray, if you will, into politics. 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:47.160 Prior to that, he was the national organizing director for 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:48.600 March for Our Lives. 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:49.520 You all will recall that. 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:55.760 Organization, the Guns Safety and Regulations Organization, basically the voice 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:59.400 of young people saying our lives matter. He was elected 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.720 at the the ripe old age of twenty five years old. 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:07.520 Y'all count at twenty five again, first generation zer in 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:10.680 the United States Congress. And I could not think and 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:15.680 Angela gets credit for having thought of this initially, but 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:19.040 we couldn't think of a better person to address you. 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:23.200 Ask questions about organizing, how do we fight back? What 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:26.080 should we be doing? Give us some instruction. By the way, 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.560 what the hell is going on in Washington? And why 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:32.480 isn't somebody checking President Trump and President Musk. 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.719 Well, we've got some answers for you, everybody. 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.760 Will you all please join me and welcoming the one 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.440 and only Congressman Maxwell Fross. 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:40.880 What's up? 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.800 Brother? Hey, Hey, good to be here. Appreciate y'all having me. 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:46.880 Are you kidding, man, it's our treat to have you. 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:51.240 I am curious, Congressman, as a representative from our great 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.240 state of Florida, how you holding up up there? I mean, 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:57.200 we got a dose of what autocracy, or at least 0:04:57.200 --> 0:05:02.240 a thriving autocrat look like down here Florida exactly. So 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:06.280 I know you weren't caught off total guard. But honestly, man, 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:08.480 can you level with our listeners? What is it felt 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.000 like these past what three weeks? Four weeks, three weeks? 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:15.120 I mean, under this new administration as a member of Congress. 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:17.280 No, I appreciate the question. And you know something I 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.680 told people as I traveled the country last year during 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:22.400 the election is I said, listen, I know we're all 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:24.760 worried about Project twenty twenty five, but I want you 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.320 to know that Project twenty twenty five is Florida twenty 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:29.800 twenty four and the things they want to do to 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:34.080 this country we've been fighting against for many, many years 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.200 under an authoritarian governor with the legislature that most of 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.479 the time acts like a lap dog and will do 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:44.160 whatever he wants. And we've seen the political repression. We've 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:48.440 seen our own duly elected officials taken out of office, 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:51.640 people like Monique Worrel. She got her seat back, thank god. 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.440 And so I bring this up to say that being 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.200 from Florida, we're used to this and we get it, 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.440 and we understand that. You know, I feel like a 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:03.400 lot of people have taken a lot of things for granted, 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.960 and now that everything is so chaotic, a lot of 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.120 folks don't know what to do and they're scared. And 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.320 I understand that because there's a lot of things to 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:16.760 be scared about. For me, I've to me it's simply 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:19.799 seen as the battle in Florida and in the South 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.680 has now been drawn out to the whole country in 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.880 terms of fighting neo fascism, fighting an authoritarian leader, and 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:29.720 making sure that we both work on the inside and 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.800 the outside at the same time. To not be and 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:35.760 I've been saying this a lot. Decide to even though 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:37.960 we have less seats in Congress, not be the minority 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.839 and be the opposition. And I take that from foreign countries. 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:44.800 You know, oftentimes in foreign countries and the legislature, the 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.000 minority is not called the minority. They're called the opposition party. 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:51.480 And I think we're at a point right now, especially 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:55.919 with this president, where things aren't normal. This isn't President 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:58.560 Mett Romney, you know, or John McCain, or this isn't 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.279 a normal Republican president. And see, this is an authoritarian 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:06.359 leader who has invited the billionaires and big corporations to 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.720 work within the White House to do whatever they see 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:13.200 fit to make things work for them. Even more, it's 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.840 the great betrayal because he traveled this country and told 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:18.280 people he was going to shake up the system for them. 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.360 But we all knew it was a bunch of bs. 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:24.480 So a lot of feelings, but look, I'm fortified in 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.040 the stories of my district, in my home. I'm so 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:30.640 excited to go home tomorrow to be with my people, 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:33.360 to talk to people about the real life impacts of 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.600 what's going on, to organize at home, and then come 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:37.680 back and continue to fight. 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.480 I have to ask you, you know, there's been a 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:45.040 lot of conversation, and this is why I reached out 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.080 to you about you all being outside of the Department 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:50.080 of Education last week. You held up your camera and 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:54.480 it said all access entrance, and you all were blocked 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.800 by some random white man with a Floristan band aid 0:07:57.840 --> 0:07:58.360 on his neck. 0:07:58.640 --> 0:07:59.960 I still haven't seen his paper. 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:01.560 I feel like you should have to show papers if 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:03.880 you go on block members of Congress who want answers 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:06.840 for their constituents, and you all are charged with oversight, 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:10.160 whether it's in a congressional hearing room or it is 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:13.800 going to an agency that is supposed to report back 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:15.880 to Ranking Member Bobby Scott and everybody else. 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:17.400 Who's on the Education Committee. 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:19.960 And so I'm curious to know when you hear folks 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.600 saying like, well, when I look at these members of 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:25.200 Congress who can't even get in, they didn't push through, 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:29.640 they look weak, right, And that's frustrating to hear for 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:31.640 me to hear, because I'm like, these people are my family. 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:33.520 They went down there because they're not getting answers on 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:36.160 the hills, so they went to the agency to figure 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:36.960 out what's going on. 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.000 How did it feel to not get in? 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.480 And did you what do you think about that when 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:43.880 people say that looked weak? And what do you think 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.840 your responsibility is when you can't get in to an 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:48.839 all access interance that we all should be able to 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:49.240 get in. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.360 One hundred percent? No, I appreciate you bringing this up 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.960 because even a few days earlier, I had organized about 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:55.760 two dozen members of Congress to go to the Department 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:58.440 of Treasury when we heard that Elon had access to 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.840 our social security numbers and all of our sensitive information. 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:04.320 And so usually as a member of Congress, you know, 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:07.520 we call people from the Department to come to us, right, 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:09.880 come to a committee, come do a meeting. But it's 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.560 been crickets right because of this Elon Doge takeover. And 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.880 so like you mentioned, you know, Andrew, I come from organizing. 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:18.240 So I was like, you know what, I think we're 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.080 You're just gonna have to pull up and we're gonna 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:21.720 have to pull up with the people. And that's what 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.120 we did at the Department of Treasure. We pulled up. Yes, 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:27.199 we were denied access by Secret Service that on that Monday, 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:29.320 But then we went out to you know, move On 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.199 Indivisible and Working Family Party, brought together about over a 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:34.319 thousand people when we rallied in front of Treasury, and 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:37.280 I think it showed that fight that we're looking for now. 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:39.840 With Department of Education, there was a similar action where 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:42.040 we were trying to get in. I will admit, you know, 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.680 I think there's a lot of videos I posted, and 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.920 this is something especially from Black Lives Matter uprising that 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:50.160 you know, you're out there and I'm just constantly taking 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.800 content and posting raw content so people can see what's 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.439 going on. And I guess, you know, as a politician, 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:57.120 I need to review it a little bit more to 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:59.560 make sure it's telling the full story, because a lot 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:01.959 of people are just not you know, they don't fully 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.920 understand what happened there. If the doors were unlocked and 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:08.760 it was just that skinny guy trying to keep us out, 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:11.440 I promise you we would have gone in the building, okay. 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:14.360 But the problem is all the doors were locked, and 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.600 I don't even know why he stepped outside. He didn't 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.440 need to step out. The doors were completely locked, and 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:22.240 on the other side of those doors were like eight 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:28.160 armed DHS officers. Okay, and so that's why we weren't, 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:30.240 you know, why we couldn't get in the building. And 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:32.680 I had staff walk around the whole building check on 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.160 other entrances to see how we could get in. But 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:37.439 you know, a big part of this is being strategic too. 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.000 I saw some other people saying, why didn't you throw 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:41.559 a brick in the building, Well, I didn't, you know, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:43.320 I didn't throw a brick in the building for many 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:47.480 different reasons. But I do resent people you know, who 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:49.560 were saying, well, you're too scared to get arrested. I've 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.360 been arrested multiple times. I've been to jail, in the 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.480 jail I now represent in Congress, I've been, you know, 0:10:56.640 --> 0:11:00.320 physically assaulted by police. And so these are this isn't 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:02.560 stuff that we're it's it's not a question of whether 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:04.199 or not you're afraid to do it. And I only 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:06.960 speak for myself, I can't speak for everybody else. But 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:10.000 it's a question of strategy too. We're in a position 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.800 right now where Republicans only have a two seat majority 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:15.319 in the House, and we're about to come up to 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.880 this huge budget fight that can have real implications for Medicaid, 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:21.600 for healthcare, for Social Security, for food stamps. They just 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.319 released a budget plan where they want to cut twenty 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.360 percent of all food stamps. They want to cut eight 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:30.120 hundred million dollars at a Medicaid. I mean, this is 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.960 serious stuff, and so I you know, we have to 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:37.360 be strategic. You never know, we have to utilize every 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:39.800 vote in the House of Representatives right now. We need 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:42.000 to stay strong on our values, and I just don't 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:44.400 want to be in a situation where you know, you 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.280 throw a break or you do something and we end up, 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:50.040 you know, in jail fighting something for months. I'm sure 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:52.680 let's figure that house. Yeah, I'm sure the Speaker of 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.400 the House would love nothing more than to have some 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.400 young progressive members of Congress dealing with some legal stuff 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.080 and not being able to vote, you know. And then 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:02.440 a lot of those same people on line said, well, 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.560 you'd only be in for fifteen minutes, you remember of Congress, 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.600 And I'm like, wait, you're saying we're at the level 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:08.319 where I need to throw a brick in a building 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:10.959 that let to fight the authoritarianism. But then you think 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:12.440 that when I get arrested, they're gonna let me out 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.160 in fifteen minutes, right, So the math ain't mathin I 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.040 you know, I think they're gonna use everything they can 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:23.480 and every excuse they can to a sort to assert 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:26.080 their authority on us, and we got to be careful 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:29.000 and strategic. I'm not saying that there's not room for 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.240 civil disobedience, So I'm not saying there's not room for 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:34.520 these things. I'm just saying, let's be strategic here, and 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:36.760 let's work together and figure out what the proper way 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:38.520 forward is. And I think there's a lot of things 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:42.280 we can do within Congress to push back, to delay, 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.880 to obstruct. You know, I heard someone tell this joke. 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.400 Think about what Mitch McConnell would do if he were 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.200 the minority, and then do it, you know, right, because 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:52.319 they did this to us. That's right for so many 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:54.839 times and again it's about that state of mind. Are 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:56.760 we the minority or are we the opposition? 0:12:57.920 --> 0:12:58.360 Arisman. 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:00.280 I'm not grateful to you for joining us, and thank 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:03.600 you for giving that context. I do just want to say, 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.200 respectfully to you, as I completely hear your point, and 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.000 I think that is really important to know that there 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.680 were armed guards there and the real process. But respectfully, 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.440 I do understand people saying that the Democratic Party looks weak. 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.160 There are millions of people across this country who do 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:20.280 not follow the minutia of government. They don't even know 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.320 about the standoff at the Department. They don't even know 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.360 that you all were outside, which is a challenge, right 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:29.400 because the media is so complicit in this, with this 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:33.480 authoritarian regime. But on the other side of that, it 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.800 is incumbent. I think on elected representatives to energize from 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.760 the bottom up, and you need you know, grassroots organizations 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:43.040 to do that, you also need your elected representatives. We 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:45.920 were having a conversation yesterday about what resistance looks like, 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:48.600 and one of our friends was giving off the dome, 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.600 was giving a list of things that should be happening, 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:56.120 and you know, suggested holding field hearings and suggesting, you know, saying, hey, 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:59.920 here is how these actions impact people. And there does 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:04.560 seem to be a communications problem. Respectfully, we have a 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:10.240 lot of Actigurians and Cephagarians and congress and as somebody 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.400 who's a gen Zer, I just wonder what your perspective 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:18.239 is when it comes to this constant promotion of respectability politics. 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:21.560 We've always talked about racism is bipartisan. It is not 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:25.080 specific to Republicans. So for the young people who don't 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:27.080 follow the minutia of this, and they're looking to you 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.160 as their peer, saying, hey, what do we do because 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:33.040 right now, standing outside a building is not putting food 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:34.920 on the table. We still haven't heard about the cost 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.480 of eggs, which is what he's run on. And people's 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:40.880 lives are being immediately indirectly impacted and they are looking 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:44.080 to their representatives for more immediate relief. 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:45.680 So what is your response to them? 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:48.520 No, I appreciate it, and I want to be clear too. 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.480 What I was just saying is really a reference to 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:53.400 that specific video and that specific situation where people are 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.760 saying about that. The reason I organized two dozen members 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:59.760 of Congress to go to Treasury overnight that last one 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:02.240 days because I saw what people were saying, Because I 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:04.520 heard from my colleagues that people were saying, we're getting 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:06.560 all these calls, what do we do? And I said, well, 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:08.480 I'm gonna put on my organizer cap because we got 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.040 to organize right now. So I'm fully on board. You know, 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:13.840 I'm not here to tell people, oh, like, calm down, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.400 chill out. No, this isn't a time for chilling out. 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.600 This is a time for organizing and doing everything we can. 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.640 And I think as elected members of Congress, it's incumbent 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.160 upon us, especially we don't have the White House, you know, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:27.080 there's not a ton of leadership going on the Senate. 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:30.040 So we are the national party per se, and so 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.560 we got to provide that national leadership. So there's a 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:35.760 few things. Number One, believe it or not, I'm one 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:37.880 of I think it's less than five members of Congress 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:40.840 that do year round organizing. So what does that mean. 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:43.720 I have an organizing director year round on my campaign. 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:47.640 We paid three cohorts of organizers every year, and we're 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.000 always knocking doors, always doing events, whether or not I 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:52.280 have a serious race or not, or a primary or not. 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:54.360 Because I don't think we should be holding on to 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.000 all this money and not organizing in our communities, right, 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:58.800 and so a big call to action I have out 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:02.400 to colleagues, but just a lot of elected officials in general, 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.880 is use this moment to organize people. I think, you know, 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:07.760 when we go back home for the next week, we've 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:10.040 been encouraging people, do your town halls, do your events, 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:12.880 to answer questions, to talk to people about what's going on, 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.640 what's at stake, what fights are ahead of us. And 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.480 then when you come back, host those organizing events, those rallies. 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:20.680 You know, you might have to use some of your 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.480 campaign cash to hire an organizer. I know that's not 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.920 normal for politicians to do that, you know this early on, 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:31.080 but do it right to help get people energized about something. 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.280 So I'm hosting a few town halls when I get home, 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:36.400 but we're not stopping at the town halls. We're going 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:38.880 to be putting together our organizing launch so people in 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.560 Florida tenth Congressional District can come and learn about and 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.640 get plugged in with a community on how they can organize. 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.240 I think a big thing here is we can't allow 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:51.920 the energy to just live online right now. I think 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:55.760 we have to provide leadership in person in our districts 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:58.920 to plug people into a political home. And we have 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:00.840 to be willing to say it might be with me, 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:03.480 it might be with Dream Defenders, it might be with 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:05.960 March for Our Lives, it might be with a different organization, 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:10.000 but however, you get involved to get involved. And I 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:11.919 think we have to be a conduit for a lot 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.000 of these folks who a lot of you know, they 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:17.440 follow us. A lot of their advocacy is mainly stuck online. 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.520 But now they're like, tell me what to do, right 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:24.200 and whether that's calling legislators or calling into these two 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:27.119 special elections we have in Florida right now, or whether 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:30.959 it's a direct action in protest, or maybe it's more 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.240 mutual aid right which we need a lot of that too, 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:35.919 especially in a state like Florida. We need direct services. 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:38.560 Plugging into all of that I think is really important, 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:42.800 and I think, you know, a lot of times politicians 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.840 have a very adverse reaction to the advocacy world, you know, 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.440 because our feet are being held to the fire. And 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:53.479 I get where people are coming from, but I think 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.199 it's important we have to be the bridge builders. We 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.720 can't be here to tear people apart. I'll give you 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.800 an example as a little bit moment of vulnerability here 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.960 for myself. When I posted that video of the parment education, 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.320 there were some folks who were, you know, saying, well, 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:09.919 why don't you punch the guy and get arrest in this? 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:13.040 And that. I made a rather irate post on Blue 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.840 Sky saying like, y'all don't know anything about my past, 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.920 like I used to do this stuff, and YadA, YadA, YadA, 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:21.720 like I understand there's a time and place. I ended 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:26.120 up deleting it because here's my thing. We are fighting 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:30.280 fascism right now and authoritarianism, and I don't think that 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.359 we're in a position where I need to use, as 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:37.639 an elected official a single percentage of rage or anger 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:41.320 towards people I broadly agree with. I want to save 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:45.359 every drop of that for the opposition and fighting on 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:47.080 behalf of my people, even if I might have a 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:50.080 disagreement with somebody online or something like that. And I 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.320 think we really have to have that way of thinking 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:54.360 that we need to. Part of what makes a Democratic 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:56.560 Party powerful is the fact that it's a coalition. I've 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:58.359 joked with people we should change our name from the 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:00.919 Democratic Party to the Democratic Coalition because that's what we are, 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:03.159 a coalition. So I think as leaders, we have to, 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:06.800 you know, let's not be mad when people are calling 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.199 our offices like they are, because a big reason why 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:12.280 we're getting so many calls is because a lot of 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:15.080 our organized and activists live in the blue districts, and 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.480