WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:02.520 Hudson River Radio dot com. 2 00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:04.120 It beats listening to nothing. 3 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:10.039 My goodness, being Frank, where the only way to be 4 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:15.919 is Frank. Hello everyone, and welcome to Being Frank. We're 5 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.719 the only way to be is Frank. I'm your host, 6 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:21.039 Frank Lebuono, and I'd like to thank you for joining 7 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.600 us on what we like to call the Intelligent Conversation podcast, 8 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.960 where no conversation is out of bounds, in all points 9 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.399 of view are welcome. We are going live to tape 10 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.399 on the ninth of August. We always like to give 11 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:35.399 you the date so you have some context of what 12 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.000 we're talking about. The Harris Walts ticket has supercharged in 13 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:43.960 already red hot election season. But how will this new 14 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.240 injection of optimism within the Democratic Party affect local elections? 15 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:51.119 What does support or lack of it at the top 16 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:53.520 of the ticket mean to those running for the offices 17 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:57.840 that truly impact us the most? And arguably, the dynamics 18 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:01.439 of voting, particularly among specific rooums like young, black and 19 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:05.840 Latino voters, has changed drastically since the last big election 20 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:10.000 in twenty twenty How will that potentially affect the outcome. 21 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:11.959 In twenty twenty four? What else has. 22 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:14.760 Changed and one of the most pressing issues facing most 23 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:18.799 Americans today. Returning to being Frank for some more intelligent 24 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:22.359 conversation on these questions and others, is former New York 25 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:26.079 State Senator and current Democratic candidate for the thirty eighth 26 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:31.239 Senatorial district that includes Rockland and Westchester Counties. Welcome Elijah 27 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.280 Reichland Melnick. Thanks for coming back. Elijah, appreciate it. 28 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.200 Thank you, Frank. It's always good to be here and 29 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:39.280 always good to talk Frank with you. 30 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:46.359 I appreciate that you appreciate the little double entendre there. 31 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:50.359 But get let's get into it, and it'll be a combination, 32 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:54.159 I believe, of national and local politics, because as I say, 33 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.519 all politics is local and it's all kind connected. So 34 00:01:57.959 --> 00:01:59.920 let's do things on maybe in a broader sense. Then 35 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.719 we'll keep working to specifics of your race here in 36 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:07.719 Rockland County. As you know, we go live from Stony 37 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:12.000 Point to actually go live to tape from Hudson River 38 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.000 Radio in Stony Point, New York, which is in Rockland County, 39 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:15.919 part of your district. 40 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:17.319 But let's get into it. First. 41 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:20.199 We have to talk a little bit about President Joe 42 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:25.080 Biden and his move to remove himself from his candidacy 43 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:30.439 for president, a huge move hailed by most. What were 44 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:33.319 your feelings leading up to his I don't know if 45 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:36.080 you wouldn't call it necessarily resignation, but his decision to 46 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:39.639 drop out of the race. What was your feeling leading 47 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:41.319 up to that and did you feel it was the 48 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:42.000 right decision? 49 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:47.080 So I did feel it was the right decision. I 50 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:51.240 was actually one of the only Democrats running or serving 51 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:55.639 in the State Senate to put a statement out at 52 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:57.800 least a week and I think more like ten days 53 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:01.319 or so before he in fact step decide, urging him 54 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:04.639 to do just that. I think we all should respect 55 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:08.919 the service that President Biden has provided this country, not 56 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.759 just as president, but as eight years as President Obama's 57 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:17.840 vice president and many many years of diligent public service 58 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:21.759 in the US Senate. And that said, I think he 59 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:26.120 certainly had had many successes as president. He took over 60 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:30.039 in an extremely difficult moment when the COVID pandemic was 61 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:35.000 still raging. We were losing I think at that point, 62 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.280 well more than a thousand Americans a week dying of COVID. 63 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:40.800 At the time that President Biden toook office, we had 64 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:44.439 just come off the January sixth insurrection, the biggest threat 65 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:47.719 to our democratic order in probably more than a century, 66 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.919 and we were a divided country. President Biden had a 67 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.159 lot of work to do to heal the nation from 68 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:57.680 the damage that the Trump administration had left, and I 69 00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:00.479 think it's widely admitted he did a very good job 70 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:03.960 on much of that. Certainly there have been challenges, inflation 71 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.520 number one among them, but I think there's no question 72 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.439 that people will look back and really find a lot 73 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:14.240 to admire in the policy accomplishments of the Biden administration 74 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:18.720 that said, it was clearly time for us, which you know, 75 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.439 I think there were widespread concerns that I had been 76 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:24.759 hearing for months, well before the debate in June, from 77 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:27.560 voters around the district just wondering, as much as they 78 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.199 might appreciate the work he'd put in, whether he had 79 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:32.720 it in for another four years, and whether he had 80 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.079 what it took to beat Trump in this election, which 81 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.800 so many people believed to be such an important, the 82 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:41.680 number one task that we have. And I think the 83 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.759 debate really brought those concerns to the four It was 84 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:48.920 painful to watch, and folks really, you know, just felt 85 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.800 that as much as they might have felt affection for 86 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:54.319 some of his accomplishments, it was time to pass the torch. 87 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:56.959 I certainly believe that. That's why I called for him 88 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.279 to step aside and to have a new nominee. And 89 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:02.240 I'm very delight to see that we've got someone who 90 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.240 stepped up to the plate and seemingly off and running. 91 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:07.519 I want to talk about that and talk about the 92 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:07.959 new team. 93 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:11.240 But before we get to that, how difficult it was 94 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:13.399 it for you? I mean there's a lot of pressure 95 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:15.040 within the party. I mean we see it. We called 96 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:21.560 party politics, and it's funny. In both parties. They'll talk 97 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.079 a good game of independence, but then when it comes 98 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:27.160 down to it, they normally take the party line. That 99 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:30.600 seems to be in particular with Republicans, but certainly Democrats 100 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:33.720 are not immune to that. So there's pressure to toe 101 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:37.120 the line, if you will. Were you feeling pressure and 102 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:39.319 how did you deal with that as a Democrat? Because 103 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:42.000 there are a lot of people that said, well, that's disloyal. 104 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.240 He's our guy. We're sticking with him to the very 105 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.439 end no matter what. So I know there was pressure 106 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.839 for that. How did you deal with that? And how 107 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:52.680 would you deal with it going forward. 108 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.879 Well, voters didn't elect me four years ago, and I'm 109 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:59.959 not running now in this cycle to represent only one 110 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:04.800 party or to represent the party elites or the party leaders. 111 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:08.240 I'm running to represent what I believe to be the 112 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.040 views of the constituents of the residents of the thirty 113 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:14.360 eighth Senate district, which I should clarify actually as only 114 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:16.959 Rockland now no longer any of Westchester. 115 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.680 Good, thank you, good, No problem. 116 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.800 So voter, you know. So my vision and my goal 117 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:25.839 is never to represent the party, but to represent the people. 118 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.319 And this, as I said, I think it was a 119 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.560 popular position based on all of the conversations I had 120 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:37.639 had throughout my time in office, and really in this 121 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.439 case with Biden running this year, and seeing what voters 122 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:44.439 were saying, so I was confident that whatever folks in 123 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:48.600 party leadership might think or say, that the position I 124 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:51.120 was taking to ask him to step aside was one 125 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:54.639 that the majority of Democratic voters and voters in general 126 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.199 felt to be the right one. And that's rarely where 127 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.120 my loyalties lie. And I think I were fortunate to 128 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:03.519 the Democratic Party we are still a political party, were 129 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:06.959 not a personality cult, and a lot of what you 130 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.199 see on the Republican side is you see the price 131 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.160 of anybody stepping out of line is either the end 132 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.839 of their political career or they have to come crawling back. 133 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.560 And you can look at someone like the Republican vice 134 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:24.519 presidential nominee j d Vance, who spent years attacking Trump 135 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:29.240 in extremely vicious ways as you know, America's next hitler, 136 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:33.000 and calling him like an opiate, you know, for people, 137 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.639 and saying that the tax on immigrants, you know, made 138 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.439 him feel sick to his stomach and things like that. 139 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:42.199 And of course he changed his tune and came crawling 140 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:45.560 back and sort of groveled before Trump, who endorsed him, 141 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:47.279 and he won a Senate race and now is the 142 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:50.240 vice president. You can see that with somebody like Nikki Haley, 143 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.199 who had some very courageous sounding things to say when 144 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.519 she was running against Trump earlier this year and said, 145 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.000 you know, she could never imagine wanting to support someone 146 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:03.959 like that who attacked military members like her husband. And unfortunately, 147 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:07.439 there she was at the Republican convention, coming back and 148 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:09.560 endorsing him and supporting him. And so I think it's 149 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:12.879 important as Democrats we remember it's not about one man 150 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:15.920 it's not about the party. It's about doing what's right 151 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:16.839 for the American people. 152 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:19.279 Let's go there, Elijah. 153 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:23.680 I think it's important because for me and most of 154 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:26.480 my rational friends, the great majority and you, I mean, 155 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.920 it's it's apparently something obvious to us, and the choice 156 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:36.919 is obvious. Yet, how how can you, as as a 157 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:41.480 politician get the message across, you know, in other words, 158 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:43.679 how I'm finding the right way to We're preaching to 159 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:47.080 the choir of One of the criticisms I get about 160 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:50.559 this podcast is that I tend to invite like minded people. 161 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:53.919 There's no tension, et cetera in that way. That and 162 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:56.600 that's not by choice. That seems to be just the 163 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:00.879 way it happens sometimes. Yet I guess the point that 164 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:03.039 I'm trying to make is that I'm certainly willing to 165 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:06.679 engage others who are willing to listen to facts, et cetera. 166 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:09.120 But yet we seem to get to a point where 167 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.639 people refuse to see what's obvious right in front of them. 168 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:16.720 And I know I would be frustrated. I am frustrated 169 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:19.759 as an individual, as a citizen, trying to deal with 170 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:23.240 people who refuse to see what's obviously in front of them, 171 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.000 so I can imagine what it must be for like 172 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:27.279 for someone running for office, and if I might just 173 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.279 finish to give an example, one of the things that 174 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.919 I said, you know, goes beyond politics. One of the 175 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:35.919 things that struck me early on in the ear the 176 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:38.759 first Trump campaign was when he made fun of a 177 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.440 disabled reporter who also happened to be a Pulitzer Prize winner. 178 00:09:42.759 --> 00:09:45.759 For me, that was an immediate deal breaker. Beyond that, 179 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:47.639 it's like, I don't need to know your politics. You're 180 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:49.960 not a good person. I would never do that, and 181 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.080 I don't know anyone else of my friends who would 182 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:56.159 do that. That's why they're my friends. So therefore and 183 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:00.399 so in an argument, I said that to when it 184 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:04.480 actually presented them with the video that was not doctorate, 185 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:08.480 and being a journalist, I could assure that this was 186 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:11.080 a live video and yet still. 187 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:14.720 Be in denial. How do you reach Elijah? 188 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:17.600 Can you reach people of that or do you simply 189 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:18.559 write them off? 190 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:22.320 I never want to write anybody off, but I think 191 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:27.360 we all have to recognize that some people are more 192 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:32.480 easily persuaded than others. And so as a political campaign, 193 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:36.080 I assume that as much as I might try. The 194 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:40.200 majority of people that consider themselves true believers in what 195 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:44.080 Donald Trump is selling are going to be a tough 196 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:46.600 crowd for me to reach. It doesn't mean I won't 197 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.000 go somewhere where I think there's Trump voters, or I 198 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:52.240 won't talk to people, and I'll always engage people fairly 199 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:55.039 and as humans and Americans, because I do think that 200 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:56.759 there's a lot that we share, and I try to 201 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:01.039 emphasize those common grounds. A lot of voters on the 202 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:05.039 right have bought into the spin from Fox News and 203 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.960 from some of the figures on the right like Trump, 204 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:13.200 that Democrats hate America, that the Democrats are communists or socialists, 205 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:17.480 or you know, you name the negative thing, that that's 206 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:20.679 what the Democratic Party is about. And when I have 207 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:24.559 conversations with conservative voters, I do try to talk about 208 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:29.000 values because I believe that we agree. I'm not a conservative, 209 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.120 but I believe in America. I am not a conservative, 210 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:35.159 but I believe that we have been, though not perfect, 211 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:38.480 clearly a force for good in the world, and that, 212 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:41.919 while not perfect, we have been moving this country in 213 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:47.039 a positive direction over the course of our history. I believe, 214 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:50.720 like you know, I think most Americans do, that markets 215 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:54.000 are and capitalism and the free market is a tremendous 216 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.919 innovation in history and has led to great prosperity and 217 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.759 wealth across the world, particularly here in the United States. 218 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.799 It doesn't mean we want no regulation on anything, or 219 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.080 to let you know, companies run wild and pollute our 220 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:10.399 rivers and you know, chuck down our forests and all 221 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:12.679 of that. And I don't think that most conservatives, if 222 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:15.200 you ask them, do either. And so I think that 223 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:19.320 finding these common values that truly I believe, if not 224 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:22.639 all Americans, certainly eighty five to ninety percent of people 225 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:26.200 except the ones that the extremes share, that's the way 226 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:28.879 to try to bridge the divide, talking about how we 227 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:31.799 believe things in common, and then we can get to 228 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.759 the facts, because you know, I can be there and 229 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.559 I can say. You may think democrats are communists. I'm 230 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:40.000 not a communist. I'm not a you know, I don't 231 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:41.879 believe any of this stuff, and neither do most people 232 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:42.240 I know. 233 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.799 Interesting, right, let's talk about the new ticket and a 234 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:50.440 tremendous amount of excitement. It's kind of renewed hope. I 235 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.039 felt it with my partner, a man who we were 236 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.879 watching together. It translated well through the television, not seeing 237 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:59.879 them live, but talk a little bit about the Kamala 238 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.759 Walt's ticket and what your feelings are. Are you as 239 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:06.519 excited as most Democrats seem to be. 240 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.279 I'm very excited. I would like to make sure fundamentally 241 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:12.600 we have a presidential candidate who's going to win this election, 242 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:16.600 because the stakes are extraordinarily high for our future. Well 243 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:19.480 nearly every issue you could think about, from reproductive rights, 244 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.480 to the shape of our economy, to our foreign policy 245 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:26.080 in Israel and Ukraine and across the world, it matters 246 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.240 tremendously who we elect. And clearly Kamala Harris has injected 247 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:35.399 a tremendous dose of optimism, of energy, and of hope 248 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:39.200 that I think Democrats have been craving. It's been many, 249 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.480 many years since we have seen the energy and the 250 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:47.240 crowds that she's generating, and that is I'm not shocked 251 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:49.120 in a way. I mean, it's wonderful to see. And 252 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:51.399 you know, a month ago, it was hard to imagine 253 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:54.879 how we could get from there to hear. But Democrats 254 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.320 have been hungry for a fighter. They've been hungry for 255 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:00.320 somebody with the energy to go out take the case 256 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.440 against Trump on the road and do it in a 257 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:06.000 way that makes people feel good about the future, that 258 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:09.720 makes them feel like this isn't just about a last 259 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.159 ditch attempt to prevent the rise of someone that we 260 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:18.399 all fear, but actually about building something better going forward. 261 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.039 And I think that what Kamala has been able to 262 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:26.360 do is convey that optimistic vision that America is not 263 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:30.159 doomed to just be fighting the same battles forever, that 264 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.399 if we can win, we can actually put the country 265 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:36.559 back onto a better track, try to restore as much 266 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:39.360 of our prosperity as we can, and hopefully put this 267 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:44.600 dark chapter of grievance and anger and the sort of 268 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:48.960 you know world of Trump's I think disordered personality behind 269 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:52.080 us and move forward in the way that I think 270 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:53.840 a majority of Americans would like to do. 271 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:57.240 It might be rhetorical question, but why do you think 272 00:14:57.240 --> 00:14:59.919 it took to Democrats so long? I mean, we heard 273 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:02.600 with oh, there's no bench, and then all of a sudden, 274 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:06.440 especially with the search for the for the vice president 275 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:10.159 prior vice presidential candidate, excuse me, and meeting some of 276 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.639 these governors and from other states who are incredibly dynamic, 277 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:17.840 including the one that was chosen I said, like, wow, 278 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:20.480 where have these people been and why don't we know 279 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.039 more about them until now? 280 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:23.919 Why do you think that happened? 281 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:27.240 I mean, I don't have a good answer for you, 282 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:29.440 sort of because why do we know more about them 283 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:31.519 is really a function of how does the national media 284 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.559 choose to cover statewide candidates. So I guess you know, 285 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.960 the national media general is not interested in state politics, 286 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:42.879 so that's probably a big piece of it. I mean, 287 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.320 it took a while because it's a very hard thing 288 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.559 for you know, the president was the president, he is 289 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:55.519 the president, and generally if the president incumbent president says 290 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:59.039 I want to run for reelection, parties typically don't deny 291 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.840 their incomb's a second chance at the nomination. There's been, 292 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:08.480 I believe, if I'm correct, in the twentieth century and 293 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:10.919 on into the twenty first. I don't think there has 294 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:14.399 been any instance where an incumbent president wanted to run 295 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:17.799 again and was prevented by their party from doing so. 296 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:20.840 So that's fundamentally why we got what we got, because 297 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:26.799 the president wanted to run and there's no single powerful force. 298 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:28.960 As you said, many of these governors seem like they 299 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.919 are great and they've got a good political future ahead 300 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:34.639 of them. But they're not national figures, and so there 301 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:37.200 was no national figure that could have stood up and said, 302 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:40.039 I don't care if President Biden wants to run, I'm 303 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:42.240 going to do it too. Let's have a primary and 304 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.080 do it. I don't think that had any of these people, 305 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:49.559 had Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Tim Walls, who has chosen 306 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:52.399 any of the other governors we've talked about, decided they 307 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.919 wanted to run last year, that they would have really 308 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:00.159 gotten very far. Because Biden has universal name recognition of 309 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:04.079 goodwill among the Democratic primary voters, and to be confronted 310 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:07.200 by someone who was fundamentally kind of unknown, I think 311 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.680 wouldn't have led too much of an outcome. And folks 312 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:15.160 were worried, rightly so, about weakening an incumbent candidate who 313 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.599 might then go on to win the nomination anyway, but 314 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:21.240 be facing, you know, weakened in the general election against Trump, 315 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:23.119 and I don't think people wanted to take that role. 316 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.319 So the only primary you really saw was between you know, 317 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.400 kind of crazy people like Mary and Williamson and you know, 318 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:35.039 sort of backbench Congressman Dean Phillips, who nobody has a 319 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:39.079 clue still who he is, and I think it's it's 320 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:42.839 a challenge to primary president, and the president clearly felt 321 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:44.759 that he was up to the job and he was 322 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:47.079 ready to go, and he'd beaten Trump once and he 323 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:51.440 could do it again, and that I think ultimately, you know, 324 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:54.680 had his health been better, might have been true, but 325 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:57.680 given the realities of where it seems he's at, is 326 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.680 not true, and so luckily he made the decision to beside. 327 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.279 I think you mentioned something interesting too about coverage and 328 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.319 knowledge of local and et cetera. It seems that, you know, 329 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:12.079 synergy needs to be created and it starts at the top. 330 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:15.720 So how important are top of the ticket candidates to 331 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:20.799 local elections. I mean, we've seen it, generally speaking in 332 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:26.400 the big obviously US Senate, presidential et cetera, that local 333 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:29.240 elections tend to kind of fall in line what happens 334 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:32.039 with the big guys. If you will, do you do 335 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:35.039 you feel that that's the case, that it's very important 336 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:38.200 that at the top of the ticket does well so 337 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:40.519 that it does filter down to the other candidates, the 338 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:41.160 local ones. 339 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.799 Yes, it's extremely important. Over the last fifty years or so, 340 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:50.559 there's been a tremendous decline in split ticket voting. Most 341 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:55.279 voters these days do not go Democratic for some races 342 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.680 Republican for another. They will either vote for the top 343 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:00.559 of the ticket for president or for governor if it 344 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:04.160 was a gubernatorial year, and they'll vote all the way. 345 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.279 So if they're going to come out and vote for Harris, 346 00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:08.079 they're going to vote for the rest of the Democratic ticket. 347 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:10.240 If they're voting for Trump, they vote the rest of 348 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.200 the Republicans. That's obviously not one hundred percent of voters 349 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.680 do that, but in election after election, studies show that 350 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.720 it's these days eighty five to ninety percent of voters 351 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.960 do not vote across party lines, and they may not 352 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.240 vote the same party each year. There are still obviously 353 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.480 independent voters and folks who in a particular year might 354 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:32.519 lean for the Democrats, in a different year might lean 355 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:36.680 for the Republicans. But having a strong candidate at the 356 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.200 top of the ticket is absolutely important for people who 357 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.079 are running further down the ballot. I'm going to run, 358 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:45.519 and I have been running a very vigorous campaign. I 359 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:47.720 served for two years. Certainly a lot more people know 360 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:50.000 me than they did before I got into the politics, 361 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.079 but no matter what I do, there's going to be 362 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:54.319 a large number of voters that don't pay any attention 363 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.160 to state politics, and they're going to be out this 364 00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:00.279 year to vote for Trump or for Harris. And if 365 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:02.799 they're voting for Harris, the vast majority of those people 366 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:05.079 are going to vote for me too, not even necessarily 367 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:07.920 because they know about my campaign, but just because they're 368 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.400 voting for Harris. She's a Democrat. I'm a Democrat, and 369 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.480 vice versa. Obviously, the vast majority of Trump voters will 370 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:15.480 vote for my opponent, even if they have no idea 371 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:19.240 who he is, because he's a Republican. Trump's Republican, so 372 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.039 strong top of the ticket makes a very big difference. 373 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.960 Two years ago, it was a huge uphill battle for 374 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:28.759 me and other people running in Rockland because at the 375 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.480 top of the ticket, Governor Hokel ran extremely poorly in 376 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.599 this area and lost Rockland County, although she won New 377 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.319 York State, but lost Rockland County by a twelve point 378 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:45.160 margin fifty six to forty four, trailing leez Elden. And 379 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.160 so for me running for reelection in the Senate, needing 380 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.680 to find several thousand, I mean, about twelve percent of 381 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:57.079 the electorate that was voting for a Republican governor. Needing 382 00:20:57.119 --> 00:20:59.240 to bring them back to vote for a Democratic Senate 383 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:02.000 candidate was a tall order. We got a number of 384 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.240 them and only lost by about three percent, not eleven 385 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.039 or twelve. But it still means you have to find 386 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:11.279 a lot of people voting Republican up the ballot to 387 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:13.640 come and vote Democratic down the ballot. And that's hard. 388 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:14.920 It's hard for any candidate. 389 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:17.960 I want to visit that in more detail after the 390 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:20.400 commercial break in a few minutes, but I do want 391 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:22.039 to talk a little bit about some of the things 392 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:24.440 that you've changed, how you're running a different campaign now 393 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:26.880 than what you were at that time. But let's hold 394 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:28.880 off on that because a few more things to go 395 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:32.160 over there that you mentioned, And there's the slogan, all 396 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:35.480 politics are local. I mean, things that are national certainly 397 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:38.359 affect us, and I think and i'd like to get 398 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:40.319 your feelings on some of them that are certainly going 399 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:42.200 to filter down, and you mentioned a few of them, 400 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:50.960 the immigration situation, the abortion and civil rights, homelessness, LGBT rights, etc. 401 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.480