WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:02.839 Hudson River Radio dot com. 2 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:04.480 It beats listening to nothing. 3 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:10.359 My goodness, Being Frank, where the only way to be 4 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:17.039 is Frank. Hello everyone, and welcome to Being Frank, where 5 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:20.600 the only way to be is well, Frank. I'm your host, 6 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:22.679 Frank Wereborne, and I'd like to thank you for joining 7 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:26.719 us on what we like to call the Intelligent Conversation podcast, 8 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:30.320 where no conversations out of bounds and all points of 9 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:33.479 view are welcome. We record live to tape, and I 10 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:35.920 always give you the date so you have some context 11 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:40.240 and relevance. It's the fifteenth of May, when my guest 12 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:43.640 applied for and was granted permission to attend Congressman Mike 13 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:47.359 Lawler's town hall meeting on May third and somers New York. 14 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:51.039 She knew was bound to be contentious, of course, just 15 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.159 how much so couldn't have been predicted by her or 16 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:58.119 anyone else for that matter. Lawler, a Republican, represents the 17 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:02.640 area's seventeenth congressional district and is currently running for reelection. 18 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:05.760 Is considered by both parties as one of the most 19 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:09.239 important elections on the national stage, as the seat will 20 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.959 be key on who will control Congress. In the previous election, 21 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:16.599 Lawler staged an upset with a win in a traditionally 22 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:20.159 blue area. However, since then he has been dogged by 23 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:25.760 criticism that he talks one way and votes another. Despite 24 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.760 presenting himself as the GOP's moderate voice of reason, his 25 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:33.319 votes tend to be very much along party lines, citing 26 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:38.719 most often with President Donald J. Trump. His constituents regularly 27 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.120 made requests for a public town hall style meeting where 28 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:46.200 they could ask the congressman questions in real time. However, 29 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:51.000 despite promising them, Laura did not schedule any until recently, 30 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:54.159 and that turned out to be a disaster. During that 31 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:57.799 first meeting in late April, held in Rockland County, Lawler 32 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:01.159 was roundly booed and frequently in interrupted by the crowd, 33 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:06.159 who found his responses to questions as evasive and therefore unacceptable. 34 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:09.919 They came for answers and felt that they got none. 35 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:13.000 With that in mind, Lawler's camp dug in and instituted 36 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.360 strict rules in additional security measures for the Somers meeting. 37 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:21.639 Registrations and IDAs would be required, amongst other things, Questions 38 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:24.039 would have to be submitted in advance, and follow ups 39 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.199 would be limited. As my guests observed during the meeting, 40 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:31.280 Lawler had no real interest in addressing their actual concerns 41 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.680 by directly answering the questions. Instead, he treated it more 42 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:39.800 like a campaign rally. So when my guest's frustration reached 43 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:43.400 the breaking point, she pressed the congressman by blurting out 44 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:46.960 from her chair, I'm paraphrasing where you draw your red 45 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:50.520 line when it comes to President Trump's agenda? A completely 46 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.759 legitimate question and one that many others in the crowd 47 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:57.199 wants it answered as well. But instead of diffusing the 48 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:01.560 situation by simply answering the question, lawless people doubled down 49 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:05.639 and used five burly New York State troopers to forcibly 50 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:08.960 remove my guest when she refused to leave for disrupting 51 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.560 the meeting. Now, if you could see just how diminutive 52 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.879 she is, you would understand the absurdity of using that 53 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.520 kind of brute force. It was obviously designed to send 54 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:23.360 a message that descent to us approved would be crushed. 55 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.159 The backlash was swift and overwhelming, with My guests becoming 56 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:32.759 an overnight celebrity, granting interviews to multiple news outlets around 57 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:36.360 the country and world. The feedback has been both positive, 58 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.120 with many praising her for what the late John Lewis 59 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:42.400 called good trouble and negative, with others saying she got 60 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.560 what she deserved for not following the rules. One thing 61 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.000 is for certain, the Act changed her life forever. So 62 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:51.759 that any further ado, Let's meet the latest defender of 63 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.039 the First Amendment, Emily Finer. Emily, thanks so much for 64 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:57.280 joining us, and I met what I said. You're a 65 00:03:57.319 --> 00:03:59.919 busy lady right now. You're very much in demand. 66 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:04.599 Well, fortunately my fifteen minutes is starting to wayne, so 67 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:07.439 it's getting a little less hectic. But thank you. It's 68 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:09.240 nice to be here, Frank, and. 69 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:10.639 I'm going to talk a little bit about that the 70 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:16.319 effects that instant overnight fame, especially in today's social media world, 71 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:18.399 can mean for you. And we'll get to that, but 72 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.000 first let's talk a little bit about Emily Feiner. You 73 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:24.839 have a long biography, impressive as a social worker, But 74 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:26.920 why don't you tell us what you think is most 75 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.360 important that people should know about you in your background? 76 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:34.680 Oh my goodness, I don't know what's most important. I 77 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:39.720 think that what people don't know is that I grew 78 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:46.079 up in a family of activists. My father was a 79 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:51.000 litigant in a Supreme Court case that was about his 80 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:55.560 First Amendment right to free speech, and he went to 81 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:00.879 jail at the end of that court case. That's widely 82 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:04.680 held up as a as a real mistake and an 83 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:10.040 example of McCarthyism and the evils it brought to this country. 84 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:14.639 What just what year was that, Emily, I might do 85 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:15.920 you recall it was. 86 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:19.120 Decided in nineteen fifty. He was arrested in nineteen forty 87 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.680 nine for making a street corner speech in defense of 88 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:24.040 black civil rights. 89 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:26.560 It gives thank you. 90 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.800 Yeah. So I grew up in a family that, you know, 91 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.639 on the weekends we were often protesting. I grew up 92 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:41.079 protesting the Vietnam War. I grew up marching for the 93 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.519 rights of working people to organize. I grew up marching 94 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:49.959 for civil rights. So being an active member of my 95 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:53.879 community is not, you know, foreign to me. I certainly 96 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:59.920 was raised to do that. But I had never encounter 97 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:06.879 the kind of sort of state sponsored violence and state 98 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:12.839 sponsored restriction of my rights like I did that night 99 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:15.720 at the Lawlertown Hall. 100 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:18.079 We're going to talk about that, obviously in much more 101 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.879 detail as our conversation continues, But you know what I knew, 102 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:25.879 your father, Irving Finer I was kind of a trusted friend. 103 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:28.240 I was in media, so he would often come to 104 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:32.759 me for advice, media advice about certain things in his platform. 105 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:36.759 And I always found him brilliant, but to be completely transparent, 106 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.720 he could be irascible, let's say, at times, because he 107 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.800 was so strong in his opinions. And I used to 108 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:46.639 say that, you know, politics is a complicated thing. You know, 109 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.040 people have to like the message, but they also have 110 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:53.480 to like the person delivering the message. What did you 111 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:55.519 take from him in his role? As I said, he 112 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:58.319 was very strong, He was a hardcore social and he 113 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:00.839 was brilliant. I mean I loved to talk to him, 114 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:05.240 but he could also this is be intimidating, partially because 115 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:08.040 of his brilliance and he was, but also, as I said, 116 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:10.680 his straightforward, kind of, for lack of a better word, 117 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:14.040 in your face personality. How did you balance that and 118 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.600 what did you take from that? 119 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:18.079 Oh? 120 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:18.399 Boy? 121 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:25.360 So I think you know, in my younger years, I 122 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:30.439 was sort of embarrassed by my father's presentation and harascibility. 123 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.600 You know, I have a very clear memory of being 124 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:38.680 at a political you know, a night where the election 125 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:43.879 returns were coming in and my father, who must have 126 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:48.839 been in his sixties at that point, charging you know, 127 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.920 at much younger men in there were, like forties, because 128 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:56.360 he was pissed off at the Clarkstown Democrats and I 129 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.839 was mortified. It's really funny, though, over the last couple 130 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:07.240 of years, I've understood my father so much better because 131 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.759 you know, I remember one saying to him, why do 132 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.199 you do this? Like why so over the top, And 133 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:16.959 he would say, because it gets their attention when you 134 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:20.720 do it politely, it doesn't. And you know, my dad 135 00:08:20.759 --> 00:08:24.519 developed his style in many ways as a reflection of 136 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:28.879 one of his great heroes, Vito Marcantonio, who was a 137 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:34.200 belief openly. I think he was elected as an open 138 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:39.840 socialist to the United States Congress. And Vito Marcantonio he 139 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.039 wrote a book called I Vote My Conscience. He's a 140 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:47.759 really wonderful historical figure and spoke the truth at a 141 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:52.840 time when people weren't. And he apparently had the same 142 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:56.759 style as speaking. And I think my father really gloned 143 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:01.039 on too that. He also, as a boy, knew Feararella LaGuardia. 144 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:06.879 His parents owned his candy shop in Harlem and then 145 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:10.200 in the Bronx, and Fiarella LaGuardia would come to the 146 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:15.080 candy shop when he demanded that all the little slot 147 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.240 machines get taken out of all the little mom and 148 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:22.440 pop shops across the city because they were bankrupting working people. 149 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:26.759 My grandfather made a deal with Varela LaGuardia that he 150 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:29.600 could keep the slot machine because this was at the 151 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:32.279 height of the depression. He could keep the slot machine 152 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:36.879 long enough to pay for his daughter, Regina, to complete 153 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:43.320 her degree at NYU in music, and LaGuardia agreed and 154 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.440 then came to the shop when my aunt graduated college, 155 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:49.559 had a drink with my grandfather and they chopped up 156 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:52.799 the one arm bandit. So I think, you know, he 157 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:57.279 was emulating these folks. For me, that's not exactly my style. 158 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:01.320 But I can also be pretty heed it and passionate 159 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:05.159 about things. And I understand now why it was hard 160 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:08.120 for him to control himself. When you see people around 161 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:14.759 you ignoring evil and promoting evil, and you see people dying, 162 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:18.759 you see people suffering, you see families touring apart. If 163 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:22.679 you're not really angry, I think there's something wrong with you. 164 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:28.240 Yeah, you know, And with perfect segue, and so let's 165 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.399 get into some detail about what happened that day in 166 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:35.519 somers it's all leading to that. You know, the mindset, 167 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:41.080 your background, et cetera. So lead Obviously we've spoken in 168 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:45.480 you know, pre programming interviews, et cetera, and I gather 169 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:50.200 it wasn't in your mind necessarily directly to be disruptive. 170 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:53.440 I think people have to understand that, because some of 171 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:56.399 the negative comments have printed to you as an agitator, 172 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:58.840 that you went in there with the attitude that you 173 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:00.720 are going to break up the meat no matter what. 174 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.399 But I don't get that from you. So lead us 175 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.919 in what was your mindset going into the meeting in 176 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:10.679 the first place, and then we'll go through what happened 177 00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:13.360 as the meeting went along. But what kind of mindset 178 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:15.200 did you approach it in the first place. 179 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:20.879 Yeah, so let me just say I am a five 180 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:29.879 foot woman. I don't like crowds. And while I'm certainly 181 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:32.480 pretty assertive and I have no problem speaking up when 182 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:35.200 I am in a large group of people, that's almost 183 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:37.720 the last thing I want to do. I really want 184 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:42.519 to just sort of blend in. And while I have 185 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:47.960 been really active in both electoral and issue oriented politics, 186 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.399 I've always supported other people. It's not like I want 187 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.480 to be the spot by I was elected twice to 188 00:11:55.559 --> 00:11:58.919 public office, and then in a third run, I was 189 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.000 defeated for a higher I've never put myself out there again. 190 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:04.600 It's like not my thing. So let me just say 191 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:09.519 that I went there not even prepared to ask a 192 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:14.039 question because I didn't know what the process would be, 193 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.480 and I was sort of I thought, oh, they'll never 194 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:19.200 call it me, you know, like there's hundreds of people. 195 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.279 But I was there because I wanted to see for 196 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:28.440 myself and hear for myself how the congressman would answer questions. 197 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:31.480 And I wanted to be supportive of my neighbors who 198 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:35.679 are you know, we are all really concerned about what's 199 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.080 happening in our country. And so I was there to 200 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:42.360 lend my presence to this cause, to be part of 201 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:48.480 a group of people seeking answers and trying to sway 202 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:52.039 their congressperson to do the work that they were elected 203 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:55.559 to do. I did not go there with any intention 204 00:12:55.679 --> 00:12:57.120 of disrupting anything. 205 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:01.840 Yeah, I think it's important to make that point because 206 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:07.120 there have been again false accusations of paid prose testers 207 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:11.240 coming to these meetings. I mean, Indivisible Rockland has been 208 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:15.000 running some of them, and you've seen what I put 209 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:19.240 the promo out for your appearance, some of the comments 210 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:23.320 and one in particular about how people were it's part 211 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.639 of it's part of an organized plan by individual Rockland 212 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:31.399 to disrupt and damage, et cetera. And I have no 213 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.480 I have no evidence of that, and no one else 214 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:36.320 has been able to produce any evidence of that. So 215 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:37.639 talk to that a little bit. 216 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.559 Well, you know. So one of the things that's really 217 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:43.559 been fascinating about this for me is what happens when 218 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:47.080 you go viral, And what's really clear to me is 219 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:51.320 that everybody projects onto you what they want you to be. 220 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.679 You lose your individuality, which is why I really appreciate 221 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:58.480 the opportunity to talk to you and speak for myself 222 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:01.639 because I have seeing things said about me, I mean, 223 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:05.039 by people who support me that just aren't true. You know, 224 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:08.399 I would never claim to be a moderate. I have 225 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:11.200 seen that I am a moderate who has supported both 226 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:14.639 Republicans and Democrats, because in one interview I was asked, 227 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:18.159 have you ever voted Republican? And I answered truthfully, yes, 228 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.720 I have. Twice, nobody asked me who those Republicans were, 229 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:25.080 when or why, so they assumed I was a moderate. 230 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:28.519 I think if you know, if they had asked, they 231 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.039 would not have come away with that with that impression. 232 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:40.919 But also this notion that I went with Indivisible Rockland, 233 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:47.840 of all of all groups to disrupt this event is 234 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:52.840 really ironic because I have had some real problems with 235 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:58.919 Indivisible nationally as well as locally. I have real concerns 236 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:04.000 about that group and that movement, and then the leaders 237 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:07.399 locally I've had some disagreements with, and I've been really 238 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.480 reticent to join with them. So I have been going 239 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:14.960 to Tesla takedowns that have nothing to do with Indivisible Rockland, 240 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:18.279 and I went to a couple of their events. That 241 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:22.840 is true, But to think that I would be working 242 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:26.000 with them behind the scenes to have this happen is 243 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:33.639 really silly and really indicates that somebody doesn't know me 244 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:42.159 and and sort of the internal workings of Rockland County politics. 245 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:47.000 It's just sort of weird Fox News o an news 246 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.519 talking points that don't at all speak to the reality. 247 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:55.200 Let's talk about those talking points and reality, because you 248 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.120 mentioned social media, and even before then, we tend to 249 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:03.000 live in a SoundBite world, segmented, and I think mostly 250 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:06.559 everybody has seen the segment of you being carried out, 251 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:10.159 but it doesn't really provide all the context of what 252 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.879 led up to it. So if you could walk us 253 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:17.240 through exactly what happened, what you did to quote unquote 254 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.519 provoke this response, your response to their response, et cetera. 255 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:25.799 But let's begin setting up what was going down before 256 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.600 you were literally removed from the meeting. If you could, 257 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:32.000 it helps us with some context of exactly what went on. 258 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:36.720 Yeah. So I've been to a lot of meetings with 259 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:39.679 a lot of different public elected officials. I have never 260 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:45.039 ever seen anything like this. This was you know, I 261 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.399 visited the White House. I think it was easier than 262 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:55.399 this getting in. You know, when you when you drove 263 00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:01.279 into the venue, you were stopped at the entrance by 264 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:06.160 one of Lawler's staff members who required that you produced 265 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:09.039 the QR code that was sent to us to get in. 266 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:12.079 It was essentially the ticket to show that we had 267 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:15.759 in fact been registered for the event. We did that, 268 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.759 then we parked and we had to stand in a 269 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:20.960 line in the rain. They made us wait in the 270 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:24.920 rain and then opened the doors, and in order to 271 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:28.799 get in, you had to produce that QR code one 272 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:32.200 more time and then show an ID that showed that 273 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.359 you were a resident of the district, and that was 274 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:38.799 to also a lawler staffer who also had a list 275 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.640 of all of us. I think it was checking us off. 276 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:43.960 Then you walked into the venue and we were wanded 277 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:48.440 as though we were going to a concert. Then we 278 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.880 had to go to a table and give our name. 279 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:56.759 They found us on their list, checked us off, gave 280 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.119 us like a little raffle ticket, and tore off the 281 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.920 other piece and put our first initial and our last 282 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:05.880 name on that piece and put it in a little 283 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:09.720 barrel that was used to pick out the questioners from 284 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:13.440 And a member of the press later told me that 285 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:17.279 the reason why they did that was the press would 286 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:20.720 not be able to contact questioners afterwards because they would 287 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:24.240 not have their full names. So I was called as 288 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.119 e Finer, not Emily Finer. How would they know who 289 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:32.160 I was? And then we still are not done yet, Frank, 290 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:36.640 because then you had to walk towards the door to 291 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:41.880 get into the auditorium, and there was this huge stand 292 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:48.519 up sign with rules for the event, and those rules 293 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:52.519 were no standing up, no taking pictures, no taking video, 294 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:57.839 no taking audio, be polite, no calling out things that 295 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:04.240 clearly indicated that Mike, congressperson wasn't there to hear the 296 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:08.599 concerns of his constituents. He was there to try to 297 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.640 have a controlled event that he could use to promote himself. 298 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:18.960 Because anybody who's watching the news or looking at social media, 299 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.279 or or you know, driving down the street, quite frankly 300 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:30.279 knows that the electorate is not happy. That people are 301 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:35.440 pretty angry, they are frightened, and they need to know 302 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:38.960 that Congress is going to do their job of oversight. 303 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:41.880 And he didn't want to hear that. That was pretty clear, 304 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.119 so that there were these there were these rules, and 305 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:49.200 you had to verbally say to his staff person, yes, 306 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:53.319 I agree to the rules, and they would not let 307 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:54.519 you in unless you said that. 308 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.799 It was really people. People can't see my jaw dropp 309 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:04.599 It was chilling. The only stream my George just hit 310 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:05.240 the floor. 311 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.759 Yes, it was. It was chilling. It was intimidating. It 312 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:10.200 was clearly meant to tell. 313 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:15.759 Everybody you will, you will toe them. 314 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:22.880 Are absolutely, then it's not over yet. We were not 315 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:25.799 allowed to go find our seats. We had to be 316 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:31.559 escorted to seats by another lawlor staffer, so they knew 317 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:37.720 exactly where people were seated. People reported to me that 318 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.519 these staffers, random staffers who they did not know, knew 319 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:45.480 their first names. They were clearly sitting people where they 320 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:50.119 wanted them and assigning their staffers to keep an eye 321 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:53.920 on us. That I mean, I truly believe that. And 322 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:59.000 Aaron Crowley was my staffer who was on me from 323 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:03.240 the beginning of the eating gave me two warnings right away. 324 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:07.519 And I wasn't calling out Frank. I mean, I may 325 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:11.200 have had a raised voice, but I kept saying to 326 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.920 the people around me, my husband, my friend, you know, 327 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.680 oh my god, he's not answering the questions. I was 328 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:21.000 not screaming and yelling. 329 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:23.839 You were involved in effuse, Okay, I was exclaiming, yeah, 330 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:24.599 as I would be. 331 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:29.559 You know, there's four layers of security at this at 332 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:33.359 this event. There are the lawlor staffers, There are the 333 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:36.880 somers police who were managing the traffic in and out 334 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:42.119 of the venue. There were private security, and there were 335 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:47.279 the New York State troopers. Mister Lawler is very scared 336 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:52.119 of his constituents, that's all I can I can imagine. So, 337 00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:56.400 and if you're scared of your constituents, you probably don't 338 00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:02.599 respect them a whole lot. So the event they started 339 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:07.559 asking questions. They rolled the little barrel that they had 340 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:11.839 put all the little tickets in. The first questioner, surprisingly 341 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:16.559 was my husband, and he was not prepared to answer 342 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:19.880 your question or ask a question. And he got up 343 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:24.440 and he did ask a question, and Congressman Lawler, I 344 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:28.079 guess he answered Chris's question, I think. And then there 345 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.599 were a few other questions, and there was this pattern of, 346 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:33.920 you know, him taking the question and then pivoting to 347 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:36.599 what he wanted to talk about, so never really quite 348 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:42.279 answering the questioner's points, and people were calling him on it, 349 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:44.640 and people were yelling and saying, you know, you didn't 350 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.960 answer the question, or what about the second part, that 351 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:49.359 kind of thing, and he stopped at one point and said, okay, 352 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:52.039 I'll answer the second part, So you know, he was 353 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:55.839 aware that people were upset about that. I was then 354 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:58.799 called I was like the fourth or fifth questioner. I 355 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:01.319 was called. I stood up, I asked the question. You 356 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:05.240 saw the question. I told you I didn't have a 357 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:09.440 question prepared, which is true. So when they called my name, 358 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:12.920 I turned to my friends and I said I don't 359 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:15.160 have a question, and a friend of mine said, I 360 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.559 have one, you want it? I said yes, So you know, 361 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:20.200 it was a great question, but I am not going 362 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.839 to take responsibility for it because I did not write 363 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:28.000 that question, but I asked it, and it was, what's 364 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:30.599 your red line? What will it finally take for you 365 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:35.880 to exercise your constitutional duty of oversight against a lawless administration? 366 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.759 And he didn't answer that. He spoke nothing about what 367 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:43.119 his red line would be when he would be willing 368 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:47.119 to shut this down. He talked about the appropriations process 369 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:50.920 because that's what he wanted to talk about. And I 370 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:55.000 think that that's about his line that he voted for 371 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.799 the budget, but it doesn't even mention Medicaid and Social 372 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:00.519 Security and he's going to get the salt and you 373 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:05.279 know all that stuff. So everybody at that point was 374 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:09.240 groaning and exclaiming, including me, and I said, answer the question. 375 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:12.359 And I did call out when I said answer the question. 376 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:15.720 But I want to be really clear. My behavior was 377 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:19.880 consistent with the behavior of eighty to ninety percent of 378 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:22.119 the people in that hall. And I was not nearly 379 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:24.640 as loud as most of them, and I was not 380 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:30.680 as profane. I wasn't cursing, I wasn't I wasn't, you. 381 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:36.440 Know, hysterical. It wasn't like a screaming, angry, hysterical voice. 382 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:37.640 You wouldn't describe. 383 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:41.400 It as he's not answering the question. That's how I 384 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:41.799 said it. 385 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:45.720 Okay, right there, Why do you think then you were single? 386 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:49.720 We have to find out what happened. But obviously, but 387 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:52.240 continuing then, I want to ask that question, why a 388 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:55.240 bar of all people, with so many people calling out, 389 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:57.759 why you? But but please continue with the process. Then 390 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.319 what happened? 391 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.799 So my question was over. He didn't answer it. The 392 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.519 next person asked a question. It was about terriffs, and 393 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:12.559 at that point Congressman Lawler said something to the effect of, 394 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.680 you need to understand the tariffs only impact the cost 395 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:22.480 of imported goods. They don't affect the cost of domestic goods. 396 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:25.799 And everybody in the place was like groaning and calling out, 397 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:30.079 and I said, oh my god, he doesn't even understand 398 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:34.960 basic economics in a voice like that. But Aaron Crowley 399 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:38.640 was standing right near me and said, that's it. You've 400 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:43.440 been warned twice. This is your third time. You're out 401 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:49.480