Podcasts about democratic congressional

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Arizona voters turning against Donald Trump over his disaster policies and Meiselas interviews Democratic Congressional candidate Deja Foxx about what she's seeing in the state. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The West Coast seafood industry is caught in the crosshairs of tariff uncertainty. International orders have been canceled, which impacts Oregon workers. Industry leaders and Oregon’s Democratic Congressional delegation have asked the US Department of Agriculture to step in. Lori Steele is the executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association. She joins us with details of the challenges facing the industry.

Democratic Oregon U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter traveled to El Salvador, along with three other Democratic Congressional representatives, to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Maryland resident was sent to El Salvador last month without a court hearing and despite a 2019 order from an immigration judge that barred his deportation. The Trump administration has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the El Salvadoran gang MS-13 and engaging in human trafficking.  Last week, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland traveled to El Salvador where he was eventually able to meet with Abrego Garcia. Rep. Dexter joins us to explain why she also decided to make a trip there, which she argues is less about Abrego Garcia’s particular case and more fundamentally about the constitutional right to due process. The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return from detention, which it has refused to do. 

On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast that aims to recreate the kinds of conversations that happen when you get political reporters from across Iowa together after the day's deadlines have been met. Tackling anything from local to state to national, On Iowa Politics is your weekly dose of analysis and insight into the issues affecting Iowa.This week on the podcast: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is coming to Iowa. Plus, a bill to make catfish noodling legal in Iowa advances.This episode was hosted by the Gazette Des Moines Bureau Chief Erin Murphy. It features Lee Des Moines Bureau Chief Maya Marchel Hoff, Gazette Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Barton and Jared McNett of the Sioux City Journal.This episode was produced by Gazette Social Video Producer Bailey Cichon. Comments: erin.murphy@thegazette.com, bailey.cichon@thegazette.com

Hosts: Leah Murray & Adam Gardiner It’s the final day before the election and all hands are on deck. As everyone focuses on the presidential race, we can’t not also talk about Congress. Republicans and Democratic Congressional leaders are fighting to maintain their positions, and even expand their reach. What are House and Senate leaders doing in this final push to win or keep control?

Hosts: Leah Murray, Adam Gardiner, and Andy Cupp Harris or Trump: Will either affect Utah’s legislative priorities in 2025?If former President Donald Trump wins tomorrow, will that affect priorities for the Utah Legislature in the next general session? What if Vice President Kamala Harris wins? We begin this special pre-election KSL at Night bringing the presidential election down to the local level, examining the potential effects of a Trump or Harris presidency on Utah state politics. Frontrunner presidential candidate in Iowa flips from Trump to HarrisThe final Iowa Poll of this election came out over the weekend and it now shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading in this ruby-red state. Former President Donald Trump won Iowa in 2016 and 2020, and was leading there until just recently. What possibly changed to give Harris this kind of momentum boost? The KSL at Night hosts share their theories. Control over Congress up in the air; leaders fighting to keep their positionsIt’s the final day before the election and all hands are on deck. As everyone focuses on the presidential race, we can’t not also talk about Congress. Republicans and Democratic Congressional leaders are fighting to maintain their positions, and even expand their reach. What are House and Senate leaders doing in this final push to win or keep control? Is Election Day special anymore?In a by-mail voting world, is Election Day special anymore? Back in the day, you would vote in-person after market day – this is why Election Day falls on a Tuesday. But nowadays, it’s basically turned into Election Season. So why is a specific day important, or even needed? Listen for a bit of a history lesson as hosts Adam Gardiner and Leah Murray discuss the future. Discussing the Electoral College – its past, present, and futureOne thing that often comes up during a presidential election is the difference between the popular vote and the Electoral College vote. Just because a candidate wins the most costs doesn’t mean that they win the presidency – it all comes down to the states and the electoral votes a candidate receives. Ahead of the election results, let’s take a few minutes to discuss the Electoral College. Detoxing America’s ‘toxic’ political environmentAs we’ve seen in this election – and really any election – politics can be controversial and sometimes even toxic. Why is this? Is it because it’s just part of human nature? And if it is super toxic, does that mean all hope is lost. Samantha Moore-Berg, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah joins the show to discuss some research she’s recently done on toxicity in politics. How our media choices affect our political viewsAn important part of voting is being informed. And that often means we’re looking up news and media to find out more about candidates and issues. Obviously, each kind of news or media source has some kind of bias, so what do you do to find good information? We share some thoughts on the media sources that help us find common ground rather than divide us further. Final pre-election thoughts on KSL at NightOn the eve of Election Night, we finish the show discussing the future. KSL at Night producer Andy Cupp and KSL at Night host Leah Murray share their feeling – that no matter who wins the election, life will go on and our country will go on too. Listen to also find out how you can get some freebies on Election Day.

Hosts Adolph Mongo, Vanessa Moss and Allan Lengel talk with Democratic Congressional candidate Carl Marlinga, who discusses the negative ads against him, how he'd deal with the backlog of immigrant cases and the question over his opponent's actual residence.They also talk with Detroit School Board candidate Monique Bryant. Eric Brown, an advocacy for literacy, joins in that interview.

Whitney Shanahan is a national pro choice advocate and former Democratic Congressional candidate in California. However Whitney grew up conservative Christian in the Bible Belt. She left the Republican Party and her conservative upbringing after Trump won the presidency. While pregnant with her son in 2019 Whitney was questioned about what she had done to cause possible pregnancy complications - while seeking help in the ER. Because at that time, the red state she was living in was working to pass a 6 week abortion ban. Whitney went home from the ER shaken and scared - she researched and found that hundreds of women had been arrested and detained for their pregnancies and miscarriages. Whitney immediately became an activist. Whitney has led hundreds of pro-choice rallies across the country, launched a petition to defend abortion rights with over 270,000 signatures, and built an engaged community of over 500,000 followers on TikTok, and 40,000 on instagram- including pro choice celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell. In 2024 Whitney ran for US Congress in California and plans to run again. In this episode, we discuss Whitney's story, common misconceptions around late term abortions, what women need to know about no fault divorces, and so much more!   Time Stamps:   (0:40) Whitney's Bio (4:20) Becoming a Congressional Candidate (14:03) Abortion and Access (19:10) Common Misconceptions Around Late Term Abortion (23:35) A State Issue vs Federal Issue (31:55) No Fault Divorce (35:10) What Is A No Fault Divorce? (39:05) Changes and Evolution (48:15) How To Get Involved --------------------- Connect with Whitney Shanahan: @prochoicewithheart Receive access to reproductive healthcare in any state: aidaccess.com --------------------- Stay Connected: Instagram: @alyciaisrael Facebook: Alycia Israel Apparel: Be Your Own Daddy

Co-hosts Vanessa Moss and Allan Lengel and special co-host Detroit Depuity Mayor Todd Bettison talk with Kevin "Kmack" McDonald, who drove a cab for decades in Detroit and now has his own transportation. McDonald talks about the shrinking cab industry in Detroit and the impact of Uber and Lyft.Additionally: ►Democratic Congressional candidate Carl Marlinga discusses in what he considers deceptive campaign ads and his opponent John James' resistance to debating. ►Tabita Andrews talks about, "Keep on Steppin' in the Motor City, "a dance on Oct. 5 at Insync Dance Studio in Detroit to celebrate breast cancer and prostrate cancer surviors and to make people aware of the diseases.

Maria Keena goes in-depth with County Prosecutor Wesley Bell after he beat incumbent Cori Bush for the democratic congressional nomination.

The guys get together to discuss topics such as Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's resignation after Trump assassination attempt, the Democratic Congressional party to back Kamala Harris as campaign gains energy and bodycam footage reveals chaotic scene of Illinois deputy fatally shooting civilian who called 911 for help and much more on this highly entertaining episode that you do not want to miss and make sure to tune in!

Hosts Adolph Mongo and Vanessa Moss talk with Democratic Congressional candidate Carl Marlinga; Detroit Ombudsman Bruce Simpson and Patricia Pearson, founder of the Lion's Den, a non-profit housing agency. They also talk about President Joe Biden and the election

SPONSOR:Burn the PageLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaThis week, Michael and Lauren are joined by three Democratic Congressional candidates running in deeply Republican districts: Leslie Mehta, running in the 1st against Rob Wittman; Gloria Witt, running against John McGuire in the 5th District; and Karen Baker, who is challenging Morgan Griffith in the 9th. 

Here's episode 87 of Michigan's premier progressive podcast! Dr. Bob Lorinser is running to become the Democratic candidate for Michigan's 1st congressional district, comprising of northern Michigan, and the entire U.P. He is trying to challenge Republican Congressman Jack Bergman for the second straight time after losing to Bergman in '22. But Dr. Lorinser believes this time around, he won't only challenge Bergman, but he believes he'll win thanks to the experiences of his previous run and also due to name recognition. Dr. Lorinser explains how he'll be a true representative for the district because not only does he want to improve the lives of people, but he actually LIVES in the district, unlike Bergman. He also talks about how he'll fight to rebalance the scales once he arrives in Washington D.C., by focusing on expanded health care access, education, and a living wage. Pat celebrates Democrat Kelli van Ginhoven finally getting to take the seat she won in the recall races for the Delta County Commission. And he also takes a look at Republican Congressman Jack Bergman's extreme right-wing agenda, and how he's there to only serve the rich corporate donor base, and the radical Christian Nationalist movement inside the Republican Party. The "Last Call" implores Democrats to be on the right side of history when it comes the atrocities happening in Gaza. Right-wing Republicans are aligning themselves with Israel's right-wing government. Democrats are making a costly error if they continue to align with the Netanyahu government, and we're seeing some Michigan congressional Democrats are facing primary challenges due to this disastrous stance. Please, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you can! leftoflansing@gmail.com Left of Lansing is now on YouTube as well! leftoflansing.com

On Thursday, the Wayne County Clerk's Office bumped Democratic Congressional candidate Adam Hollier out of the 13th Congressional race after determining he didn't have enough valid petition signatures. Now, for all practical purposes, the Democratic primary in August is between Detroit City Council member Mary Waters and incumbent Congressman Shri Thanedar.Can Waters dethrone Thanedar?"Detroit Black and White" hosts Adolph Mongo, Allan Lengel and Jim Nardone discuss the race along with other issues including Sen. Mitt Romney's remarks that President Biden should have pardoned Donald Trump, and Jared Goff's new contract with the Detroit Lions. 

March 7, 2024 ~ Carl Marlinga, Democratic Candidate for Michigan's 10th Congressional District, talks with Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie about the stalled legislation to secure the southern border. What would he support if her were in Congress? He thinks border security shouldn't be tied to aid for Israel and Ukraine.

Democratic Congressional Candidate Monica Trannel

In this podcast episode, the focus is on a controversy involving a Democratic Congressional candidate in Michigan. The episode delves into the criticism from a group of Michigan veterans directed at the candidate. The veterans are demanding an apology because the candidate wore part of a U.S. Army-issued uniform during a Veterans Day event, despite never having served in the military. I dive into the story and provide you with perspective. Next on The Don't Unfriend Me Show. Watch us on: spreely.app Visit THEDUMSHOW.COM for more.#hertel, #Barrett, #michigan, #stolenvalor, #armyjacket

Democratic Congressional candidate Gabe Amo joined the show in-studio for an in-depth discussion on that day that his campaign released an internal poll that shows he is positioned in second place of the twelve candidates in the primary field.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democratic Congressional district 1 candidate Stephanie Beaute joins the show to discuss her campaign.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this midweek show, newly-elected Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party Shasti Conrad joins Crystal for a conversation on what the role entails, lessons learned from the previous Chair, and her plans for continuing forward as a strong and effective political party. As leader of an umbrella organization for local party organizations across the state, Shasti acknowledges the futility of a top-down approach and the need to listen and to understand what resonates with Democrats from different areas. Discussion of her plans to broaden the Party's appeal includes creating inclusive spaces, expanding the base, messaging Democratic wins, and showing up and investing in rural areas.  Crystal and Shasti then tackle the question of “who is a Democrat” and the dilemma faced in sharing Party resources with: those who are ideologically aligned but not labeled as D, versus those who self-label as D but are not ideologically aligned. Finally, Shasti shares her dream of strengthening the Party through bench building of candidates and support staff by making campaign work attractive, which includes taking seriously the violence and hostility predominantly targeting Black candidates and staff members, building sustainable pipelines for careers in politics, and encouraging good working conditions through unionization. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Shasti Conrad at @ShastiConrad and the Washington State Democratic Party at @washdems.   Shasti Conrad Shasti Conrad was elected as Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party in January 2023. She is the first woman of color and youngest chair of the Washington State Democrats! She is also the first South Asian woman to lead a state party in the entire country! Previously, Shasti was the Chair of the King County Democrats from 2018-2022, making her the first woman of color chair in the org's history. She is a versatile strategist and thought leader with a broad range of political, policy and operations experience within government at all levels and throughout the private and non-profit sectors. She launched her own consulting firm in 2016 to support government, campaign, and business clients looking to better our world. She was named to the American Association of Political Consultants' 40 under 40 list and Seattle Met's 100 Most Influential List (top 10 in politicos category).   Resources Washington State Democratic Party   “Washington State Democrats Elect Shasti Conrad as Party Chair” from Washington State Democrats   “WA Democrats choose Shasti Conrad as new leader” by David Gutman from The Seattle Times   “Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Power in a Time of Crisis” by Maurice Mitchell for Convergence Magazine   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. I'm thrilled to be welcoming back to the program, the now-Chair of the Washington State Democrats - Shasti Conrad - welcome. [00:01:01] Shasti Conrad: Hi Crystal, it's so great to be here. [00:01:03] Crystal Fincher: Great to have you here. So you were just recently elected as the chair of the Washington State Democrats, after a pretty notable tenure as the Chair of the King County Democrats. Starting off for a lot of people who may not be familiar - what does the Chair of the Democratic Party do? [00:01:24] Shasti Conrad: That is a great question and one that I have been getting quite a bit. So the State Party Chair, basically - I see it - job number one is to win elections for Democrats up and down the ballot. That's job number one. Job number two is really studying the vision and strategy for what the Democratic Party looks like, how it works, how it's built here in Washington State. We're here to work with our allies in labor and to build winning coalitions across the state and across the progressive movement. I've often described the party as - we are the steady drumbeat - we are here to make sure that candidates and campaigns have the resources that they need, that they have the volunteers, that they have the - they know the relationships, the community leaders. And then the candidates in the campaigns - they bring the jazz, right? They bring the energy, the nuances that match the different communities that they're representing - and we're here doing all year-round organizing to make sure that we're ready for whoever steps forward to run for office - that we can support them and get them across the finish line. [00:02:36] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. So now you are taking over after Tina Podlodowski stepped down after a pretty successful run, by those metrics, as the Chair of the State Party. What lessons did you learn from Tina, and what are you carrying forward from her? [00:02:53] Shasti Conrad: I think that Tina deserves a ton of credit for the successes that we have had here in Washington state for the last six years. We had the three most successful cycles in terms of delivering Democratic wins across the state. We elected the most diverse State Legislature - each cycle we just kept improving and growing our majorities - this past cycle was probably one of the most successful cycles that we've had, certainly one of the best for Democrats in probably at least 20 years. We now have control of - the Democrats are in office for all of the statewide offices. We finally got a Secretary of State for the first time in, I think, 56 years as a Democrat in Secretary Hobbs. And so much of that credit does go to Tina. I think Tina really built the State Party as an organizing machine - she invested in it. We talked about doing this multi-cycle organizing, all year-round organizing. She helped to move the Party from it being - there were times when I think the Party was a bit of a social club - it was a bit about just who of our friends were gonna run for some of these different offices. And Tina really, especially in the Trump era, really built up the resistance and helped us make sure that we were winning. We can't lose any of that ground. Tina was a great ally for me these last several years while I was Chair of the King County Democrats, and so I learned a great deal from her. And we're not gonna go backwards, that's for sure. I think Tina would be the first one to say this, which is - now that we've built such a solid organizing foundation, in my tenure my hope is that we get to grow and expand it, particularly in bringing in more diverse folks into the Party. And that's inclusive of young people, that's inclusive of people of color, communities of color - and really helping to get more people into these leadership roles. The Washington State Democrats - we're comprised of 88 different local party organizations, so there's a lot of different regionality, diversity - but I think across the Democratic Party, we have our work cut out in trying to make sure that we are fully reflective of the state. And there's some of that work that I think I definitely wanna grow upon what Tina has built. [00:05:17] Crystal Fincher: Now you mentioned those local party organizations - like county party organizations, legislative district organizations, affinity caucuses, that type of thing. I think a lot of people don't realize necessarily that those are not branches, those are not subsidiaries of the State Party - they're actually their own independent organizations, their own bylaws, and can do what they want. They can't in most situations be told what to do by the State Party - it doesn't work like that. So basically it's a big statewide coalition of Democratic organizations. In that kind of structure, how do you galvanize and expand the organizing footprint in the entire state - in more metropolitan areas like King County, in rural areas in Central and Eastern Washington, Southwest Washington - and lots of different areas, different needs, different representation, different issues that they may be dealing with. How do you approach that, or how will you approach that across the state? [00:06:19] Shasti Conrad: Yeah, it's definitely a tall order to try to get all oars in the water rowing in the same direction. I have found that it's - we can be unified in our values, but it's important for us to be localized in our messaging. We're certainly seeing this here in Washington state, but I think this is something that the entire Democratic Party writ large is dealing with, which is that urban and rural divide and really thinking about - the ways in which we talk about things in King County and Seattle doesn't necessarily work in Spokane or in Walla Walla. And I look at Washington state as a microcosm for national Democratic Party politics. In Washington state, we have Pramila Jayapal, who is the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. We now have Representative Suzan DelBene, who leads the DCCC, which is more moderate arm of trying to make sure that we are helping Democratic Congressional members get re-elected. And then you have our newest member of the Congressional delegation in Marie Perez. And Marie ran in - down in Southwestern Washington - as a very working class, working mom Democrat that was able to work with Republicans and get Republicans to support her. She won by just a couple thousand votes against a complete MAGA Republican. And so that's a big spectrum. And that is what I, as Chair, have to try to make sure that folks along that full spectrum feel that the Democratic party is theirs. And so like you said, each of the different party organizations are their own entities. It's not a top-down approach. We, as the State Party, are somewhat of an umbrella organization, but we're here to work alongside those different party organizations. And so it's a lot of just - it's a lot of listening, it's a lot of really making sure that folks are feeling that their lived experience is valued, that their perspective - that they know their neighbors, that they know what's gonna work with talking to their neighbors and moving them along. And that there's space for that, that it doesn't just come down from on high. One of the things that I've spent the last several years having to do quite often is unpacking when people say - Oh, the Democrats. It's like - Okay, but who are you actually frustrated with? Are you frustrated with the DNC, which sets the national stage and national messaging? Are you frustrated with the Senate Caucus or the House Caucus? Are you frustrated with your local party organization? What are these different pieces, and how do they all work together in this big ecosystem? And how can we help? How can we address your concerns? And a lot of that, I think, comes down to just people-to-people canvassing and organizing in those conversations, as well as really making sure that the messaging is resonant in those particular communities. [00:09:15] Crystal Fincher: So you talked about expanding the organizing apparatus - certainly something that you've talked about. In your tenure as Chair of the King County Democrats, was participating in all elections - not just the even-year elections right now that are legislative statewide, but also in what are currently - hopefully not for much longer - but currently odd-year elections for school boards, city councils, mayors, county council positions. Those elections haven't traditionally seen a lot of participation or engagement from the Democratic Party and local party organizations. What is gonna be your approach to that? [00:09:58] Shasti Conrad: Definitely. I think we saw, particularly in the last several years, the ways in which the Republican Party was doing a better job at building the bench than we were. They were having their folks run, and they were - run for these various seats, like you just said, like school boards and city council seats and whatnot. And they were going unchallenged. Democrats were not running for them because we just weren't paying attention in a lot of ways - we weren't indexing what all of those opportunities were. When I was Chair of King County Democrats, in an odd year, we had over 300 seats that folks could run for. And folks just didn't know that. And as soon as we started to talk about that, and started to actually really recruit, and also demystify the process - people didn't even know - how do you run? What does it take to run? How do I get onto the ballot? And once we started saying - Actually, there's a filing week in May where you go to - for King County Elections, or whatever your local county elections office is - and you can file online. Sometimes they have different fees, but they range in size - and you get your name on the ballot, and then you get to know your neighbors, and you encourage folks to vote for you. And so already this year at the State Party, I have asked our data team to look at opportunities where - what are the races across the state that we could win, that are at a nice edge. And one of the - really excited about this - so one of the things we just found when we were looking at the data this past week is that in the town of Sunnyside, which is in Yakima County, there are three seats that are up that are currently held by people that are leaning Republican. All three of those people won by less than 100 votes when they ran last time - one won by one vote. All three of them are men and they lean Republican. Sunnyside is a city that is 70% Latino. If we do the organizing work, if we get a Spanish language organizer, if we encourage those people to register to vote, we get some great candidates who represent the community - we could get those seats. And we could really make a difference that then, once those folks have some experience - their name's already been on a ballot - then in a couple of years, maybe they decide that they run for the next level of government. Maybe they even run for the State Legislature. And people have gotten to know them, they've been able to build up a resume. And that's the type of investment and engagement that I think is gonna be really important and a real opportunity for us to change up, particularly in these places that when you look at the map, they just look red. But then when you can get underneath that, there might be some opportunities where we can actually make a difference, pick up some of those seats, and start changing who's representing these folks. [00:12:51] Crystal Fincher: And part of that is also recruiting candidates. You talked about recruiting great candidates - that's been an area where there have been some excellent successes and there's still a lot of opportunity, some things haven't quite been mined yet for opportunity. What do you see the Party's role in developing leaders, and what can the Party do to help that happen? [00:13:12] Shasti Conrad: Yeah, I think - for years, we've talked about developing campaign-in-a-box - having some of these templates of - it's just people just don't, they don't know, right? They don't know - how do I find a treasurer? How do I set up a website? How do I - do I need to put a mailer together? How do I call people? How do I do all of these things? And for those of us who've been in this work, we do this year after year, but most people just - they're living their lives, they're not paying attention to the ins and outs of political work. And so I think that's something that we can develop the resources and the tools - there's been, especially in the Trump, post-Trump era - there've been a number of outside organizations that have developed really solid candidate training programs like Emerge, Institute for a Democratic Future, there's Run for Something, She Should Run - there's a bunch of these different organizations that are doing a great job. And I think that that's where we can partner with those folks. We've had our own candidate training program at Rise and Organize in the State Party. I am really passionate about training up the next generation of staffers and campaign managers and doing that type of leadership as well, because I also think that that's partially what we're missing in the ecosystem - is all of that support. So you get someone who's gonna step forward and decide to run, but they need help - they need a Crystal Fincher in their support system. And we need to be developing more of us that can help them do that, so I think that's something that we'll tackle in this next cycle as well, if the State Party is developing that training and organizing training. And then on the candidate recruitment side, it's really, it's just, it's finding those gems of talent. There are such great community leaders who - they're really active in their churches or they're really active - they're a nonprofit leader. They're doing this great work, but they just never thought about running for office. But talking about the impact and talking about - Okay, you're able to do this great work in your community or in your job. Let's take it to the macro level. Let's help you be able to do it for cities, and school boards, and the State Legislature, and things like that. [00:15:20] Crystal Fincher: Another issue that I think people on the ground, who may not pay close attention to party politics but they look around and they look at who Democrats are nationally, looking locally who are Democrats - wondering - there's lots of talk about - Okay, should Democrats be trying to win voters who may be disaffected from the Republican Party, or focus more on turning out people who may not be motivated to vote often for whatever reason. Do you do both? Do you do neither? What is that? And who is the base? Who is the party? Who is a Democrat? How do you approach that? Is this a big tent party that takes anyone? Is this a party that has strict ideological boundaries? What do you think that is and what will your approach be as Chair? [00:16:12] Shasti Conrad: Certainly, and I think that those answers are different in different places throughout the state, throughout the country. We are certainly a big tent. We have to create a space where the Party feels like it's welcoming, feels like it's inclusive, feels like it's a place where folks can make it their own. We need to be clear and aligned in our values - which is that we stand up for human rights, we stand up for people who are vulnerable, we're about choice, we're about freedom. These are the things that we are clear about. But there are some places where - I go back to CD3 because of just, it's the most, it's the biggest example of where that was a real opportunity for growth for us, because Marie Perez really did have to have conversations with folks who had been supporters of the Republican Party, who had voted for Jaime Herrera Beutler. But as the Republican Party has become more and more radicalized - where they are - they're not speaking for folks who maybe are a little bit conservative in their, some of their values, but for the most part are just trying to feed their families, get to work, pay the bills. The Republican Party has abandoned those folks too. And we have to be able to say the Democratic Party will make space for you if you are willing to recognize that there are some of these lines that will not be crossed, which is that we believe that everyone has right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and all of that. And then I also think that we have to expand the base. And that means really making investments with - into communities of color, young people - I think the Party is dealing with a relevancy problem when it comes to young folks, right? Young people have seen across their entire lives the ways in which our biggest challenges keep not being addressed. And at times, on both sides of the aisle, politicians have paid a lot of lip service but nothing changes. You can feel that, you can feel the lack of movement, and then this prioritizing of incrementalism over actually doing big, bold changes - transformative work. And so we have to demonstrate that we actually are going to do the work, that we're going to make the change, that we're going to not just talk the talk. Joe Biden wasn't my first choice as president several years ago, but he has - you have to give him credit for the fact that he has been a very progressive president. We have done big things underneath his leadership the last several years, and we're not doing a good job of talking about that. We're not doing a great job of actually messaging to say - Look at what the childcare tax credit was able to do - it halved childhood poverty, it made a big difference. We are delivering and bringing infrastructure projects back into the state - money is getting moved, things are improving. The economy has been tough, but we're making it through. That's under Democratic leadership. That is without Republicans helping. And . We believe in climate change. The Republicans don't. And these are big issues, particularly I think for young people as they're looking at a future that feels like it might be worse than their parents'. So we've got to do that work. And I think we've got to actually make it action oriented too. And that's a big part of what my job will be and what we will be trying to set with the State Party is that direction and that - those changes to make the Party feel like it is a much more welcoming place and a place where people can do good work and see change happen. [00:19:55] Crystal Fincher: I think that's spot on, really smart to recognize. Younger people actually are - definitely are feeling disaffected, trying to find reasons why they should trust institutions or institutional power after seeing so many examples of it not being helpful. And that you have to have an action-oriented approach that enables people to see the change around them without relying on rhetoric or seeing that rhetoric unfulfilled. With that, how do you play a role in messaging what Democrats are doing on a national and statewide level? How can the party improve that? [00:20:34] Shasti Conrad: One of my frustration points from the last several years is I have felt we spent a lot of time identifying and speaking about our values in reaction to the other side. And you heard me probably just do it just a few minutes ago. And so often we put ourselves against - because that's who they are, we are this. And I think it's important that we start to make the shift where we start to take some of the power back and start to control the narrative by saying - This is what it means to be a Democrat. And this is what Democrats are delivering. This is what Democrats are doing. Like I said, we are the party of choice and freedom and opportunity and optimism. We're more than just the fight, right? And also I think a lot of times we just talk about winning and losing elections, but I wanna take us also to the - how are we making a difference in people's lives? What does it mean to win? Because just winning - sure, we pat ourselves on the back, we get to run up the score and be like - Look, we have this many more than them and good for us. But is it actually making a change? Are people actually feeling like they are better represented, that their lives are improving because we have the majority in the State Legislature here in Washington state? I think that's true, but we have to make sure that we're talking about that. When things are getting passed through the State Legislature, when we're taking up the middle income housing bill, when we're taking up gun safety bills, when we are looking at the wealth tax - these are things that are going to actually make an improvement on people's experience, what their time on this earth is gonna be like. And that, I think, is really important for us to talk about and take it to that next step. And I think folks are tired - they're tired of the - we get these emails where it's like urgent, deadline, biggest fight of our lives. And it's hard because it's true - every election is, feels like it's the most important one - but at some point that just, it's burning folks out. And so we've got to just be able to be honest and level with folks - Hey, I don't know if this is gonna be radically different, but this is the right step that we need to take. It's like I-135 - I was so happily surprised that it did as well as it did. It's a step in the right direction. Is it gonna solve the housing and homelessness crisis in Seattle? No, but it is going to help us move in a direction where we can actually start to look at some solutions. And so I'm grateful that folks decided to step forward and vote and participate and do, especially in an off-cycle, odd year election. And again, it's we just have to be - we have to be able to level with folks. And that, I think, is a change in tone that I hope I can help to bring to the Party here in Washington state. [00:23:22] Crystal Fincher: I think Seattle's Initiative 135 for social housing is a really great and instructive example for how we can organize and what the opportunity is. We saw seniors who were afraid that they weren't gonna be able to age in place. We saw young people who wanted to make sure that there was gonna be a space for them in the community - urbanists, communities of color. The DSA was canvassing in support. We saw local democratic party organizations - from the King County Democrats, 46th District Democrats, and a number of folks and coalitions coming together. Some elected leaders, community leaders, activists - all coalescing around this. And really willed that to victory, as you said, during an off-year - not in those higher turnout elections that have Congresspeople and the president on the ballot. And in February, no less - I'm still excited by that. But it does bring up some interesting questions going back to - Okay, who is a Democrat and who is the Democratic Party there to serve? Because in Washington state, particularly to a degree that a lot of other states don't, there's an interesting dynamic here in that it's not just the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Certainly we have very competitive Democratic and Republican races - we've both been involved in quite a few of those. But also in several areas in King County, especially in Seattle, Washington - Republicans aren't as much of a competitive party to Democrats as the DSA, Democratic Socialists of America, or the People's Party. People who predominantly skew younger and don't necessarily find themselves completely aligned with the Democratic Party - a lot of times due to national issues - but are saying, I am aligned with these values. I am finding more action and I feel that there is more honesty about those values outside of the Democratic Party in something like the DSA or other organizations. And that playing out in interesting ways, whether it's access to the Party database and VoteBuilder, endorsements in local party organizations, and so on and so forth. How will you be going about defining who is a Democrat, in ways that are consequential when it comes to running for office or advancing policy and the utilization of State Party resources? [00:25:52] Shasti Conrad: You have to be able to say that you're a Democrat, right? You have to be willing to identify as a Democrat in order for us to be able to share those resources. It's like any other kind of club or organization - you have to be willing to sit with us at the lunch table and say that you're willing to work with us to be able to do that. But I am clear that, particularly in urban areas in Seattle and King County in particular, that we as a Democratic Party - we have been losing out folks to alternative parties. You mentioned DSA, Working Families Party, the People's Party - we have been losing out. And particularly young people are finding that moving to some of these other parties is where they feel like they identify better, that they feel like they're being seen, that they feel like they're able to get more work done. And I think that's something that we have to address. We talk a lot about recruitment. We talk a lot about trying to get people to come into the Party. But I don't think we've spent enough time really talking about - what is the experience of being in the Party? It's the retention piece of it - it is the experience of when you come into a party organization - who are you being met by? Are our folks being welcoming? It's not a secret that a lot of our Party spaces are - it's mostly run by folks that are older, it's retired folks - because they have the time. And I value that work - so I've learned from so many of our elders, who have been organizing and doing this work since the '60s, right? And they have committed their lives to doing this. And that is something that I value and appreciate and respect. But you look at any kind of organization, company, brand - and if your workforce was all 65 and older, you would say - That's probably not a sustainable brand. We've got to figure something out. And so I think making room to create these intergenerational communities where younger people can see themselves - and not just as tokenized members, but as leaders. I'm the first woman of color in this role. And I'm also the youngest Chair - I'm under 40, and that makes me the youngest Chair in Washington State Party's history. And I think that I'm a marker of showing what - this next generation of leadership - that it's time. It's time for us to move into these roles and into - both in terms of the visibility, but also in just the change in perspective and the ways that we organize. And that's something that I think is - we're gonna have to show that. We do a lot of telling, but we're gonna have to really demonstrate that those changes are gonna happen. And that - particularly those younger folks that are choosing to go to other spaces, that they can see themselves in the work. Really quickly, I'll just say Maurice Mitchell, who's the head of the Working Families Party nationally, wrote a really beautiful article a couple months ago where he talked about what was needed for continuing the work in the progressive movement. And he talked about the need to be able to meet the moment, to build winning coalitions, and to bring joy into the work. And what I say to that is - I agree 100% - we are in alignment there. It's just maybe a little bit of a difference in tactics and in institutions. My sense is that the Democratic Party is what we have and what will be here, and that it needs to be built and transformed from within - to be able to meet the moment, to be able to build winning coalitions. And we've got to infuse it with more joy - to push back against the institutional burnout that is happening everywhere. And my hope is by doing that, folks will see that we, the Democratic Party, can also be a part of where they can do their organizing work. It can be a part of the coalitions that they want to be a part of, and that they'll see themselves as members of the Democratic Party, alongside maybe some of these other organizations. [00:29:49] Crystal Fincher: And following up on that - just because this has come up in so many different situations and circumstances here in Washington state, so you say - Okay, you need to be a member of the Party. Can someone align themselves with more than one party? If they say - Hey, I'm in DSA and I'm a Democrat? Do you feel that that counts as membership in the Democratic Party? Does it have to be exclusively the Democratic Party? I know some local party organizations have different approaches to this. What is the State Party approach? [00:30:21] Shasti Conrad: It is a case-by-case scenario. Again, as we talked about earlier, each of the party organizations have their own rules, their own sets of how they do things. And so I don't think that it's right for us, at the state, to go against what some of those different organizations have said. So it is case by case, but I will always just advocate that I want folks to feel proud to be a Democrat and so it is important - to be able to have access to resources and whatnot - that they are willing to say that and are willing to come and be a part of the work. And we have wonderful volunteers that are part of this Party that are doing great work. And I hope that folks who maybe have been a little bit wary of getting involved in the Party will just come and give it a try, and will see that it's a new day and folks are, I think, a bit more willing to work with people who come from different backgrounds and different perspectives. [00:31:17] Crystal Fincher: Definitely. And it is a very King County-centric issue to be having to negotiate through - Okay, we seem to be aligned on values, but this person says they're in the People's Party and we're Democrats - and working through that. But what has happened in situations where there is a clear lack of alignment, whether it be from people who are self-labeling themselves as Democrats - but who are predominantly supported by Republicans, or just officially endorsed by the Republican Party, have a history supporting and donating to Republicans. And that has been called out by your predecessor, Tina Podlodowski, in a few different situations - revoking access to the Party database, or preventing access to Party resources, and standing behind the refusal to endorse from several organizations. Do you anticipate that continuing? What's your approach to people who seem to be clearly misaligned, but who insist on calling themselves Democrats? [00:32:22] Shasti Conrad: Certainly, this is - probably at times I was somebody who was like - Hey, Tina, what do we do here? And maybe was pushing her in some ways on some of these issues. And now, as I'm in the role, I understand better what the challenges are - 'cause it's nuanced. To be able to set one policy that works for the entire state, it's difficult because the issues here in King County are - this person wants to organize with the Working Families Party, can they also be considered a Democrat? In other parts of the state, it's - No, this person is a full Republican, but we don't have any Democrats that are running. Can we endorse the Republican? And then we even had a case last year in King County where somebody was running as a Democrat who was on a - that was for a white supremacist rally. And those are our data we have to be so careful with. This is people's personal private data that we are responsible for, and so we have to be careful about how that is shared. And so that is something that I take very seriously. And I think that there's a lot more that we could be doing to ensure privacy and security for our candidates, for our elected officials, for our members, for our volunteers, and whatnot. And so these are things that I now think about when making these types of decisions - that it was easier when I wasn't in the catbird seat to be able to say - Hey, why can't we do X, Y, and Z? And it's - Now I'm on the inside, I get it. So these will be things that we'll get and review as they come up, but it is certainly a challenge and I think making sure that our folks are safe is the number one priority. [00:34:06] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. There was - speaking of folks being safe - several notable instances of predominantly Black candidates and staff members of those Black candidates being targeted for violence and hostility during campaigns. Several of those instances made news, several more didn't - but certainly a concern among people who are volunteering and who are turning out in the Party apparatus to help their local and federal candidates. What is the Party's responsibility in keeping candidates safe, especially those candidates who have shown to be targeted at a higher rate than others? And what more can the Party do to address that? [00:34:50] Shasti Conrad: Absolutely, yeah. It's candidates - it's also their staff and their volunteers. We had a number of cases this last year where a Black campaign manager was targeted. We had volunteers who were followed and whatnot. Already, I've talked with members of our Black Caucus to say - Let's be proactive. 'Cause one of the things that I've heard quite a bit was - these things would happen, and then after the fact, there'd be some kind of - Okay, now what? But then action maybe wasn't taken. And we know that the environment that we are in right now is - it's very heightened. And that's particularly, it's even though that white hot light is even harder on people of color - we just know that particularly Black people. So I definitely want to be proactive in making sure that we have thought through safety and security plans as folks are starting to get back out on the campaign trail, that we have talked through what kind of security support we can provide. I think it's something that needs to be tackled by the ecosystem, so that's something that needs to be worked through with the caucuses as well - the House and the Senate - because they also support folks that are running for those seats. And working with the specific folks to make sure that this is something that they actually want. And yeah, I take it very seriously. And I think about it too - I'm a woman of color who - I live in south Snohomish County and I've got white supremacists in my neighborhood. And I know that feeling - both in terms of there's a physical threat, but there's also the psychological, the emotional, the mental, like all of that - of just knowing that these folks that are right here, who want to destroy what we believe in and want to hurt us, right? They see us as the enemy, so I take all of that very, very seriously. And I think that's something I would love to maybe come back - and if you can help me put together a group too - to talk through what that looks like and how we can build solid safety plans for our folks. [00:36:48] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely - have been involved in those conversations - happy to be helpful in any way I can. You talked about Marie Gluesenkamp Perez earlier who, in the Third Congressional District, won what was probably the biggest upset in the country last November - in winning her race over Joe Kent for the seat previously held by Jaime Herrera Beutler. What do you take away as lessons from that race, and how will Democrats be showing up in rural areas in your tenure? [00:37:18] Shasti Conrad: I think it was clear - we can't miss these opportunities. We can't take them for granted. We have to do the direct people-to-people organizing. And I think it's particularly true in rural communities, but I find that it's true also in communities of color where - in these places where they have often felt left behind, dismissed by the Democratic Party, we have to build trust - and it takes showing up, not just showing up only in the fall of an even year, but it takes showing up throughout the year, being there. And it's being neighborly. It's like - How are you? What do you need? What's going on in your life? It's asking and actually getting to know folks. Something a lot of people don't know about me, but I actually grew up on a farm. I grew up in a small town in Oregon. I grew up on a farm - we had ducks and chickens and sheep. My task as a small kid was to go get the eggs from the chicken coop every day, and I talked about this a lot as I was campaigning and whatnot. My grandmother really taught me how we would trade the chicken eggs with the neighbor down the street who had a beehive and we would get honey from them. And then you'd have the neighborly conversation of - Hey, how are you? How are the kids? You'd get to know - okay, if you wanted to meet up with so and so, the best time to see them was at church. Or everybody would go to the local Shari's and go after church. Or if you wanted to talk to Bob, you'd see him at the local pub on Wednesday nights - and that's where you would find these folks. And so getting to actually know them, talk to them - that it takes this people-to-people, conversation-by-conversation relationship building to be able to demonstrate that you are a real person who cares and wants to make their lives better. And because they know you, and you're saying - I believe that Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is gonna make the difference - then they'll trust you. And that just takes time. You have to operate at the speed of trust. And that's particularly true, I think, in rural communities - but I am finding that to be the case in the Latino community, in the tribal communities, Black community, Asian API community - this is true just with organizing and with people, but particularly with folks who have felt like they've been sold a bill of goods before by many politicians. So yeah, so I think this type of organizing is what matters. I just heard about - last week, there was a house party for Marie and 140 people showed up - and that's exciting. And in February of an even year - folks are excited - they want to help. They wanna make sure that we return Marie in two years and that she has the support. Marie held the first town hall that that district had had in years because Jaime Herrera Beutler wasn't doing town halls. And she's talking to people who didn't vote for her. And she's talking to people who didn't think that she would represent them. And she's demonstrating - no, I represent this whole district and I'm gonna show up - even if you're gonna tell me you don't like me, I'm here. And that is what we have to do. And it's gonna take several years probably for some of these districts to change, particularly in Central and Eastern Washington. But if we make the investment, we do the organizing work - we have to be ready for when an opportunity presents itself for us to get that and flip those seats. [00:40:38] Crystal Fincher: So I know we're right at the beginning of your tenure - you're just starting out, learning everything, getting your feet underneath you. But what might that look like operationally and in practice? Is that more satellite offices across the state and in rural areas? Is that hiring a different kind of organizer underneath a different kind of model? What can that look like? [00:40:59] Shasti Conrad: Everything costs money, and so I have to go raise the money to go make this happen. But my dream is to develop a organizing pipeline that is particular to rural communities, and maybe even developing an organizing fellowship at some of the rural colleges, community colleges throughout the state - where we can actually develop folks who come from the communities to get the right training, but then get hired into the organizing jobs - onto the Coordinated Campaign where we can actually keep them and support them so that they're not only there for a few months at a time, but actually are building these relationships over several years. And then when we have a Coordinated Campaign and that's over, that we have a place to be able to move those organizers - to go work with the unions and do union organizing when it's not high campaign season and then move them over to us, getting them into internship programs with different agencies and things like that. I benefited from the fact that I was a college student who graduated into Barack Obama running for president back in 2008. And had I not had those opportunities early in my life, early in my career - I would not be here today, I would have picked another job, I wouldn't have stayed in politics. But there were opportunities that presented themselves - and the mentors and people supporting me - and then one job turned into another and suddenly it's been 15+ years and here I am. And I just think that there's so many Shastis out there. There's so many folks, but they just haven't had the opportunity and the support. And like the rest of the country and so many other industries, young people are like - How am I gonna take care of myself? How am I gonna pay the bills? And if politics and working for a local government and whatnot doesn't pay the bills and those opportunities aren't there - they're gonna leave their home communities, and they're gonna take jobs with Amazon, or they're gonna take jobs that are steady paychecks, and we're gonna lose them for a generation. They're gonna - it's hard to get off those trains when you're on them. And so we've got to build those opportunities, and we've got to - one of the things that I'm really excited about potentially doing is I really wanna work with the youth councils on the reservations to really talk about job opportunities in the political sector - and running for office themselves - but also being a campaign manager, being an organizer, finding those opportunities. So that they can see that there's this whole other world of opportunities and jobs that could help them to stay in their own communities, but also take them around the world to work on other campaigns all over the place if they would like to. [00:43:42] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. And thank you for spending all of this time with us, being generous with your time. As we begin to wrap up, I want to draw inward a little bit. We've talked about what the Party will be doing within the community and your approach to that. But I also wanna talk about staff, really - of the State Party, of campaigns, of Democratic electeds serving in office - and this conversation that we've been having, that's been evolving, about unionization, working conditions, supporting workers in that. We have lots of labor partners, as a Party entity, and alignments there. But there has been, frankly, a mixed reception from a lot of people when it comes to the unionization of campaign workers, for campaigns across the board - this is something that has certainly made it to legislative and congressional campaigns. There may be conversations about that in some local campaigns - we have seen a few instances of that. But also within the Party, legislative staffers just had a battle to get some of that kicked off. Do you think that campaign workers should be able to be represented by a union? And what guidance and examples are you providing for local electeds and other progressive organizations? [00:45:02] Shasti Conrad: 100%. I actually believe that the State Party - under Tina's leadership, to give credit where credit's due - was the first State Party to unionize. And that's not without its challenges, right? People have been figuring it out as they go - we've been building the plane as we flew it, and so I think that's been - some of the trying to find the right home for Campaign Workers Union, trying to work through the particular seasonal working issues that come with being on campaigns and whatnot. But I think it's incredibly important. I remember what it was like as a young person where I was in unpaid internships - I was certainly working way more than 40 hours a week at times on campaigns and didn't have much recourse of things were happening, where to go to. And so I think it's a vast improvement of where we were 10 years ago, 20 years ago - certainly the last couple of years. So yeah, I think we will certainly encourage the candidates that come through that they should unionize their staff, depending on the size, on all of that - but I think it's really important. I did the Pathway to Power program last year that's put on by the Washington State Labor Council and learned a lot about labor issues, but learned a lot also about - in the role of candidate or chair or whatnot, how to leave room for your staff and workers to be able to unionize and the ways to show support. But also that means sometimes taking a step back and allowing them to take the lead and not having - you now have to see yourself as a manager, and not putting yourself on both sides of the table and things like that. So there's things that we're still working through to have all of this stuff figure itself out, but I think it's incredibly important. I was excited to see that I believe the - nationally, I believe that the Democratic Congressional staffers unionized and I think here in Washington State, we're gonna continue to see those unionizing efforts happen in all parts of our ecosystem, and I think it's a really exciting thing. As I've been talking to labor union leaders - particularly the last few weeks, like I've just said - some of the best progressive wins of the last several years have been labor wins. And so we have to be good partners, and that includes unionizing efforts of our own staff, our own teams. [00:47:16] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely, completely agree. And thank you for spending this time with us today. We'll be following along as things progress and look forward to speaking with you again. Thanks so much, Shasti. [00:47:26] Shasti Conrad: Thank you so much - always a joy to see you and spend time with you. Thanks so much. [00:47:29] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is co produced by Shannon Cheng and Bryce Cannatelli. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

This new generation of Democratic congressional leadership may be the most DISHONEST and CORRUPT in our lifetime. Howie Klein from Down With Tyranny spells out: -How the new head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was accused of sleeping with a minor and then buying her silence. -The Democratic politicians beholden to a Southern California real estate criminal mastermind whose violent abuse of women is about to be exposed in a new documentary. -Who in the upper echelons of the new congressional leadership is a coke fueled intellectual lightweight? David Does The News: - Stock market drops 500 points - Chinese Protests - Houston told to boil its water - Leading newspapers ask Justice Department not to prosecute Julian Assange - Senate reports warns right wing domestic terrorism is a much bigger threat than foreign terrorists - Jurors in Oath Keepers trial enter their third day of deliberation - Biden renews calls for an assault weapons ban - New polling shows majority of Americans want gun control - 1.7 million Americans have died from guns since 1968, more than all the American soldiers in all the American wars combined - The role hate speech on the far right plays in mass shootings - What is Stochastic Terrorism? - Trump meets with Kanye and Nick Fuentes - How the NRA has perverted modern Conservatism Take us wherever you go by subscribing to this show as a podcast! Here's how: https://davidfeldmanshow.com/how-to-l... And Subscribe to this channel. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MEDIA: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=PD... More David @ http://www.DavidFeldmanShow.com Get Social With David: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/davidfeldmanc... Twitter: https://twitter.com/David_Feldman_ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced she will not seek a position of Democratic Congressional leadership in January—though, she will continue to serve in Congress. While speaking from the House floor on Thursday, Pelosi said: “For me the hour's come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.” On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer implored Congress to offer amnesty to undocumented migrants. Schumer explained, “we are short of workers, we have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to.” San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the city's launch of the Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) program—which provides members of San Francisco's transgender community with $1,200 in guaranteed monthly income. Incredibly, the application for enrollment in the program lists 97 different genders, 16 sets of preferred pronouns, and 13 sexual orientations. While speaking during a Senate Homeland Security hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray could not confirm whether his agency was receiving the private messages of Facebook users without a warrant. Senator Rand Paul pointed out that if, in fact, Facebook is providing the private communications of its users to the government, it would be illegal. 

3:05pm- House Republicans have announced they will launch an investigation into President Joe Biden's involvement in his son Hunter Biden's business dealings. During Thursday's press conference, Rep. James Comer, the incoming House Oversight Committee Chairman, stated: “We found business plans aimed at targets around the world based on influence peddling, including with people tied to foreign governments like China and Russia”—going on to explain that there are signs Biden's family, and its business associates, may have engaged in numerous crimes like wire fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and violations of the foreign agent registration act.  3:35pm- During Thursday's press conference announcing an investigation into Biden family business deals, Rep. Jim Jordan vowed to hold a “politicized” Department of Justice Accountable for their alleged role in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story prior to the 2020 Presidential Election.  3:50pm- On Wednesday, at the conclusion of the G20 Summit in Indonesia, Chinese President Xi Jinping scolded Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for leaking portions of their private conversations to the press. 4:05pm- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced she will not seek a position of Democratic Congressional leadership in January—though, she will continue to serve in Congress. While speaking from the House floor on Thursday, Pelosi said: “For me the hour's come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.”  4:10pm- On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer implored Congress to offer amnesty to undocumented migrants. Schumer explained, “we are short of workers, we have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to.” 4:25pm- San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the city's launch of the Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) program—which provides members of San Francisco's transgender community with $1,200 in guaranteed monthly income. Incredibly, the application for enrollment in the program lists 97 different genders, 16 sets of preferred pronouns, and 13 sexual orientations.  4:45pm- While speaking during a Senate Homeland Security hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray could not confirm whether his agency was receiving the private messages of Facebook users without a warrant. Senator Rand Paul pointed out that if, in fact, Facebook is providing the private communications of its users to the government, it would be illegal.  5:05pm- Megan Brock—a grass roots parental rights advocate—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss a recent policy meeting for the Central Bucks School District where two Democrat board members argued that biological males should be permitted to participate in female sports, suggesting that participation should be prioritized over fair-play.  5:30pm- During a recent earnings call, Target CFO Michael Fiddelke estimated that the big-box store has lost over $400 million in profits due to retail theft over the past year. Last year, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez referred to rising thefts in progressive cities a “myth.” 6:05pm- In a recent opinion editorial for The Wall Street Journal, James Freeman documents how Democrat candidates for public office have become “increasingly wary of being identified as progressives.” Are Democrats now running from the "progressive" label?  6:15pm- House Republicans have announced they will launch an investigation into President Joe Biden's involvement in his son Hunter Biden's business dealings. 6:25pm- Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced voter fraud charges have been brought against Rasheen Crews, a former political consultant. The Daily Wire writes that Crews has been accused of “Criminal Solicitation to Commit Forgery and Theft By Failure to Make Required Disposition for duplicating signatures on nomination petitions to get his clients on the ballot.” 6:55pm- Who Won Social Media? + Zeoli's Final Thought

One of the most closely watched congressional races across the country is in Montana's newly formed House District 1 – the western district. The democratic nominee for the seat is Monica Tranel, a former Olympic rower, and she joins us […]

Have you ever met with someone who has run for public office? If you have, do you know what goes behind those campaigns? On this episode I interview Matthew Diemer, Democratic Congressional candidate for Ohio's 7th District, and we talk about why he is running for congress and what goes into congressional campaigns. Links Matthew for Congress: https://diemerforcongress.com/

Libfem Pick me ignites a bipartisan twitter firestorm after declaring she believes men have a "right to sex. Here's why she's wrong af.  Thread: https://twitter.com/hunt4change/status/1582166917174808577   Reaux's Response/Advice to men: https://twitter.com/Reaux_FDS/status/1583595781105192960?s=20&t=QbpH5ypOKZiwKpm0F5gxMQ   Thanks to our sponsors!!! Athletic Greens https://athleticgreens.com/FDS (Get a 1 year supply of vitamin D and 5 free sample packs of AG1 with purchase)   Join our newsletter: https://www.thefemaledatingstrategy.com FDS War Room on the Queen Patreon Tier: https://www.patreon.com/TheFemaleDatingStrategy Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/femdatstrat   Follow us! Weekly Bonus Content/Merch/Discord on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheFemaleDatingStrategy Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/femdatstrat Website:https://www.thefemaledatingstrategy.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/femdatstrat @femdatstrat Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thefemaledatingstrategy/  @_thefemaledatingstrategy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Female-Dating-Strategy-109118567480771  

Today is one of our bonus pods leading to the midterms to bring attention to races across the country that are incredibly important, winnable and getting basically no press. Today I'm thrilled to be talking to Democratic Congressional candidate for Minnesota's 1st District, Jeff Ettinger. Jeff is the previous CEO of the Minnesota's meat packing giant Hormel Foods, the leader of Hormel's foundation, a professor of business at the local university and the Democrats chance of flipping a red seat blue right after the special election in August chose to keep it red. Jeff is the the perfect example of how the Democratic Party, unlike its opponent, is not a monolith. That we have many different voices brought together by our shared set of values. We might have different ways of looking at business or tax rates, but at the end of the day we believe in democracy, human rights and the importance of the will of the American people. Jeff will work for Minnesota, his opponent will work for Republican leadership and is happy to just be one more vote for the extremist faction of what used to be the Republican Party. We can win this seat, but we can also show people that the Democrats are not just the socialist, communist monsters they make us out to be. If we were, Jeff wouldn't be running.    Guest social: https://www.ettingerforcongress.com/  

Ahead of the 2022 election, two Democratic Congressional candidates vying to unseat incumbents join the show: state Rep. Christina Bohannan and state Sen. Liz Mathis. All of Iowa's major party congressional candidates have been invited to appear on River to River.

Donald Trump is now threatening American Jews....yes really. Rep. Ilhan Omar tells Mehdi about how Democratic Congressional leaders worked to save the Capitol on January 6th, and with less than a month to the midterms....where should the Democrats' focus be? 

Voters will face a long slate of races on their November ballot. Floridians will decide not just who represents them here at home and in Tallahassee – but also in Washington.  Floridians will have weight in the balance of which party is in power in D.C.  OR… It may feel like every month – every year – we are in an election. Each one more critical than the one before.  In just weeks – really – voters will cast ballots for the November general election. Floridians will decide not only who will represent them at home and in Tallahassee – but in Washington, D.C. --- in the tight race for U.S. Senate – and in Congressional House races.  That includes an open seat for District 10 – currently represented by Congresswoman Val Demings.  You have Republican Calvin Wimbish who wants the seat – as well as our guest today – Democratic Congressional nominee Maxwell Frost

5 of the Democrats running to represent Rhode Island's second congressional district.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

U.S. officials in the national security community expressed shock and concern at the former president's cavalier treatment of classified material. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said they were astonished at the “recklessness” of the move. It's an “affront” to “those people who've spent their lives protecting and enforcing a rules-based order only to have someone come along and use his special access to unlawfully collect and retain highly classified documents,” the person said. It can take up to a decade to declassify certain information, said one former defense official who still holds a security clearance, so the fact that Trump took hundreds of pages of classified material is “one of the worst things I've ever heard.” “There's no gray area here. I'm just appalled,” the person said. Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican currently running for re-election in a competitive race in the Santa Clarita area, drew outrage after comparing the Biden administration and the Democratic Congressional majority to the Nazi regime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. officials in the national security community expressed shock and concern at the former president's cavalier treatment of classified material. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said they were astonished at the “recklessness” of the move. It's an “affront” to “those people who've spent their lives protecting and enforcing a rules-based order only to have someone come along and use his special access to unlawfully collect and retain highly classified documents,” the person said. It can take up to a decade to declassify certain information, said one former defense official who still holds a security clearance, so the fact that Trump took hundreds of pages of classified material is “one of the worst things I've ever heard.” “There's no gray area here. I'm just appalled,” the person said. Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican currently running for re-election in a competitive race in the Santa Clarita area, drew outrage after comparing the Biden administration and the Democratic Congressional majority to the Nazi regime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks with Celeste Katz Marston and Jeff Simmons about his departure from the Democratic Congressional primary for NY-10 and his political legacy, followed by a talk with NY-10 candidate Maud Maron and listener calls. Original air date: July 21, 2022.

“It's over.” “Biden's numbers are in the ditch.” “Democrats are doomed.” “Call the priest.” These are Democrats talking! Even before November's congressional elections are run, many conventional-thinking Democratic operatives are surrendering to a presumed Republican sweep. You don't need a political science degree to know that if you start out announcing that you'll lose, chances are you will – after all, who wants to vote for a party that shows no fighting spirit, no confidence in the appeal of its own ideas? What's happening here is that the Party's top leaders have decided their candidates can't win in rural areas and smaller factory cities – so they've quit trying. Worse, they blame the voters, claiming that Trumpism, Fox News BS, and culture war nonsense have poisoned the minds of people “out there.” Thus, Party leaders have retreated from the countryside to focus entirely on big urban areas. Democratic Congressional leaders even killed their rural outreach programs, and the Party's chairman in 2018 meekly declared: “You can't door-knock in rural America.” Actually, sir, you can. And if you choose to abandon this whole working-class constituency – surprise! – it will abandon you. Worse, than failing to campaign along America's dirt roads and factory streets, national Democrats have actively been pushing corporate policies that have ravaged families living there – including trade scams that sucking out union jobs; shamefully bailing out Wall Street bankers who crashed our real economy (while ignoring millions of devastated workaday people); and doing nothing about the corporate-caused farm depression still ripping across our land. Washington Democrats have largely betrayed this vital, FDRish constituency of millions that they now blithely dismiss as irredeemable. Did Party poohbahs think voters wouldn't notice or care how they're being treated? If we want them back on our side, then let's go to them… and get back on their side!

Progressive Congressman Mark Pocan catches us up with what's going on in Washington. How might who we elect in November break the deadlock in Congress? Dr Chris Jones, a Democratic Congressional candidate from Arkansas shares his ideas.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Democrat candidate for North Carolina' 9th Congressional District, Scott Huffman, discusses (and doesn't) women, abortion, white supremacy, gun control, inflation, and his campaign.   Get exclusive content here!: https://thepetekalinershow.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sixth District Democratic congressional candidate Jennifer Lewis joins "Street Knowledge" to talk issues: gun control, Medicare for All, education funding, Interstate 81 congestion, education opportunity and more.

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Electric Coolaid  It's primary election season! Victoria Virasingh, a progressive House challenger in Northern Virginia, is working to shape a future where we all get a chance at achieving the American Dream. As she embarks on her first bid for public office, this native Arlingtonian and daughter of immigrants has the “lived experience” that gives her a unique understanding of the challenges facing many navigating today's economy, immigration and educational systems. Join us as we discuss issues facing families throughout Virginia's 8th Congressional District and Victoria's plans to expand access and opportunity for all. And no matter what your political leanings, we can all vote for another delicious cocktail. Looking for the best cocktail to accompany you while you listen. Then head over to our library of libations for the right recipe to get you in the mood. Don't forget to follow, download and review to share your thoughts about the show! The Designated Drinker Show is produced by Missing Link—a podcast media company that is dedicated to connecting people to intelligent, engaging and informative content.  Also in the Missing Link line-up of podcasts, is Rodger That—a podcast dedicated to guiding you through the haze of dementia led by skilled caregivers, Bobbi and Mike Carducci.  Now, if you are looking for a whole new way to enjoy the theatre, check out Between Acts—an immersive audio theatre podcast experience. Each episode takes you on a spellbinding journey through the works of newfound playwrights—from dramas to comedies and everything in between.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, weathered three days of Senate confirmation hearings. Of course that meant she had to endure, QAnon infused conspiracy theories; Sen. Lindsey Graham storming out of the hearings in a hissy fit - twice;  and, as Gabrielle Gurley from the American Prospect put it, “The Ted Cruz CRT Minstrel Show.”  Jackson is expected to be confirmed by the Senate early next week. But with Mitch McConnell making it public that he will not be voting for her, she may be confirmed without a single Republican vote.  Ginni Thomas - the right-wing extremist who is married to Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas - was actively pressuring Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and other Trump officials to overturn the 2020 vote. That according to texts recovered from materials Meadows turned over to the January 6 investigation.  More good news on the guaranteed income front, the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund (GRO) and GiveDirectly are launching the largest guaranteed income program tried in the South. The program will target Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward, providing $850 per month to about 650 women with no questions asked.  As Chris Hayes laid out on his show last night, Russia's invasion of Ukraine feels like the first armed conflict of a new era. An era in which authoritarianism is on the rise and liberal democracies have been backsliding.  And Antarctica is seeing temperatures more than 70 degrees hotter than normal this week.  Jim Worthington, owner of the Newtown Athletic Club in Bucks County, is at it again. A staunch supporter of Donald Trump and major financial backer of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, is suing Democratic Congressional candidate Ashley Ehasz for $50,000, because she dared call attention to the fact that Worthington “spent thousands of dollars to organize bus loads of Trump supporters to attend the ‘Stop the Steal' rally that turned into violent insurrection.”  Pennsylvania is facing a major teacher and school staffing shortage as teachers are leaving the profession due to COVID, lack of support, and contentious politics, according an excellent article by Marley Parish of the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. In addition, Pennsylvania has seen a 66% decline in Instructional I Teaching Certificates granted - which is the most basic teaching certifications given to new graduates.  The scuttlebutt is that the President of the Pennridge School Board, Joan Cullen, is floating the narrative that the community is supportive of abandoning all DEI initiatives.  Pennsylvania remains the only state that does not provide state funding for public defenders. 

Tom Winter, a former state representative, is now running for U.S. Congress in Montana's newly created 2nd Congressional District. He joins Roger to discuss how to run & win as a progressive in Montana, the population growth in the state and who the new arrivals are politically, running against a former member of Trump's cabinet, and more.

Ashton is joined by Aarika Rhodes who is running against Brad Sherman in Ashton's former home district, the 32nd Congressional District in California. Ashton and Aarika have a fascinating conversation about various topics ranging from Bitcoin/crypto regulation, the state of public school education, advocating vocational schooling and financial literacy, term limits, bans on insider trading, homelessness in California, foster care and much more.If you would like to learn more about Aarika or her campaign, you can visit: https://www.aarikaforcongress.com/ or follow her on Twitter: @AarikaRhodesSubscribe to Ashton Cohen: ELECTile Dysfunction Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ashton-cohen-the-electile-dysfunction-podcast/id1565208599Subscribe to Ashton Cohen: ELECTile Dysfunction Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6siXVSwM2OWz3itH90YRNA?si=v5MUMEpwTSG_sVGPOKHP8wSubscribe to Ashton's channel on Youtube: youtube.com/c/ashtoncohenFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theashtoncohenFollow on TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM8nQjHta/Follow on Instagram: instagram.com/theashtoncohenFollow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theAshtonCohen

Ted and Scott grade President Joe Biden's first year in office. They go on to discuss the hot mess that Democratic Congressional leadership has made and conclude with a potpourri of issues ranging from the delay in launching 5G network to current tensions over Ukraine to the new Anne Frank book. 

Ted and Scott grade President Joe Biden's first year in office. They go on to discuss the hot mess that Democratic Congressional leadership has made and conclude with a potpourri of issues ranging from the delay in launching 5G network to current tensions over Ukraine to the new Anne Frank book. 

Heather Kilpatrick, Democratic Congressional candidate for Georgia district 11 (Northwest Metro Atlanta) joins Robert for a chat on voting rights, healthcare, and education Sponsored by The Buckeye Room Bar and Grill https://www.facebook.com/The-Buckeye-Room-Bar-and-Grill-319206091980514 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gdliberals/message

In this episode, We will talk about New York's Hudson Valley Real Estate Market.  Stay connected with us to get more informative and trending podcasts about New York's Real Estate Market. Theres a new episode every week.

Randy opens up about the handling of COVID-19, the current status of America and you do not want to miss what he has to say about President Trump! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ear-hustling/support

On this edition of Political Rewind, Rep. Lucy McBath from the 6th congressional district is being asked by constituents why she is not calling for the impeachment of President Trump. It is a question sure to play a role in Democratic Congressional races nationwide.

Congressman Beto O’Rourke has broken fund-raising records in his challenge to Texas Senator Ted Cruz, but on a CNN townhall this new liberal “Wonder Boy” made comments that should doom his $60 million campaign and terminate his political future. The Congressman re-affirmed that he’s ready to vote to impeach President Trump for collusion and obstruction, even before Mueller finishes his investigation or produces evidence of guilt. Dozens of other Democrats have taken similar positions, and expressed the even more bizarre hope of impeaching and investigating Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh. During the Kavanaugh confirmation process, most Americans felt rightly disgusted by the bitterness, hysteria, wild-charges and character assassination. Beto’s blunder makes it obvious to all that anyone who votes for Democratic Congressional or Senatorial candidates is voting for more of the same. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.