Dean Phillips Was Right About Joe Biden (w/ Dean Phillips) | Bulwark Podcast

Intro if I had been a republican in the same circumstance knowing I would be excommunicated in a really nasty way I still would have done it yeah sure but I do I think it's worth pointing out that that is not how the Democratic party in caucus operates and we do create space and place for descent I know a lot of Republican colleagues who in their hearts want Donald Trump to lose so that this sickening chapter uh in American political history can come to a close and they can rebuild the party hopefully with principal conservatives uh leading the charge [Music] hello and welcome to the Buller podcast I'm your host Tim Miller bringing back to the show Conquering Hero Democratic congressman from Minnesota Dean Phillips uh he was an entrepreneur he helped to build the T talente gelato into one of the top selling ice cream brands in the country and he made some pretty good points about the 2024 election that you may or may not remember how you doing Cong man I'm doing great Tim thank you doing a lot better than I was doing when we last spoke yeah well I don't know I think you were doing fine it was maybe me that wasn't doing well I love being wrong I know people don't believe this about me because of my you know Brash attitude but I love being wrong I love saying I'm wrong I just I just don't like it when I'm right and you tell me I'm wrong you know that's that's the problem but in this case I was wrong and to prove it I want to listen to Dean Dean Phillips in 2023 on Biden Stepping Aside Phillips August 13th 2023 one year ago 367 days ago before you announced you're running when you're kind of soft floating that something needed to happen here here you are with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press what I'm technically and legitimately doing is representing I'm a representative and I'm representing what I believe to be the majority of the country that wants to turn the page tired of the meanness and the fear-mongering of Donald Trump would like to see Joe Biden and a wonderful and remarkable man pass the torch uh cement this extraordinary Legacy you don't want them to run for reelection I I believe what's in the best interest of the country and by the way this is not how everybody thinks but I do believe a majority wants to move on I hear from way too many people now this is the news was that I was meeting with donors the fact is I listen to normal Americans every day and my own feeling about this is no no this is about how people feel by the way it's not about what's real all the time it's about how people feel people want to turn the page I think that's fair to say as a Democrat I adore Joe Biden he saved this country he can cement his legacy my real call to action right now is not about me the call to action is to ask the president to pass the torch what can President Biden do to reassure you he is up to a second term I'm not saying he's not up to a second term what I'm saying is look at the data I listen my job is to listen I do it every single day back in Minnesota right can he change the data against what you're talking about is basically the history of our lifetimes okay you go back the last four sitting presidents who had serious primary Challengers that party lost the White House why we go back to LBJ but also Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter George HW Bush but why were they primaried because people recognize they were weakened the country was ready to turn the page well how do you grade yourself on that Congressman um I'd say B+ B+ what'd you get wrong you know I it's I have not heard that by the way uh for a long time Tim and it's um it's even interesting for me to to hear those because I've been consistent uh since uh the very beginning and you know if I if I got anything wrong uh I believe I didn't work hard enough and perhaps aggressively enough uh with those uh in the positions of power that had the levers available to pull uh to do something uh sooner and if I have any regret it's not that what I did it's not about what I did it's what I didn't do and that is to perhaps Inspire Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer hakeim Jeff and others uh that ultimately uh were the Brokers if you will uh to do something sooner uh that's probably my only regret you who really thinks you right you know when I was listening to that audio a couple times the last 24 hours I was like you know who really should have listened to Dean Phillips wasn't me it was Gavin you got to believe Gavin sitting out there in Sacramento right now going man I really this guy this guy had some points that maybe I should have thought a little more hard more you know Tim I I saw I saw I saw the governor uh in South Carolina when I was campaigning and we we appeared at the same event and um you know he did his stick then I did mine I gave him a hug afterwards and I whispered in his ear you should have run and at that moment a photographer snapped a picture I have it on my it is it's one of those you know moments where only he and I knew what I had just said but he smiled in a way that said a lot turned out great actually not by anybody strategic doing but by dumb luck you know what being having good luck is much better than having good strategy that's true um but I want to do I want to go forward but just a little bit more going back to that time I'm curious I like I'm I'm mostly curious about because I just think any institution as a culture it is good to listen to people that are challenging you in good faith from the internally right it's good to listen to sure to question your presumptions it's good to um you know you know let let whistleblowers speak like all of this like that is all a sign of health and it's positive and I think the most distressing thing about all this was that that that was not really what happened initially on the Democratic side there's a lot of won circling and I'm just curious like what was the hardest part for you about that process like how bad did it get how ostracized were you how are you still disillusioned a little bit by some of your colleagues Behavior well let me start with the Positive which is I'm overjoyed and frankly amazed that that mission that was such a lonely one for so long has has been realized and it was never about accolades and public uh roses being thrown at me it was about uh doing the right thing and uh I feel I did the right thing so I don't have resentment I don't have anger many have asked me to go on a I Told You So tour and that's just so antithetical to what this was all about um and um so I'm I'm I'm optimistic too I you're a better man than I on that front I would literally have an I Told You So tattoo right nowto I'd have that mission accomplished Banner from W I have Beach on a boat look how that turned out for him you know and look at that's that's Theo in Washington and um you know I wanted to do this differently and I'm just let me just I'll wrap that in a bow I'm just Overjoyed that it finally happened uh should it have happened sooner yes most sad I have to say is uh had Joe Biden debated me and perhaps others in the primary I do and campaigned a little bit I think the country would have seen uh those elements that ultimately led to him standing down and yeah the fact that he actually appeared at that June 27th debate uh that I believe unfortunately and sadly history will look upon as you know the end of his career U you know he could have saved his own legacy and I really hold those around him more accountable than anybody so if I have any disappointment to be honest with you Tim I'm really disappointed in those uh who had the power the ability the influence and the trust of the president uh to do what right not just for the country but frankly as a human being for him so if I have any disdain uh it is for those who could have done that as for my colleagues look you know Tim you and I know we both know this game and we know that it's a culture that uh focuses on self-preservation uh it means you have to modify sometimes your values and principles if you wish to continue to be reelected and that is I think the root of so many problems in Washington so I knew what I was getting into I didn't ask anybody for support because I knew they couldn't give it to me uh and I don't have disappointment in the people I have disappointment in the culture and and in leadership and that's why I'm hopeful uh that we can change that and reward to your point earlier about whistleblowers or those of uh positions of dissent you know we need to create a culture where you can do that respectfully and that people are willing to listen the whole point of primaries I mean that that we wouldn't if if we wanted to just corn candidates based on who a party wants we didn't we didn't need c primaries we didn't have them for many years the whole point of a primary is to entertain ideas entertain new candidates to afford American voters at least an opportunity to get to know someone different and when a party suppresses that uh I think that is a threat to democracy and look at I love my Democratic party I do believe our heads and hearts are in the right place but I really think that we have to do some self-reflecting on what happened and not by the way not just to me to Maryann Williamson to other candidates whose names probably most listeners won't ever know uh I do believe we should work harder to promote competition promote disperate voices uh and by the way I think Democrats will do better electorally if we do I think we've um unfortunately developed a brand uh that cancels and that disenfranchises and that suppresses and I think the best way to overcome mean speech is with more speech and that's just my principle and I really hope we do some self-reflecting um that's I I think the additional thing that I'd add to that is um you know listening back to the the Chuck Todd interview I think the thing that you that you get the A+ for thing that you the most right about was that was talking about listening to what this was what regular people wanted right and there was this very um cynical argument that was being made in Washington that it was like the it was only Elites that wanted Joe Biden to step aside when it was the opposite was true right it was the it was the elites were protecting him it was the political the most political obsessives like probably political podcast listeners so no offense to anybody listening to this right but it's like people that were the most that were that are the most you know kind of focused on the winning it game element of this right like that that who are the most into politics is sports that like ra that that I think were a little bit blinded you know and it was like the people that were furthest away this whole time that were seeing things more clearly right and and a lot of those were Democratic voters you know just not the types of democratic voters that are like maybe the most vocal on social media I think you hit the nail in the head and that and in fact it there's a I think it's an analogy to um trumpism uh which is when regular everyday Americans which is most Americans feel that they're unheard or that their perspectives are not being considered or they have no recourse it's just fundamental human nature that you become angry it's true in a person relationship it's true in a professional environment it's certainly true in politics and Democrats used to be the party of the people um represented rural Americans small town working people and we had our ears to the ground you know polling and data which is you know foundational in Washington DC you know those are numbers you know you got to get into coffee shops and you know and go to church and um encounter people on the street to really understand what's going on and I think if more people would do that to him you'd find a couple things people are not being Hur the Washington bubble is far uh more Fierce and impenetrable than people even imagine uh and the other this is the The Good the optimistic part is the country is not nearly as divided as human beings as anger tainment would have us believe so there there's a real truth to that and I'm saddened that Democrats have abandoned a lot of this country if you look at it geographically when I say abandoned just electorally it's been pragmatism but that was part of my call to action to is to start listening not reading numbers to listen to people for God's sakes that's what representative democracy is all about Republicans at least Trump has done that better I'm just going to have to give him a check mark in that box because he has been listening to people and he's giving that life he's not the disease he's a symptom of a disease and the disease I think is a lack of listening plain and simple and that's what I was hearing and it was obvious I come from a district Tim as you know that had not elected a Democrat since 1958 and would have thought that maybe people would have paid a little bit of attention to a district like mine that is well educated prosperous had been read for 60 years and had something to say and people were telling me loud and clear and if you don't listen uh you can't lead yeah um there's one element in there that was the one area where I don't give you a knife in the whole process which is I do think that that the Democratic voters at least were potentially looking for somebody that Donald Trump on Listening to Voters they thought could take on Trump more strongly and I'm I'm happy to give you know people who disagree with me credit when they get something right I I I don't is Trump listening or is he a megalomaniac that just like react just wants the best Applause and is that a category difference is that a category difference from like actually listen I I don't think that he's listening to dissenting views I don't think that he's listening to marginalized groups I don't think he's listening to you know the women you know trans people that are upset with his rhetoric right like he should there there's a certain group of people that cheers when when he tells them what they like to hear that's a little bit different than list let let let me rephrase first of all two things can be true at once yes he's an egomaniacal disaster and no he does not listen to descent but he I do believe you know he look Tim I think it goes without saying he tapped into something that few recognized in the very beginning and that's why all of us dismissed him when he walked down that staircase in whatever it was 2014 2015 because we thought he was a fool but I do believe when it comes to bread and butter kitchen table economics when it comes to you know the Border issue when it comes to disen disenchantment with the political system even his opening slogan which was drain the swamp you know there are very few more unifying slogans I think for most Americans than that one because we all know that there is a real disconnect between Washington and um everyday Americans so the only credit I wish to give him is that he identified I think an undercurrent of disdain and tapped into it and then embellished it and has um frankly destroyed I think the blessing of what he was doing so you're absolutely right that was not my point my point is yeah Democrats have to start walking the talk and this whole Elite it is becoming it has become I think a party that has elevated too many first of all Elite's a weird word but elitism to me is simply people who are operating in a bubble who think they know better than others and when it comes to electoral Politics the whole point is it's not about Elites it's about popularity and there is a massive disconnect it's just as simple as that we got so much going for us and we shouldn't it should never have been a close race to begin with that's my whole point yeah and listening representation begins with listening plain and simple I want to talk about how Democrats can do better at this going forward but just one one more thing if you'll indulge me I'm not a huge fan of Thomas soul but the but he does have one quote that's a winner which is the people will forgive you for being wrong but they'll never forgive you for being right so I do I am curious I just I still I want to go back to the cafeteria one more time just because I can't I'm just I'm a I'm a I'm Dean Phillips Return to Washington after Campaign an invent I'm gay I'm an inventer of Gossip I like a little gossip so I just how's the cafeteria how was the cafeteria have you been back like how you know how's everybody they're nice to you are they Whispering behind your back or they some begrudging congrats it it was it was a journey for for I was told before I right before I threw my hat in the ring uh someone reminded me of the old saying you know Dean first they're going to ignore and then they're going to laugh and then they're going to excoriate you and then they're all going to say we knew it all along and that and I got to tell you it was exactly how it played out and yeah it was when I came back to Washington after you know five months on the road campaigning yeah I will confess I don't get too nervous or concerned or fearful of social situations but I I'll confess it was a strange feeling coming back uh to my community to the Democratic caucus and I remember walking in the chamber for the first time when I was back and I walked I happened to come through the Republican side going over to my side and I was greeted by a lot of um a lot of hugs and and handshakes and high fives and a reporter tweeted immediately from the gallery said uh Dean Phillips returns to the uh chamber after five months greeted with handshakes high-fives and hugs period and then it said from Republicans I remember this tweet I don't remember who sent it but I remember and and there's no question Tim that uh I was greeted with a lot more Fanfare and affection by Republicans at that moment uh than I was by my own and I understood why because they knew what would happen to any one of them if they even whispered something negative about Donald Trump so they saw me uh as someone who had done something courageous you know my uh community on the other side of the aisle uh was still very disappointed they thought I'd undermine Biden they thought you they thought if anything uh that I was a problem um not preent and my dear friends were cool and I think you know people were friendly but it was hard it was hard and it was it hasn't been the same since because I think it was fair to say I was relatively popular elected to house leadership and the like uh but in the last month it has all changed and a lot of people have come up to me proactively um and very thoughtfully uh uh to share their kind words uh the only people that haven't the only people that haven't are the handful that I really think should and those are the ones that said publicly disparaging things which is only a handful of people but Tim it wasn't about it wasn't about about accolades I I knew my career if you just want to send me a little black book we can do it off the Record a private list of who who's was nice to you the whole time and then who was and who was mean um I'll uh I I'll keep it as a as a note for the future okay I I'll think of you this holiday season thank you I like that yeah the naughty and nice list um all right let's go let's look forward um Tim Walz Reaching Out to Middle America the uh uh you mentioned how Democrats have struggled reaching out to Rural America in particular um you're you have a Minnesota League now that's on the ticket with KLA Harris Tim wals um a lot of Democrats are saying that he is somebody that's suited to that he you know comes from farm community in Nebraska was a coach in Mano which is rural is and um represented rural District um so what are your thoughts about Tim Walls uh the person and then thoughts on like whether he can maybe help bridge some of those problems you've identified I I think K Harris's choice of Tim Walls is outstanding I love Tim Walls I I think he is exactly you he's the kind of guy that Tim Ryan has been begging Democrats to elevate I think for a long long time and I'm thrilled and I really do believe that America is starting to see you know what we Democrats can be and who we are and um what our life experiences can bring to the table he's outstanding you know between being born in Nebraska a teacher a football coach a national Guardsman uh a relatively moderate uh representing a red District in Congress and now of course a governor who has uh certainly moved left uh in his tenure here in Minnesota but really did what Democrats I believe stand for which is to raise the foundation to invest in communities and and people and education and social safety nets and paid family leave and the environment uh has maintained women's Reproductive Rights against some ODS uh he's really an outstanding man and I I'm thrilled and I do believe he's exactly the kind of democrat that we should be elevating and almost antithetical to this elitism that is assigned to both the West and East coasts that um I think has really undermined us for some time and I think I think in no small part it's not just kamla Harris's rise uh in the last few weeks that is really troubling Donald Trump I think he sees in Tim Walls and this combination even a bigger threat because I think they're in a way doing that listening and doing that Repro if you will with rural Americans better than he is and I think Tim Walls has a lot to do with it and as Americans get to know him I think they're going to like him even more so I'm encouraged to hear that because the Tim Walls thing has has not uh sent the thrill up my leg that it has with a lot of folks I think he's he seems like a really good person and I love that he's contributed his community the thing that worries me a little bit is his time as Governor um you know he was just a downline progressive we had Peter Callahan who I'm sure has covered you uh in the past uh from uh Minnesota uh Mino post on the podcast last week and I and I asked him was there any time when he was governor that he said no to the progressive activists or said no to the left and the answer was like basically no there was there was a couple small like certain situational caveats to it but and so I do worry about that like is can somebody that is down the line Progressive kind of effectively reach out to red America in the way that I think a lot of Democrats including you hope that he can well the best way I can answer this question is to reflect on again this political culture that uh almost requires in this day and age um uh a governor a member of Congress a senator to really abide by the company line by the party line if you will if you wish to continue your career and Ascend the lad and that's that is the culture and people do have to make choices uh the more Independence you show the less there's an inverse correlation the more independent-minded you are the more willing you are to push back on occasion the less likely you are to be celebrated by the party and Ascend the ranks and and find higher office so that's the reality and I think that's why we see so many electeds around the country change modify their behaviors and their policies based on pragmatism uh you're going to see the same thing I think from kamla Harris right now the times beg for a different approach in 2020 she had to move away from her uh prosecutorial back backr from her more moderate credentials now she's going to run back to them I think she and Tim Walls are actually at heart much more moderate and pragmatic and Common Sense than perhaps their recent voting records and policies uh would have people believe I think there's truth to that uh there have been examples where Tim Walls pushed back uh there was an episode recently with um Uber and and Lyft and this one that Peter mentioned yeah yeah ride Shar Services where where I spoke with the governor it was going to be a tragic um decision by the Minneapolis city council uh if this policy went through which would have literally uh Uber was going to leave the Twin Cities market and hundreds of people that rely on Uber every day to get to work and um so many people would have been stranded and the governor did push back uh at Great political risk here in Minnesota on that policy he has done that U on a few occasions I think that's the most probably high-profile but I hear what you're saying uh and that is true on both sides of the aisle it's true on ours but at the end of the day uh I do think at heart he understands pragmatism he understands he's not just representing Minnesota now which is you know still blue he's going to be representing an entire country and that means he's I think going to be much more authentic about his more moderate um Centrist credentials uh time will tell uh but again we do not live in an aaim where the political parties afford a lot of space uh for occasional push back you know perfect example right here in front of you uh so there you have it have you have you talked to him since he got the nod we've course I've not spoken he's he's probably been a little bit busy but yes we've course responded and um I have great effect Tim and I you know we've kind of come up here in Minnesota together I hired a number of his staff members his chief of staff his deputy chief his legislative director and and I think you know I and no one's asked me this question but I can speak to the kind of people uh with whom Tim wall surrounds himself uh my former politic my former campaign manager is one of his top political directors now too he really does select outstanding High character um principled people around him of in rity and decency and competency uh they're not flashy they're not necessarily Ivy Leaguers they're really good solid people uh that I found to be exceptional for me as well uh he's that kind of guy he's trustworthy he's reliable uh he's taken some heat about a couple things that I really think are um absurd uh but that's how politics work uh his military record and bathroom thing yeah so military record I mean goodness the guy served for 24 years in the National Guard yeah you know I mean who is anyone to throw stones at that for God's sakes and he did not leave he did not abandon you know his his guys knowing he's going to be deployed he ran for office and you know circumstances uh worked out in a fashion that only political hit jobs would take advantage of that's just the truth and I think it's really shameful for those who would use that against him uh but that's again the era and not to mention against a guy who avoided the draft four times or five times in Vietnam saying that his feet were freaking flat so come on you know um I love hearing that about his staff have one of them email me I I I need I'm you're help this is helping I'm getting wall pilled it's you know it's just it's going a little slower for me I'd love to hear more from the people that that i' welcome that opportunity and I and I should say and I'm not going to be I'll be totally honest you know Tim did say a couple things about me publicly when I declared my candidacy that bothered me and I let him know it and uh you know we we did what you're supposed to do we um discussed it and resolved it and and moved on so it's not like we've always we've had a perfect relationship I've been disappointed on a couple things but I'm telling you um you know he's he's I I think he's going to add value in ways that rarely vice presidents in campaigns do um particularly because of his adversary being JD Vance I think he's really well suited uh to demonstrate um real chops yeah that is a uh that's a that's a compelling endorsement um I know that we're we're here we're supposed to be you know doing the uh not just throwing stones at how terrible the other party is but uh the Republicans are just like they're just there's too many there's too many targets here and I I would be remiss if I could did not ask you about the Republican nominee for Senate uh in your state of Minnesota I I just want to play Royce White Senate Candidate in Minnesota a very short Montage of Royce White this man is the Republican nominee for Senate in in Minnesota well look let's just be frank women have become too mouthy as the black men in the room I'll say that the first time time I I started my campaign at the Federal Reserve they said that I was I was a Deb hawked and that I was uh you know dog whistling anti-Semitism because I was at a place where a lot of Jewish Elites actually run the Fed for n and you know there's a long list of them but everybody wants to be lgbtq positive cuz it's in because it's funny cuz the white folks will give you money the white folks will accept you now if you're lgbtq positive but let me ask you this is there anything positive about about a school a group of liberal white women taking a bunch of kids to a gay nightclub in duth Minnesota and having a drag queen stripper show I mean what's happening how is that the nominee for Senate you know first of all my reaction of course it's despicable shameful um moronic but it's also more than anything else it's just sad it's really sad it's sad for him it's particularly sad for for the Republican Party um I I can't imagine what it must feel like you know probably better than I what what it must feel like for a principled conservative to see some of the candidates that are being elevated right now it is it's staggering uh uh it's sad it's embarrassing for a state in which um I've made my home my whole life and which I love that has actually a very proud tradition of moderate conservatism U people like Dave derberger and Arie Carlson former governor yeah I love Ary Carlson wonder and a man who um helped me considerably in my first he and Walter Mondale tag team to really helped me in 2018 uh I I just think they would be turning well arie's of course alive Dave durenberger passed away they'd be turning in their graves Ronald Reagan I mean I just I I don't know how to respond to such absurd sickening grotesque commentary um and it's pathetic Amy kashar is going to demonstrate um how most motans are in their hearts and heads and um I think I'm just going to leave it at that and you know for and not to mention you know this is a guy who spends campaign dollars and strip clubs for God's sakes um yeah come on SO and also we spent a lot of the time talking about how maybe uh Democrats could have been more open to your critique uh as an understatement but uh I do notice you're still there you know and that's the other thing that's frustrating as a principl somebody from the center right is like you know Liz CH you're not you didn't get the Liz Cheney treatment right I mean like these people have been run out on a rail Adam kinzinger and they're being replaced with sticks like that guy and it's just pretty depressing um let me speak to if I could just say one because I think this is really important that that is a huge difference first of all I would have done this if I had been a republican in the same circumstance knowing I would be excommunicated in a really nasty way I still would have done it yeah sure but I do I think it's worth pointing out that that is not how the Democratic party in caucus operates and we do create space and place for descent our Progressive Wing our moderate Wing you know are pretty regularly um in some de degree of debate and conversation with differences of opinion and there's space in place for it Hakeem Jeff um is an outstanding leader and I was on at his table as a leader uh he knew what I was up to I kept him apprised uh he did not support it but he made place for it and when I first offered to leave the leadership team because I was starting to raise my voice uh he actually asked me to stick around uh didn't accept my resignation and only when I came back to him um uh many weeks later uh and basically said it wasn't a conversation it was an advisory did he accept it uh but that is a difference uh and I think if IID ran again I would have won handly as what I believe so this is not the same party as the other side and we're in a better place to actually start investing in a little bit more of that uh whereas the Republican part is going to have to I think burn it down before they can even begin to and I tell you I know a lot of Republican colleagues who in their hearts want Donald Trump to lose so that this sickening chapter uh in American political history can come to a close and they can rebuild the party hopefully with principled conservatives uh leading the charge yeah I don't really care what's in their hearts but uh yeah you're probably right about that um uh one more thing on the econic CLM then I want to hear what's next for you I'm just hoping the thing of uh we have both Kamala Harris’s Economic Proposals both uh parties are doing their economic rollouts this week and there's some good stuff in what KLA is proposing I like the child tax credit expansion it seems like they're going to propose more housing which is a Bugaboo that I've had but neither of them are taking it all serious the like just looming debt crisis we're facing or with high interest rates payments on debt service or skyrocketing is this is it are there any Dean Phillips out there to be the icono class on this issue uh because it's pretty it's looking pretty bleak Tim I think it's I think it's our biggest uh deficiency right now neither KLA Harris nor Tim Walls have any private sector experience uh I think the Democratic party would be well served by starting to engage more deeply in fiscal fiscal responsibility and and U management and debt Services both for consumers and for the federal government uh is becoming a big problem uh people should know that our our debt service this year will probably exceed $850 billion uh it's going to match our defense budget uh and we're on a completely unsustainable path and now we have consumers uh facing very similar challenges especially those that took out three fiveyear arms to buy homes not long ago and are going to see interest rates just um their payments explode the good news is I think the FED will be cutting rates soon but I do believe democrats should Elevate this issue uh and a policy that I promoted heavily and I really hope that uh vice president Harrison Governor walls consider is something called American Dream accounts uh in which the federal government would endow a $55,000 investment account for every baby born in America be invested in a S&P 500 Index Fund compound year after year after year and then as an incentive to graduate high school Young Americans would have those accounts vest and they'd have 20 to $225,000 uh to begin their lives and this would be part of the Social Security program right now we only take care of people at the end of their career this would be help at the beginning of a career and I think it's the kind of policy that would allow us to reduce social safety nets afford young people some cash to begin their lives uh start a small business make a down payment on a house and most importantly truly afford all Americans equal opportunities and it it would cost $18 billion dollar a year which is about what California spends just on incarceration every year so when you think about you know it's a lot of money but it's a drop in the bucket that could really change the future of this country our entire um policy culture and really afford I think stimulate entrepreneurship Innovation and these are the kind of policies I wish Democrats would start focusing on this notion actually had Republican roots and I'd like to see them go big not just on spending more and adding more to the existing policies but to really reconsider reinvent and reimagine you know what it means to pursue the American dream and really think about uh the tragedy that could be forthcoming if we do do not start managing our federal government operationally and fiscally uh quite differently if Democrats adopted that plank Tim I really think it would be an Unstoppable party that is the one element that is really preventing a lot of Independence and moderate Republicans from making that jump because they don't have faith that we are a pro bus party that we are one that take fiscal responsibility seriously and in the with the erosion of that consideration amongst Republicans I think it's a grand opportunity so that's my action for them Phillips’ Recent Endeavors obviously concur on that's preaching to the choir all right what's next for you Congressman what's happening you know well Tim you know the other yesterday I worked at a fast food restaurant uh for a series call on the job with Dean uh the day before that I was at the Mall of America I joined the Nickelodeon dance team uh and uh you're living their best life it sounds like to me so I got to tell you never never did I know what I was really missing I'm gonna I'm giv thought to that right now Tim I I want to make a difference I'm going to invest my time in the public sector and um part increasing participation we can't sustain democracy with only one in 10 Americans voting in primary elections I want to work on Jerry mandering I want to um expand rank Choice voting and I want to inspire competition so I'll be keeping a foot in public Waters somehow um and reconnecting with friends and family in the next few months and um you know hope to add value uh to a country that really um uh deserves it and that has given me so much and just in closing uh I think I shared with you in my first visit with you that you I lost my dad in Vietnam and this job over the last six years has been a remarkable one when every time I pull out my voting card you know I think of my predecessors in that very chamber taking votes on policies uh that would expand and afford education to Young Americans that my father took advantage of because he had no money to go to college in the late 60s so he did the RC program he got educated and the same people you know made votes that ultimately would take his life uh in Vietnam and we need to start attracting the best and brightest most competent Americans on the right and left make Public Service an honorable reasonably compensated Pursuit that attracts thoughtful progressives and thoughtful conservatives so I want to spend my time trying to do that with young people uh to inspire them to be police officers firefighters teachers run for city council school board and Congress if we can inspire people to participate uh we're going to be just fine uh but absent U that vitamin of democracy which is participation um we're going to have problems so I'm going to spend my time doing that any way I can well in the midst of that you're always welcome back here Congressman Dean Phillips I really appreciate it um you know gave you a little bit too much of the business last time I came around I came around too late for your sake but uh but earlier than some others so Tim you you you did what I was asking for which is you afforded me platform it wasn't about whether people agreed with me it was about affording platform and when the Democratic machine or the Republican machine shuts down suppresses platform for descent uh we are in trouble so I want to say thank you to you and others uh with large followings and small that are simply giving space to those to make their case uh you're doing the most important work in democracy so thank you I appreciate that so much let's stay in touch [Music]