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What If We Could Fix Congress Without Changing a Single Law? America's Main Street Party with Tom Joseph

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WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Speaker 0: Then one day, I was, made a joke that we do 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:08.000 Speaker 0: a better job picking the next American Idol than we do the next representative 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:08.720 Speaker 0: to Congress. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.720 Speaker 0: And it really started me thinking, you know, that this 00:00:12.885 --> 00:00:16.885 Speaker 0: isn't that expensive to do. 00:00:22.485 --> 00:00:23.925 Speaker 1: Money has warped politics. 00:00:23.925 --> 00:00:27.285 Speaker 1: Congress feels broken, and a lot of people are wondering, what does their vote 00:00:27.285 --> 00:00:28.500 Speaker 1: even matter anymore? 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:32.420 Speaker 1: Tom Joseph has spent decades proving he knows how to build systems that work. 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:36.420 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety one, he founded BookMinders, a remote first bookkeeping agency 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:40.180 Speaker 1: that was ahead of its time long before remote work became normal. 00:00:40.180 --> 00:00:44.180 Speaker 1: Now he's bringing that same systems first mind set to American democracy with a 00:00:44.215 --> 00:00:48.215 Speaker 1: moneyless merit based nomination process for congress that pushes aside 00:00:48.855 --> 00:00:51.655 Speaker 1: party insiders, big donors, and dark money. 00:00:51.655 --> 00:00:54.055 Speaker 1: And he thinks he's found a way to actually make it work. 00:00:54.055 --> 00:00:55.895 Speaker 1: So please welcome to the show, Tom Joseph. 00:00:55.895 --> 00:00:57.335 Speaker 1: Thanks for being here. 00:00:57.335 --> 00:00:59.300 Speaker 0: Molly, thanks so much for having me here in your show. 00:00:59.300 --> 00:01:02.260 Speaker 0: I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about what we're doing. 00:01:02.260 --> 00:01:04.260 Speaker 1: Well, you know, I appreciate the work that you're doing. 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:08.180 Speaker 1: And so I'm happy to provide a platform because I think that, I think 00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:10.660 Speaker 1: we can all agree we need to get money out of politics, but we 00:01:10.660 --> 00:01:12.495 Speaker 1: don't know where to start. 00:01:12.495 --> 00:01:16.495 Speaker 1: And I was particularly, interested in the fact that you started BookMinder's in ninety 00:01:16.655 --> 00:01:20.655 Speaker 1: one because I was in real estate finance in nineteen 00:01:20.655 --> 00:01:21.855 Speaker 1: ninety one. 00:01:21.855 --> 00:01:22.335 Speaker 1: No. 00:01:22.335 --> 00:01:23.215 Speaker 1: Not ninety one. 00:01:23.215 --> 00:01:24.895 Speaker 1: In ninety four, ninety five. 00:01:24.895 --> 00:01:28.895 Speaker 1: And I was, scanning documents through OCR systems 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:31.200 Speaker 1: and everybody thought I was from the future. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:31.520 Speaker 1: Right? 00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:35.520 Speaker 1: So I know how groundbreaking having a remote 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:37.920 Speaker 1: technology was in nineteen ninety one. 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:41.920 Speaker 1: Like, I remember, you know, we were still making Xerox copies of things 00:01:42.225 --> 00:01:42.945 Speaker 1: for loan file. 00:01:42.945 --> 00:01:44.385 Speaker 1: You know, it was a different time. 00:01:44.385 --> 00:01:48.385 Speaker 1: And so you clearly have a systems forward mindset. 00:01:48.465 --> 00:01:52.465 Speaker 1: So, let's talk about how that kind of mindset, 00:01:52.545 --> 00:01:55.390 Speaker 1: comes into play now. 00:01:55.390 --> 00:01:59.390 Speaker 0: I, you know, I was during the COVID, I've always been 00:01:59.390 --> 00:02:01.070 Speaker 0: thinking about this political stuff. 00:02:01.070 --> 00:02:04.350 Speaker 0: I mean, I've owned a business for a long time, 00:02:04.350 --> 00:02:07.870 Speaker 0: kind of worked myself out of a job, hired some really qualified people that 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:11.870 Speaker 0: replaced me, I own, but I just, you know, let them 00:02:12.115 --> 00:02:13.875 Speaker 0: run the con we have a great CEO. 00:02:13.875 --> 00:02:16.275 Speaker 0: She's she's remarkable. 00:02:16.275 --> 00:02:20.275 Speaker 0: But I was during the COVID, just wondering, like, with partisanship would 00:02:20.275 --> 00:02:24.275 Speaker 0: kill us and really worried about my business and whether, you know, the COVID 00:02:24.275 --> 00:02:28.275 Speaker 0: would, you know, wipe out our market and everything 00:02:28.320 --> 00:02:30.080 Speaker 0: I'd worked for for three decades. 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:34.080 Speaker 0: And I made a promise that if we got our PPP money to 00:02:34.160 --> 00:02:36.480 Speaker 0: support me through the COVID, then I would do something. 00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:40.480 Speaker 0: I'd form a federal commit committee that I would not run for office, 00:02:40.835 --> 00:02:44.835 Speaker 0: that I would try to work on changing the system without any new laws. 00:02:44.915 --> 00:02:46.515 Speaker 0: That was kind of my parameter around it. 00:02:46.515 --> 00:02:50.035 Speaker 0: I realized I was sixty, and I saw how long it took to change 00:02:50.035 --> 00:02:52.035 Speaker 0: laws around here, especially in election reform. 00:02:52.035 --> 00:02:56.000 Speaker 0: And I figured that was not a viable way to spend my time. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.520 Speaker 0: So, 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:58.480 Speaker 0: I did get that money. 00:02:58.480 --> 00:03:00.640 Speaker 0: And then January 00:03:00.640 --> 00:03:03.120 Speaker 0: fourth two thousand twenty one, I formed this committee. 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:06.015 Speaker 0: Two days later, all hell breaks loose. 00:03:06.015 --> 00:03:10.015 Speaker 0: And, it really I didn't really know what I was going to do originally. 00:03:10.335 --> 00:03:13.775 Speaker 0: I mean, I came up with an idea of just doing another political party, 00:03:13.775 --> 00:03:17.775 Speaker 0: but one that was more, I thought, like morally centered, you know, had 00:03:17.855 -->
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00:03:21.855 Speaker 0: ethics and values, but really wasn't doing anything to change about 00:03:22.070 --> 00:03:23.910 Speaker 0: the process. 00:03:23.910 --> 00:03:27.510 Speaker 0: And it you know, to me, it's a lot like doing another forward party 00:03:27.510 --> 00:03:31.510 Speaker 0: that it was really not a differentiator from what they were doing, which 00:03:31.750 --> 00:03:34.585 Speaker 0: relied on finding candidates. 00:03:34.585 --> 00:03:38.585 Speaker 0: And then one day, I was, made a joke that we 00:03:38.665 --> 00:03:42.025 Speaker 0: do a better job picking the next American Idol than we do the next 00:03:42.025 --> 00:03:43.385 Speaker 0: representative to Congress. 00:03:43.385 --> 00:03:47.385 Speaker 0: And it really started me thinking, you know, that this 00:03:47.670 --> 00:03:51.670 Speaker 0: isn't that expensive to do, you know, and that if we could, 00:03:52.070 --> 00:03:56.070 Speaker 0: create a a system that was like a completely fair, multi round contest, 00:03:57.350 --> 00:03:58.070 Speaker 0: that it would work. 00:03:58.070 --> 00:04:02.070 Speaker 0: And, I said about doing this and everybody kept telling me it was illegal. 00:04:02.115 --> 00:04:05.875 Speaker 0: And the election attorney I was working with wasn't really paying attention to what 00:04:05.875 --> 00:04:06.275 Speaker 0: I was doing. 00:04:06.275 --> 00:04:09.395 Speaker 0: The original way I did lay it out was illegal. 00:04:09.395 --> 00:04:13.395 Speaker 0: You know, I was looking at the party rewarding the contest winner. 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:17.060 Speaker 0: And then when he took a look at it, he's like, no. 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:20.500 Speaker 0: There is no, I was thinking these, like I don't know if you ever 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:24.500 Speaker 0: heard, like, a senate democratic reelection fund or 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:27.435 Speaker 0: a house republican 00:04:27.435 --> 00:04:28.715 Speaker 0: reelection fund. 00:04:28.715 --> 00:04:31.115 Speaker 0: I thought they were actually funds. 00:04:31.115 --> 00:04:32.715 Speaker 0: They are not funds. 00:04:32.715 --> 00:04:36.075 Speaker 0: There's a list of people that buy congress every two years on behalf of 00:04:36.075 --> 00:04:36.955 Speaker 0: each party. 00:04:36.955 --> 00:04:40.955 Speaker 0: So when I realized the design I came up with was just replicating 00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:44.410 Speaker 0: the same terrible system we had, I was I had to rethink it. 00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:46.810 Speaker 0: And that's when I came up with the idea of using a super PAC. 00:04:46.810 --> 00:04:49.850 Speaker 0: I was you know, my mindset was like, you don't use super PAC. 00:04:49.850 --> 00:04:52.570 Speaker 0: We wanna get rid of them bad, but we're never getting rid of them. 00:04:52.570 --> 00:04:54.330 Speaker 0: That requires, like, a constitutional amendment. 00:04:54.330 --> 00:04:56.915 Speaker 0: I mean, it's a really huge uphill battle. 00:04:56.915 --> 00:04:59.395 Speaker 0: And I think, well, why don't we figure out how to use it for 00:04:59.395 --> 00:05:00.995 Speaker 0: the good, not for the evil? 00:05:00.995 --> 00:05:03.875 Speaker 0: And if you think about it, this is the only way to use a 00:05:03.875 --> 00:05:07.875 Speaker 0: super PAC for good because you're the the district's gonna pick a nominee 00:05:08.035 --> 00:05:10.730 Speaker 0: and the super PAC's gonna back it and no strings attached. 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:14.730 Speaker 0: So you participate, you turn out numbers, you elevate 00:05:14.930 --> 00:05:18.010 Speaker 0: a candidate, and that's your choice, you back it. 00:05:18.010 --> 00:05:21.290 Speaker 0: And do it equally in red and blue so that the person who's behind 00:05:21.290 --> 00:05:23.370 Speaker 0: the super PAC is more or less saying that, hey. 00:05:23.370 --> 00:05:27.370 Speaker 0: I wanna just create competition in gerrymandered districts and 00:05:27.385 --> 00:05:31.385 Speaker 0: and work to beat gerrymandering, which is what this tool is, 00:05:31.625 --> 00:05:34.025 Speaker 0: and not really be about a person or a cause. 00:05:34.025 --> 00:05:38.025 Speaker 0: And and, really, if that representative doesn't represent, they have to go back 00:05:38.025 --> 00:05:42.025 Speaker 0: through the system that's free and equal and emerge and be supported by that 00:05:42.190 --> 00:05:42.670 Speaker 0: Super PAC. 00:05:42.670 --> 00:05:45.550 Speaker 0: If they go rogue, they're gonna face that Super PAC. 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:45.870 Speaker 0: You know? 00:05:45.870 --> 00:05:49.630 Speaker 0: So to me, this is like a if we find a person or a 00:05:49.630 --> 00:05:53.615 Speaker 0: handful of people who are gonna really help restore the voice of the people. 00:05:53.615 --> 00:05:57.215 Speaker 1: Well, speaking of free and equal, I wanna talk about James Wilson a little 00:05:57.215 --> 00:05:59.135 Speaker 1: bit because I know he was instrumental in that. 00:05:59.135 --> 00:06:03.135 Speaker 1: So tell us who who who's James Wilson and how is he involved in 00:06:03.135 --> 00:06:04.415 Speaker 1: this whole, mission here? 00:06:04.415 --> 00:06:06.650 Speaker 1: Well, I know not directly, but 00:06:06.650 --> 00:06:06.970 Speaker 0: Yeah. 00:06:06.970 --> 00:06:08.810 Speaker 0: I mean, he was a founding father. 00:06:08.810 --> 00:06:10.490 Speaker 0: Nobody seems to know about him. 00:06:10.490 --> 00:06:13.290 Speaker 0: He's buried in history because he died penniless. 00:06:13.290 --> 00:06:17.050 Speaker 0: He's a Supreme Court, one of the first four Supreme Court justices, and he 00:06:17.050 --> 00:06:18.490 Speaker 0: wrote the constitution. 00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:22.490 Speaker 0: He's he and Madison were the constitutional nerds coming into the 00:06:22.495 --> 00:06:23.535 Speaker 0: convention. 00:06:23.535 --> 00:06:26.415 Speaker 0: Everybody respected what they had to say. 00:06:26.415 --> 00:06:30.415 Speaker 0: Madison, you
know, brokered a pivotal deal. 00:06:30.575 --> 00:06:33.695 Speaker 0: But the person who went on to the committee of detail and actually wrote 00:06:33.695 --> 00:06:37.695 Speaker 0: everything out and got into the mechanics of it was James Wilson. 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:41.720 Speaker 0: The the drafts of the constitution came out in his handwriting. 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:45.720 Speaker 0: They researched that the separation of powers, really the architecture 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:49.845 Speaker 0: of the constitution was his beliefs coming into the convention. 00:06:49.845 --> 00:06:51.525 Speaker 0: It wasn't the Virginia plan. 00:06:51.525 --> 00:06:55.525 Speaker 0: He basically, you know, moved people off the Virginia 00:06:55.685 --> 00:06:59.045 Speaker 0: plan over the course of the summer to, 00:06:59.045 --> 00:07:03.045 Speaker 0: get the constitution to really be the document that that was his design. 00:07:03.510 --> 00:07:07.510 Speaker 0: He's there's no statue of James Wilson to tear down 00:07:08.310 --> 00:07:12.310 Speaker 0: because he died penniless and really didn't get his due. 00:07:12.950 --> 00:07:16.950 Speaker 0: He also, after he wrote the constitution, was asked to rewrite 00:07:17.665 --> 00:07:21.665 Speaker 0: the Pennsylvania constitution, which in seventeen eighty seven was a mess. 00:07:21.905 --> 00:07:25.505 Speaker 0: Pennsylvania was just they didn't want Kingstide to have, like, one body. 00:07:25.505 --> 00:07:27.505 Speaker 0: So he, 00:07:27.505 --> 00:07:31.505 Speaker 0: wrote the Pennsylvania constitution much like the US constitution, but the election clauses 00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:34.690 Speaker 0: are in the state constitution, not in the US Constitution. 00:07:34.690 --> 00:07:38.690 Speaker 0: And he did something that was historic that, he's now just getting credit for 00:07:38.770 --> 00:07:42.530 Speaker 0: is he added the words and equal to what was previously just a free 00:07:42.530 --> 00:07:43.250 Speaker 0: election clause. 00:07:43.250 --> 00:07:47.015 Speaker 0: And the British Bill of Rights, they determined that anybody should be able to 00:07:47.015 --> 00:07:48.135 Speaker 0: run for office. 00:07:48.135 --> 00:07:51.895 Speaker 0: A hundred years later, Wilson determined it's not just that they can be able 00:07:51.895 --> 00:07:52.135 Speaker 0: to run. 00:07:52.135 --> 00:07:53.255 Speaker 0: It's gotta be fair. 00:07:53.255 --> 00:07:56.695 Speaker 0: And he there is research done to show that he defended those words. 00:07:56.695 --> 00:07:59.095 Speaker 0: He's a person that wrote it when it passed. 00:07:59.095 --> 00:08:03.095 Speaker 0: And then after that, the states that came into the union pretty much 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:04.860 Speaker 0: like copied the Pennsylvania Constitution. 00:08:04.860 --> 00:08:07.740 Speaker 0: It seemed like it's such a great Constitution. 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:11.740 Speaker 0: And so the free and equal clause and the free and fair clause 00:08:11.900 --> 00:08:15.900 Speaker 0: wound up in a lot of states' Constitution as a result of James Wilson. 00:08:15.965 --> 00:08:19.005 Speaker 0: But his theory is that if it wasn't 00:08:19.005 --> 00:08:23.005 Speaker 0: fair, it poisons the fountain of democracy and that a free and equal system, 00:08:24.285 --> 00:08:26.125 Speaker 0: is the pure fountain of democracy. 00:08:26.125 --> 00:08:28.900 Speaker 0: You can't have, democracy without it. 00:08:28.900 --> 00:08:32.900 Speaker 1: Well, and it certainly doesn't feel very equal and borderline free 00:08:33.060 --> 00:08:35.860 Speaker 1: right now, that's for sure with everything going on. 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:39.380 Speaker 1: And I guess certain areas would say it wasn't free for a long time, 00:08:39.380 --> 00:08:43.225 Speaker 1: but it definitely hasn't been equal for a long time with all this money 00:08:43.225 --> 00:08:46.585 Speaker 1: and and influence and foreign influence and and everything else. 00:08:46.585 --> 00:08:49.705 Speaker 1: So let's talk about the the system, the contest. 00:08:49.705 --> 00:08:53.465 Speaker 1: How does it actually work from the first endorsement to the final vote? 00:08:53.465 --> 00:08:56.210 Speaker 1: How does it actually work? 00:08:56.210 --> 00:08:57.970 Speaker 0: Well, the party's gonna operate very differently. 00:08:57.970 --> 00:08:59.730 Speaker 0: Like I said, we're not looking for candidates. 00:08:59.730 --> 00:09:02.530 Speaker 0: We're looking for districts that are right for disruption. 00:09:02.530 --> 00:09:06.530 Speaker 0: So imagine we find, you know, I think we're out two years, twenty 00:09:06.690 --> 00:09:08.050 Speaker 0: blue, twenty red districts. 00:09:08.050 --> 00:09:12.050 Speaker 0: We feel the numbers are right, that, you know, the representation is too 00:09:12.145 --> 00:09:14.945 Speaker 0: far left and too far right for that district. 00:09:14.945 --> 00:09:17.985 Speaker 0: And so what we'll do, the Super PAC would say, hey. 00:09:17.985 --> 00:09:21.825 Speaker 0: You're a chosen district, kinda like Hunger Games. 00:09:21.825 --> 00:09:23.265 Speaker 0: Go in there, you know, let's see. 00:09:23.265 --> 00:09:26.065 Speaker 0: We're looking for people to be on the committee and we're looking for people 00:09:26.065 --> 00:09:26.600 Speaker 0: to run. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.960 Speaker 0: And if you're gonna run, you go into the portal and you submit your 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:30.520 Speaker 0: information. 00:09:30.520 --> 00:09:31.720 Speaker 0: We're gonna do background checks. 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.760 Speaker 0: We're gonna do things that an HR department would typically do. 00:09:34.760 --> 00:09:37.880 Speaker 0: It seems silly to me that there's a lot of people running for office, 00:09:37.880 --> 00:09:40.995 Speaker 0: and they're three quarters of the way through the then and we find that 00:09:40.995 --> 00:09:43.875 Speaker 0: they didn't work there where they
work or serve where they said they serve. 00:09:43.875 --> 00:09:47.875 Speaker 0: So, I mean, the the local committee would make sure that the 00:09:47.955 --> 00:09:49.955 Speaker 0: information submitted is accurate. 00:09:49.955 --> 00:09:53.075 Speaker 0: And that there would be some requirement, just like if you're gonna get on 00:09:53.075 --> 00:09:57.075 Speaker 0: a general election ballot, you have to get endorsements that the potential nominees 00:09:57.280 --> 00:10:00.240 Speaker 0: would have to go get endorsed from some other people in the district. 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.240 Speaker 0: So they'd have to download the app, verify their identity, get a hundred people 00:10:04.400 --> 00:10:06.415 Speaker 0: say to endorse, 00:10:06.415 --> 00:10:09.215 Speaker 0: Molly that she wants to run, that she you know, there and once they 00:10:09.215 --> 00:10:11.375 Speaker 0: do that, you know, the the contest starts. 00:10:11.375 --> 00:10:14.735 Speaker 0: So you can imagine, if it's a free and equal contest, people don't have 00:10:14.735 --> 00:10:18.335 Speaker 0: to not only invest money, they don't have to sell their souls to run 00:10:18.335 --> 00:10:18.895 Speaker 0: for congress. 00:10:18.895 --> 00:10:21.100 Speaker 0: We're gonna have a lot of interest. 00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:25.100 Speaker 0: And so and, one of the ideas that I'm working with, college students 00:10:26.060 --> 00:10:29.100 Speaker 0: to figure this out, they they know how mass dot com and all these 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:29.500 Speaker 0: things work. 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:33.100 Speaker 0: But their idea was really, to come up with, like, seven issues that the 00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:37.100 Speaker 0: local committee would say, this is what's coming before congress in the next congressional 00:10:37.245 --> 00:10:41.245 Speaker 0: cycle, force the candidates to weigh in on those 00:10:41.485 --> 00:10:44.205 Speaker 0: positions, left, right, center, yes, no. 00:10:44.205 --> 00:10:48.205 Speaker 0: And then that way, it's a fact we I just saw the first demo. 00:10:48.445 --> 00:10:50.150 Speaker 0: We we have this working now. 00:10:50.150 --> 00:10:53.590 Speaker 0: But, basically, as a constituent, you go in and say, of these seven issues, 00:10:53.590 --> 00:10:56.470 Speaker 0: these three or four of utmost important to me, I would see what matches. 00:10:56.470 --> 00:10:57.990 Speaker 0: It'll basically whittle the field down. 00:10:57.990 --> 00:10:59.830 Speaker 0: And before you even look at the candidate, say, hey. 00:10:59.830 --> 00:11:03.830 Speaker 0: Out of those hundred, thirty five of them match you on those three issues. 00:11:04.765 --> 00:11:06.285 Speaker 0: Well, I'll pick a four about thirty five. 00:11:06.285 --> 00:11:07.085 Speaker 0: Can I get a fourth? 00:11:07.085 --> 00:11:08.845 Speaker 0: Do I actually wanna look at the candidates? 00:11:08.845 --> 00:11:09.085 Speaker 0: No. 00:11:09.085 --> 00:11:12.125 Speaker 0: You can use approval voting, vote them all, see if they make the top 00:11:12.125 --> 00:11:13.645 Speaker 0: twenty just like American Idol. 00:11:13.645 --> 00:11:13.885 Speaker 0: You know? 00:11:13.885 --> 00:11:17.860 Speaker 0: And then the same thing, out of your twenty five or thirty people, maybe 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:18.500 Speaker 0: seven or eight. 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:19.220 Speaker 0: Is that enough? 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:22.340 Speaker 0: I mean, I'd be thrilled if these one of them made the top four. 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:24.740 Speaker 0: And you do that, and then once we get to a top four, we're 00:11:24.740 --> 00:11:26.820 Speaker 0: thinking about having a virtual town hall around. 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:30.045 Speaker 0: There'd be additional questions that they get from constituents. 00:11:30.045 --> 00:11:32.765 Speaker 0: Using maybe ranked choice voting to get to a top two. 00:11:32.765 --> 00:11:34.845 Speaker 0: But we wanna have a final debate round. 00:11:34.845 --> 00:11:37.885 Speaker 0: This would be the only time in the contest where it would be a 00:11:37.885 --> 00:11:41.805 Speaker 0: person versus person where they'd actually be able to it wouldn't just be about 00:11:41.805 --> 00:11:42.285 Speaker 0: policy. 00:11:42.285 --> 00:11:46.285 Speaker 0: This would be about why me, not them, which is a fair statement. 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:48.340 Speaker 0: And then a final vote. 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:51.300 Speaker 0: And then the winner is somebody who has more than fifty percent of the 00:11:51.300 --> 00:11:51.860 Speaker 0: vote. 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:55.860 Speaker 0: And that's the person who would go up against the person who won the 00:11:56.020 --> 00:11:57.780 Speaker 0: incredibly rigged public primary. 00:11:57.780 --> 00:12:01.780 Speaker 0: So, in practice, this would we would see this running in parallel 00:12:02.365 --> 00:12:06.365 Speaker 0: with the public primary in a gerrymandered district where the probably the 00:12:06.445 --> 00:12:10.445 Speaker 0: incumbent is going up with very little opposition, in the primary 00:12:10.605 --> 00:12:11.645 Speaker 0: or in the general election. 00:12:11.645 --> 00:12:15.530 Speaker 0: Unless they didn't sell out to their donors and they're gonna get primaried from 00:12:15.530 --> 00:12:16.970 Speaker 0: the left or right. 00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:20.490 Speaker 0: So we think this is could create a competitive market force. 00:12:20.490 --> 00:12:21.370 Speaker 1: I mean, I agree. 00:12:21.370 --> 00:12:23.690 Speaker 1: You know, I ran for office a few years ago in DC. 00:12:23.690 --> 00:12:27.050 Speaker 1: I was asked to be on this, like, slate, you know, this dump Trump 00:12:27.050 --> 00:12:28.025 Speaker 1: slate, whatever. 00:12:28.025 --> 00:12:29.785 Speaker 1: And I and I didn't win luckily. 00:12:29.785 --> 00:12:32.745 Speaker 1: I was on, like, the second page of the of the ballot and so 00:12:32.745 --> 00:12:34.345 Speaker 1:
nobody saw me there. 00:12:34.345 --> 00:12:37.145 Speaker 1: But it just dawned on me, like, there are so many candidates and I 00:12:37.145 --> 00:12:38.185 Speaker 1: don't know anything about them. 00:12:38.185 --> 00:12:39.625 Speaker 1: Like, somebody should make a cheat sheet. 00:12:39.625 --> 00:12:42.665 Speaker 1: Somebody should identify the top ten issues and say yes or no. 00:12:42.665 --> 00:12:43.430 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? 00:12:43.430 --> 00:12:47.430 Speaker 1: Just make it easier for people because especially now there's a lot of manipulation. 00:12:47.670 --> 00:12:51.190 Speaker 1: There's people running as Democrats who are really Republicans and vice versa. 00:12:51.190 --> 00:12:54.310 Speaker 1: You know, you can't just go off of name and party line. 00:12:54.310 --> 00:12:57.030 Speaker 1: You really need to know who it is you're voting for and what issues 00:12:57.030 --> 00:12:58.125 Speaker 1: they care about. 00:12:58.125 --> 00:12:59.885 Speaker 1: And I it's not always easy. 00:12:59.885 --> 00:13:00.125 Speaker 1: Right? 00:13:00.125 --> 00:13:02.205 Speaker 1: And then a lot of it is reactive marketing. 00:13:02.205 --> 00:13:04.765 Speaker 1: They're reacting to the spin ads against them. 00:13:04.765 --> 00:13:05.965 Speaker 1: They're reacting to things. 00:13:05.965 --> 00:13:08.445 Speaker 1: But where's, like, the here's my platform. 00:13:08.445 --> 00:13:09.085 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? 00:13:09.085 --> 00:13:10.285 Speaker 1: Where is it very clear? 00:13:10.285 --> 00:13:13.224 Speaker 1: And it feels like a lot of times they just don't answer because they're 00:13:13.224 --> 00:13:14.121 Speaker 1: beholden to the donors. 00:13:14.121 --> 00:13:14.345 Speaker 1: Right? 00:13:14.345 --> 00:13:14.794 Speaker 1: They just 00:13:14.794 --> 00:13:17.486 Speaker 0: don't And the only way that the media is so lazy. 00:13:17.486 --> 00:13:19.954 Speaker 0: At this point, they're just saying who has the most money? 00:13:19.954 --> 00:13:21.300 Speaker 0: That's the person that's gonna win. 00:13:21.300 --> 00:13:24.441 Speaker 0: So they they look at, you know, their their polling is more or less 00:13:24.441 --> 00:13:24.890 Speaker 0: saying, hey. 00:13:24.890 --> 00:13:26.012 Speaker 0: This guy has million dollars. 00:13:26.012 --> 00:13:27.725 Speaker 0: This person has six hundred thousand. 00:13:27.725 --> 00:13:30.045 Speaker 0: That's the favor because they're gonna be able to outspend them. 00:13:30.045 --> 00:13:33.565 Speaker 0: I mean, that's how lazy we are about even the polling that we do. 00:13:33.565 --> 00:13:37.565 Speaker 0: So this is, you know, allows this to occur over multiple rounds, multiple 00:13:37.885 --> 00:13:38.205 Speaker 0: weeks. 00:13:38.205 --> 00:13:41.725 Speaker 0: And, you know, the question I ask is, you know, so now the result 00:13:41.725 --> 00:13:43.820 Speaker 0: is you've they've selected this candidate. 00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:45.820 Speaker 0: The the district weighed in. 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:48.220 Speaker 0: It's that or the person the party picked. 00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:49.900 Speaker 0: Who are they gonna vote for the general election? 00:13:49.900 --> 00:13:53.180 Speaker 0: I think at this point, they would believe this person can win because they 00:13:53.180 --> 00:13:53.740 Speaker 0: won. 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:56.860 Speaker 0: You know, they they won a much tougher competition. 00:13:56.860 --> 00:14:00.860 Speaker 0: Be like winning the, you know, the big ten versus the 00:14:00.865 --> 00:14:01.425 Speaker 0: Ivy League. 00:14:01.425 --> 00:14:04.705 Speaker 0: You know, it's 00:14:04.705 --> 00:14:08.705 Speaker 0: that's the act that was an accidental intentional kind of comparison. 00:14:08.865 --> 00:14:10.940 Speaker 1: I love it when that works out. 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:14.700 Speaker 1: You're targeting uncontested districts first, both red and blue. 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:15.580 Speaker 1: So why start there? 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:17.100 Speaker 1: Why does that matter more? 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.740 Speaker 1: And what does it actually accomplish? 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:22.220 Speaker 0: To me, this is maybe it's just my mental challenge. 00:14:22.220 --> 00:14:23.775 Speaker 0: I wanna break gerrymandering. 00:14:23.775 --> 00:14:27.775 Speaker 0: And if you go into naturally uncompetitive districts, there really is no chance. 00:14:27.775 --> 00:14:31.535 Speaker 0: I I think naturally uncompetitive is like, you know, it hasn't been rigged. 00:14:31.535 --> 00:14:35.215 Speaker 0: So it's like purely liberal, purely you know, if you go into the heart 00:14:35.215 --> 00:14:37.695 Speaker 0: of a a city and kept that district that way, if you didn't bring 00:14:37.695 --> 00:14:41.695 Speaker 0: in the suburbs that were conservative, that's we we don't think our system would 00:14:41.910 --> 00:14:45.910 Speaker 0: work as well there, and representation isn't as distorted. 00:14:45.910 --> 00:14:49.910 Speaker 0: In the swing districts, it's not as distorted because the competition forces 00:14:49.990 --> 00:14:51.825 Speaker 0: the representation back to the center. 00:14:51.825 --> 00:14:55.825 Speaker 0: To me, where the problem is and what everybody hates is gerrymandering. 00:14:55.825 --> 00:14:59.825 Speaker 0: People's voices get buried and and there's no accountability 00:15:00.465 --> 00:15:02.785 Speaker 0: for a representative that doesn't represent. 00:15:02.785 --> 00:15:04.545 Speaker 0: So and we there are hundreds of them. 00:15:04.545 --> 00:15:06.065 Speaker 0: I mean, we're gonna have the pick of the litter. 00:15:06.065 --> 00:15:08.910 Speaker 0: There's so many 00:15:08.910 --> 00:15:12.910 Speaker 0: districts, and we'd look at as districts where the winner in the previous election 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:15.070 Speaker 0: had at least two thirds of the vote. 00:15:15.070 --> 00:15:19.070 Speaker 0: That way, if we split that
vote, the opposition party still can't win. 00:15:19.310 --> 00:15:23.310 Speaker 0: We want a a hopeless situation for the opposition party, but the hope for 00:15:23.395 --> 00:15:27.315 Speaker 0: them is that they can either elect somebody who's not a Republican or not 00:15:27.315 --> 00:15:27.955 Speaker 0: a Democrat. 00:15:27.955 --> 00:15:30.675 Speaker 0: I mean, they they hate the opposition party so much. 00:15:30.675 --> 00:15:31.555 Speaker 0: They'll like to see that. 00:15:31.555 --> 00:15:34.900 Speaker 0: So if you're a Democrat in a conservative district, 00:15:34.900 --> 00:15:37.060 Speaker 0: that's how you get back. 00:15:37.060 --> 00:15:41.060 Speaker 0: And we think that you're we're really gonna allow the system to play against 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:42.580 Speaker 0: itself. 00:15:42.580 --> 00:15:44.500 Speaker 0: You know, we're doing it with the Super PAC. 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:45.860 Speaker 0: We're doing it with this. 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:46.180 Speaker 0: You know? 00:15:46.180 --> 00:15:48.100 Speaker 0: And that's the way monopolies go down. 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:51.445 Speaker 0: The rules, the barriers that they set up to protect them all of a 00:15:51.445 --> 00:15:52.725 Speaker 0: sudden to work against them. 00:15:52.725 --> 00:15:55.365 Speaker 0: And that's that's why I'm looking at this like a business. 00:15:55.365 --> 00:15:58.725 Speaker 0: If we look at it like a business, this is a disruptive technology coming 00:15:58.725 --> 00:16:00.245 Speaker 0: into monopolistic market. 00:16:00.245 --> 00:16:02.140 Speaker 0: Here are the ways you do it. 00:16:02.140 --> 00:16:05.580 Speaker 0: Look at do this run this like a political party, we're gonna lose. 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:05.820 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:09.820 Speaker 1: And I mean, the the the the proof is in the pudding, if you 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:10.020 Speaker 1: will. 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:13.340 Speaker 1: You know, there's certainly plenty of examples of it failing right now, and a 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:16.780 Speaker 1: lot of people are feeling very disillusioned by the whole thing. 00:16:16.780 --> 00:16:17.260 Speaker 1: You know? 00:16:17.260 --> 00:16:18.835 Speaker 1: So, 00:16:18.835 --> 00:16:21.635 Speaker 1: why should people why should candidates wanna choose it? 00:16:21.635 --> 00:16:24.595 Speaker 1: Well, you kinda just explained why they wouldn't wanna choose this, but why would 00:16:24.595 --> 00:16:26.755 Speaker 1: they choose this system over a two party system? 00:16:26.755 --> 00:16:28.595 Speaker 1: Why would this benefit candidates? 00:16:28.595 --> 00:16:30.675 Speaker 0: Well, I mean, in a two party system, you have to sell it to 00:16:30.675 --> 00:16:31.075 Speaker 0: donors. 00:16:31.075 --> 00:16:32.460 Speaker 0: It just doesn't work any other way. 00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:33.660 Speaker 0: I mean, look what's happening now. 00:16:33.660 --> 00:16:37.660 Speaker 0: You know, these really wealthy people are just putting pressure on represent vote, you 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:41.500 Speaker 0: know, my way or I'm gonna pay to put somebody in that district and 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:42.060 Speaker 0: and run. 00:16:42.060 --> 00:16:44.540 Speaker 0: That does not happen in our system. 00:16:44.540 --> 00:16:48.540 Speaker 0: So the two party system is system of whips where 00:16:48.845 --> 00:16:52.285 Speaker 0: people who control donor night with representation in shape. 00:16:52.285 --> 00:16:54.365 Speaker 0: That that should be unconstitutional. 00:16:54.365 --> 00:16:56.845 Speaker 0: In our system, the people are the whip. 00:16:56.845 --> 00:16:58.845 Speaker 0: You know, they're the ones who hold them accountable. 00:16:58.845 --> 00:17:00.205 Speaker 0: Come you know, don't represent. 00:17:00.205 --> 00:17:02.765 Speaker 0: Come back through our our nominating system. 00:17:02.765 --> 00:17:04.020 Speaker 0: You're not gonna win. 00:17:04.020 --> 00:17:08.020 Speaker 0: So I think that's what Wilson designed, 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:11.780 Speaker 0: you know, is that the states would figure out a way to make sure 00:17:11.780 --> 00:17:12.740 Speaker 0: that things were fair. 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:16.580 Speaker 0: They never envisioned that, you know, both sides of the system would be in 00:17:16.580 --> 00:17:20.580 Speaker 0: complete agreement on locking out power because they've sworn 00:17:20.875 --> 00:17:24.875 Speaker 0: an oath to make sure that elections are free and equal, 00:17:25.035 --> 00:17:27.035 Speaker 0: and they they violate their oath. 00:17:27.035 --> 00:17:30.810 Speaker 1: So let's talk about data and integrity. 00:17:30.810 --> 00:17:31.130 Speaker 1: Right? 00:17:31.130 --> 00:17:35.130 Speaker 1: Like, people I'm sure you're getting skeptics who are saying, well, people are voting 00:17:35.130 --> 00:17:36.730 Speaker 1: electronically or voting that way. 00:17:36.730 --> 00:17:40.730 Speaker 1: You know, where is the security and in that especially now with, 00:17:40.970 --> 00:17:44.185 Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna say voter fraud because it's not voter fraud. 00:17:44.185 --> 00:17:45.225 Speaker 1: It's election fraud. 00:17:45.225 --> 00:17:45.465 Speaker 1: Right? 00:17:45.465 --> 00:17:48.825 Speaker 1: It's it's not the voters committing the fraud as far as I'm concerned. 00:17:48.825 --> 00:17:51.705 Speaker 1: So how do we ensure, 00:17:51.705 --> 00:17:54.985 Speaker 1: you know, data integrity? 00:17:54.985 --> 00:17:58.140 Speaker 0: Well, I mean, I've run an accounting business for three decades, and you you 00:17:58.140 --> 00:17:59.980 Speaker 0: think people don't wanna steal money? 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:03.980 Speaker 0: I I and people say this thing like, oh, people that work in election 00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:07.420 Speaker 0: security, like, they have another gear for corruption. 00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:08.780 Speaker 0: I you know, I don't believe that.
00:18:08.780 --> 00:18:12.780 Speaker 0: I I think money is way more valuable in large numbers than votes. 00:18:12.860 --> 00:18:14.565 Speaker 0: I mean, you can only do so much. 00:18:14.565 --> 00:18:17.765 Speaker 0: And our system's already completely rigged for incumbents. 00:18:17.765 --> 00:18:18.085 Speaker 1: Right. 00:18:18.085 --> 00:18:18.325 Speaker 1: Right. 00:18:18.325 --> 00:18:22.325 Speaker 0: Like, why would foreign people waste their time screwing with our elections when 00:18:22.405 --> 00:18:24.965 Speaker 0: we screw them up so badly ourselves? 00:18:24.965 --> 00:18:25.285 Speaker 1: Right. 00:18:25.285 --> 00:18:28.805 Speaker 1: It's like, you know, you can tell somebody's never been a criminal when they 00:18:28.805 --> 00:18:31.470 Speaker 1: say things like illegal immigrants are going downtown to vote. 00:18:31.470 --> 00:18:34.750 Speaker 1: And I'm like, you don't really understand how anything works in life, do you? 00:18:34.750 --> 00:18:38.750 Speaker 1: Because, like, criminals aren't going down to the police station or going, like, 00:18:38.910 --> 00:18:40.190 Speaker 1: you know, that's not how it works. 00:18:40.190 --> 00:18:41.470 Speaker 1: They're committing crimes. 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:42.295 Speaker 1: They're like, they're 00:18:42.295 --> 00:18:45.975 Speaker 0: Plus, they don't do a very good job of making their systems transparent. 00:18:45.975 --> 00:18:49.095 Speaker 0: We have this idea about creating a virtual polling location. 00:18:49.095 --> 00:18:52.215 Speaker 0: Like, the idea behind a polling location is that you show up and I'm 00:18:52.215 --> 00:18:52.935 Speaker 0: aware, and I say, yeah. 00:18:52.935 --> 00:18:53.575 Speaker 0: I know Molly. 00:18:53.575 --> 00:18:54.535 Speaker 0: I mean, she's my neighbor. 00:18:54.535 --> 00:18:55.575 Speaker 0: I can recognize them. 00:18:55.575 --> 00:18:59.575 Speaker 0: The polling location is small enough that you're gonna recognize a school district, an 00:18:59.630 --> 00:19:00.910 Speaker 0: apartment building, something like that. 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:02.510 Speaker 0: So, virtually, we can do that. 00:19:02.510 --> 00:19:06.510 Speaker 0: So we could have we can shrink our polling locations down to 00:19:06.670 --> 00:19:07.470 Speaker 0: be really small. 00:19:07.470 --> 00:19:08.590 Speaker 0: We can do it all online. 00:19:08.590 --> 00:19:12.030 Speaker 0: You could be a virtual poll worker that goes in and says, hey. 00:19:12.030 --> 00:19:13.955 Speaker 0: I see, 00:19:13.955 --> 00:19:16.595 Speaker 0: Frank is dead, and he's lighting up green. 00:19:16.595 --> 00:19:17.315 Speaker 0: You know? 00:19:17.315 --> 00:19:20.995 Speaker 0: So this is a way that you can make the whole system be maybe 00:19:20.995 --> 00:19:24.035 Speaker 0: everybody in their district or their polling can see each other, and then they 00:19:24.035 --> 00:19:25.875 Speaker 0: have confidence that the numbers came in. 00:19:25.875 --> 00:19:27.270 Speaker 0: They don't know who did that. 00:19:27.270 --> 00:19:29.910 Speaker 0: The other aspect is, you know, through encryption, auditing. 00:19:29.910 --> 00:19:33.030 Speaker 0: I mean, again, in finance, you audit. 00:19:33.030 --> 00:19:37.030 Speaker 0: But the end of the day, you know, if the person but one American 00:19:37.270 --> 00:19:40.915 Speaker 0: Idol couldn't sing, you'd know that the voting system screwed up. 00:19:40.915 --> 00:19:41.235 Speaker 0: Right. 00:19:41.235 --> 00:19:41.715 Speaker 0: Right. 00:19:41.715 --> 00:19:45.715 Speaker 0: If our candidate's way better than the other candidates, people won't they'll say, yes. 00:19:45.795 --> 00:19:47.475 Speaker 0: That is the person who should emerge. 00:19:47.475 --> 00:19:48.595 Speaker 0: They're more popular. 00:19:48.595 --> 00:19:50.275 Speaker 0: They have the positions that match. 00:19:50.275 --> 00:19:52.435 Speaker 0: You know, what is the worry there? 00:19:52.435 --> 00:19:56.035 Speaker 0: So and the last point I make, this is a nominating system, not election 00:19:56.035 --> 00:19:56.355 Speaker 0: system. 00:19:56.355 --> 00:19:59.370 Speaker 0: So if the results produces something you like or you don't trust, you don't 00:19:59.370 --> 00:20:02.890 Speaker 0: trust the result, vote for the 00:20:02.890 --> 00:20:05.450 Speaker 0: Republican or Democrat that you're so happy with. 00:20:05.450 --> 00:20:08.170 Speaker 0: So, you know, give it a chance. 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:11.975 Speaker 0: You know, if we we could detect fraud too, just rerun the thing. 00:20:11.975 --> 00:20:15.415 Speaker 0: So there are things that we can do that you can't do an election 00:20:15.415 --> 00:20:18.455 Speaker 0: system that allows us to use this as, like, a sandbox. 00:20:18.455 --> 00:20:20.935 Speaker 0: Let's try things out. 00:20:20.935 --> 00:20:24.935 Speaker 0: Because what they're doing now isn't working, and election reform is 00:20:25.015 --> 00:20:26.080 Speaker 0: not happening. 00:20:26.080 --> 00:20:29.680 Speaker 0: And, you know, the comment I make is that well, it's happening slowly. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.680 Speaker 0: Democracy is falling apart faster than election reform is happening. 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:38.480 Speaker 1: So what differentiates America's Main Street party from other election 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.995 Speaker 1: reform efforts that are out there? 00:20:41.995 --> 00:20:44.875 Speaker 0: The biggest thing is that we don't require any new laws. 00:20:44.875 --> 00:20:47.035 Speaker 0: You know, I figured out a way to do this. 00:20:47.035 --> 00:20:51.035 Speaker 0: The loophole is is that if our contestants don't spend money, whatever 00:20:51.275 --> 00:20:53.835 Speaker 0: we do falls outside the purview of the FEC. 00:20:53.835 --> 00:20:57.290 Speaker 0: So we can basically build a primary system within the party. 00:20:57.290 --> 00:20:58.810 Speaker 0: The party has no ideology. 00:20:58.810 -->
00:21:00.090 Speaker 0: It has technology. 00:21:00.090 --> 00:21:00.410 Speaker 0: You know? 00:21:00.410 --> 00:21:04.410 Speaker 0: And then it publishes the technology out to these local committees in equal 00:21:04.570 --> 00:21:05.930 Speaker 0: numbers so that they run it. 00:21:05.930 --> 00:21:09.450 Speaker 0: So we're always our control is that, you know, we'll do three red, three 00:21:09.450 --> 00:21:13.165 Speaker 0: blue, you know, five red, five blue, but we'll never stack the deck to 00:21:13.165 --> 00:21:13.565 Speaker 0: say, hey. 00:21:13.565 --> 00:21:15.565 Speaker 0: We're doing twenty red and five blue. 00:21:15.565 --> 00:21:16.525 Speaker 0: You know, whatever. 00:21:16.525 --> 00:21:17.645 Speaker 0: We want we're gonna keep them. 00:21:17.645 --> 00:21:19.485 Speaker 0: We're always gonna go out of swing district. 00:21:19.485 --> 00:21:23.325 Speaker 0: So we wanna make a party spend money where they're typically not spending money. 00:21:23.325 --> 00:21:27.325 Speaker 0: You know, we wanna put pressure on the system, and we wanna create competition 00:21:27.520 --> 00:21:29.600 Speaker 0: when there's typically none. 00:21:29.600 --> 00:21:33.600 Speaker 1: So let's talk about the speaker of the house and restoring coalition driven 00:21:33.760 --> 00:21:34.320 Speaker 1: legislating. 00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:37.360 Speaker 1: How realistic is that and what is the path towards that? 00:21:37.360 --> 00:21:38.765 Speaker 1: Why does it matter? 00:21:38.765 --> 00:21:39.325 Speaker 0: Wow, Molly. 00:21:39.325 --> 00:21:40.125 Speaker 0: You did your homework. 00:21:40.125 --> 00:21:41.005 Speaker 0: You read everything. 00:21:41.005 --> 00:21:42.205 Speaker 0: I did. 00:21:42.205 --> 00:21:43.725 Speaker 1: Listen. 00:21:43.725 --> 00:21:46.445 Speaker 1: I didn't pay attention to Nashville, but I'm paying attention now. 00:21:46.445 --> 00:21:47.565 Speaker 1: Let me tell you. 00:21:47.565 --> 00:21:47.805 Speaker 0: Yes. 00:21:47.805 --> 00:21:48.765 Speaker 0: You did. 00:21:48.765 --> 00:21:51.565 Speaker 0: So, yeah, the long term prospect of this think about it. 00:21:51.565 --> 00:21:54.650 Speaker 0: Political parties, exist for two purposes. 00:21:54.650 --> 00:21:58.650 Speaker 0: One, to fund campaigns, and the other is so that people can have clarity 00:21:58.650 --> 00:22:00.250 Speaker 0: in who they're choosing. 00:22:00.250 --> 00:22:02.490 Speaker 0: But I'm wondering about the second part. 00:22:02.490 --> 00:22:06.090 Speaker 0: There's no question that they have they fund, political campaigns. 00:22:06.090 --> 00:22:10.090 Speaker 0: But if we eliminate money from elections, what purpose do the parties 00:22:10.385 --> 00:22:13.105 Speaker 0: have that caucuses don't have? 00:22:13.105 --> 00:22:15.505 Speaker 0: Right now, we don't have two caucuses in congress. 00:22:15.505 --> 00:22:17.585 Speaker 0: We have, like, four or five. 00:22:17.585 --> 00:22:20.145 Speaker 0: So each party has two and
then there's the problem with the people in 00:22:20.145 --> 00:22:20.865 Speaker 0: the middle. 00:22:20.865 --> 00:22:24.865 Speaker 0: So if we unbind the parties from money, then the then 00:22:25.320 --> 00:22:28.360 Speaker 0: the represent you identify, say, hey. 00:22:28.360 --> 00:22:31.000 Speaker 0: Now somebody running through the congress says, I'm not a democrat. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:32.680 Speaker 0: I'm a I'm a progressive. 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:34.840 Speaker 0: I'm a neoliberal. 00:22:34.840 --> 00:22:38.840 Speaker 0: Whatever group they're they're gonna because if you go to Congress as an independent, 00:22:38.875 --> 00:22:39.675 Speaker 0: you have no power. 00:22:39.675 --> 00:22:43.035 Speaker 0: You have to be with some you have to caucus with a group. 00:22:43.035 --> 00:22:44.955 Speaker 0: And that's where Bernie gets his power. 00:22:44.955 --> 00:22:47.035 Speaker 0: He caucuses with the progressives. 00:22:47.035 --> 00:22:51.035 Speaker 0: So we want people that aren't don't have a party 00:22:51.090 --> 00:22:54.530 Speaker 0: label and that the Main Street party is not really a party label. 00:22:54.530 --> 00:22:58.530 Speaker 0: It just allows them to affiliate a caucus level, not at a party 00:22:58.530 --> 00:22:58.770 Speaker 0: level. 00:22:58.770 --> 00:23:00.770 Speaker 0: And that's where the money is out of it. 00:23:00.770 --> 00:23:04.770 Speaker 0: There are no real you know, the caucuses aren't about elections. 00:23:04.850 --> 00:23:06.105 Speaker 0: People don't yet identify it. 00:23:06.105 --> 00:23:06.465 Speaker 0: Identify it. 00:23:06.465 --> 00:23:10.465 Speaker 0: But that would be our long term goal is to basically put 00:23:10.665 --> 00:23:14.665 Speaker 0: the public primary out of business and get people identifying by caucus 00:23:14.985 --> 00:23:18.985 Speaker 0: within congress, not party outside of Congress. 00:23:19.080 --> 00:23:23.080 Speaker 1: So right now, we're using approval voting, top four primary, and ranked 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:23.960 Speaker 1: choice voting. 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:27.960 Speaker 1: So why why that combination, and why does your system 00:23:28.280 --> 00:23:32.280 Speaker 1: produce, like, results that the current system can't? 00:23:33.045 --> 00:23:37.045 Speaker 0: Well, the the money distorts representation in our current system. 00:23:37.205 --> 00:23:39.365 Speaker 0: That that's why you're getting extreme candidates. 00:23:39.365 --> 00:23:42.165 Speaker 0: So if people aren't extreme enough, they'll put more money out and get something 00:23:42.165 --> 00:23:42.725 Speaker 0: more extreme. 00:23:42.725 --> 00:23:46.725 Speaker 0: But our system their this the stats on, things like rank 00:23:46.980 --> 00:23:50.980 Speaker 0: choice voting and approval voting is that they, they, number 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:55.220 Speaker 0: one, give people the confidence and not just picking the favor all 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:59.220 Speaker 0: the
time, which happens in our current first pass first 00:23:59.455 --> 00:24:02.015 Speaker 0: pass the post system. 00:24:02.015 --> 00:24:06.015 Speaker 0: So what we're looking at doing in our first three rounds, we go from 00:24:06.015 --> 00:24:09.695 Speaker 0: the the large field down to a top twenty down to a top ten, 00:24:09.695 --> 00:24:13.350 Speaker 0: is use what's called approval voting, meaning you're allowed to vote for as many 00:24:13.350 --> 00:24:14.310 Speaker 0: people as you approve of. 00:24:14.310 --> 00:24:16.950 Speaker 0: So it might be those people that match up on the values. 00:24:16.950 --> 00:24:17.990 Speaker 0: It could be your cousin. 00:24:17.990 --> 00:24:20.950 Speaker 0: You don't match up on values, but you promised at dinner you would do 00:24:20.950 --> 00:24:21.350 Speaker 0: that. 00:24:21.350 --> 00:24:24.630 Speaker 0: So you're gonna be able to go in and it could be a neighbor, 00:24:24.630 --> 00:24:27.765 Speaker 0: and use approval voting, in those first three rounds. 00:24:27.765 --> 00:24:31.765 Speaker 0: When we get to a top four, approval voting is one of the methods 00:24:31.925 --> 00:24:33.045 Speaker 0: that we're looking at. 00:24:33.045 --> 00:24:36.805 Speaker 0: There's four methods that we really want, to put in front of users and 00:24:36.805 --> 00:24:37.925 Speaker 0: get some feedback. 00:24:37.925 --> 00:24:40.085 Speaker 0: Rank choice voting, 00:24:40.085 --> 00:24:44.085 Speaker 0: star voting, which is like, you know, evaluating a movie, 00:24:44.360 --> 00:24:48.040 Speaker 0: pick two, meaning you gotta pick two because two are going on to the 00:24:48.040 --> 00:24:49.400 Speaker 0: final and like that approval. 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:53.400 Speaker 0: So, in the beta version, we're gonna give users 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:57.400 Speaker 0: a choice, to pick it, you know, and gather data and feedback. 00:24:58.335 --> 00:25:02.335 Speaker 0: So it's not academics that are choosing these systems, which is really 00:25:02.495 --> 00:25:06.495 Speaker 0: what's is these legislations being put forth is by people who are just 00:25:06.815 --> 00:25:08.895 Speaker 0: classroom people. 00:25:08.895 --> 00:25:12.490 Speaker 0: And let actual users and constituents say, hey. 00:25:12.490 --> 00:25:14.410 Speaker 0: This is really the way this should be. 00:25:14.410 --> 00:25:18.410 Speaker 0: Because there's a lot of, you know, political, you know, 00:25:18.570 --> 00:25:22.170 Speaker 0: opinions going around about whether these methods are good. 00:25:22.170 --> 00:25:26.170 Speaker 0: It'd be really nice to ask the constituents, 00:25:26.275 --> 00:25:27.315 Speaker 0: the users Right. 00:25:27.315 --> 00:25:28.115 Speaker 0: What they think. 00:25:28.115 --> 00:25:28.515 Speaker 0: You know? 00:25:28.515 --> 00:25:31.315 Speaker 0: So that's our goal is to gather that data through this cycle. 00:25:31.315 --> 00:25:33.955 Speaker 0: We just wanna educate people on this process. 00:25:33.955 --> 00:25:36.515 Speaker 0: It's a huge paradigm shift. 00:25:36.515 --> 00:25:40.515 Speaker 0: So hopefully, that answers your question about why we have those different the final 00:25:40.610 --> 00:25:42.450 Speaker 0: round will be pick one. 00:25:42.450 --> 00:25:46.450 Speaker 0: You know, be like our general election that we I don't see that changing. 00:25:47.330 --> 00:25:49.090 Speaker 0: You know, if it does, great. 00:25:49.090 --> 00:25:51.890 Speaker 0: We would change it, but we want the last round to emulate what we 00:25:51.890 --> 00:25:54.185 Speaker 0: have in the general election. 00:25:54.185 --> 00:25:57.545 Speaker 1: So for people that are listening right now and they're like, oh, that's peaked 00:25:57.545 --> 00:25:58.185 Speaker 1: my interest. 00:25:58.185 --> 00:26:02.185 Speaker 1: Like, what what can they do to give you more data, to support the 00:26:02.265 --> 00:26:04.745 Speaker 1: movement, to spread the message? 00:26:04.745 --> 00:26:07.890 Speaker 1: What would you like people to know? 00:26:07.890 --> 00:26:08.130 Speaker 0: Yes. 00:26:08.130 --> 00:26:11.890 Speaker 0: I mean, you know, this is something that's been going on in kind of 00:26:11.890 --> 00:26:13.570 Speaker 0: a laboratory for a couple years. 00:26:13.570 --> 00:26:16.690 Speaker 0: We've just starting to get the word out literally this year. 00:26:16.690 --> 00:26:18.370 Speaker 0: I think it was on my first podcast. 00:26:18.370 --> 00:26:22.370 Speaker 0: I did one last quarter or the last quarter of two thousand twenty five 00:26:22.955 --> 00:26:24.155 Speaker 0: and done thirty. 00:26:24.155 --> 00:26:26.795 Speaker 0: But I want people to you know, it's a big change. 00:26:26.795 --> 00:26:30.795 Speaker 0: I mean, just wrapping your head around how different this is is, a 00:26:30.795 --> 00:26:31.675 Speaker 0: lot of education. 00:26:31.675 --> 00:26:35.675 Speaker 0: So going to mainstreet party dot org, the web page, a brand new 00:26:35.675 --> 00:26:39.190 Speaker 0: way, would really bring you up to speed on how this contest works. 00:26:39.190 --> 00:26:43.190 Speaker 0: If you're a nerd like Molly, you go to, 00:26:43.510 --> 00:26:45.670 Speaker 0: wilson's fountain dot u s. 00:26:45.670 --> 00:26:49.030 Speaker 0: But at this point, wilson fountain dot u s is really where we did 00:26:49.030 --> 00:26:53.030 Speaker 0: a lot of the research behind the free and equal election clause, 00:26:54.085 --> 00:26:58.085 Speaker 0: the rules behind how a super PAC, a national party, a local 00:26:58.165 --> 00:27:01.925 Speaker 0: committee, and a candidate committee, how we're gonna operate those very differently than they 00:27:01.925 --> 00:27:02.900 Speaker 0: work today. 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:04.820 Speaker 0: We're still gonna operate within the rules. 00:27:04.820 --> 00:27:05.780 Speaker 0: They will qualify. 00:27:05.780 --> 00:27:09.780 Speaker 0: They will they will operate within regulations,
but we're gonna 00:27:10.100 --> 00:27:12.900 Speaker 0: make them work in a way where it works for the people, not for 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:14.500 Speaker 0: the politicians. 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:18.500 Speaker 0: But mainstreet party dot org is where you can go to our our donation 00:27:18.755 --> 00:27:22.435 Speaker 0: page or the, we have petition on change dot org. 00:27:22.435 --> 00:27:24.675 Speaker 0: We wanna show traction. 00:27:24.675 --> 00:27:27.875 Speaker 0: We think to get a super donor involved in this on the Super PAC 00:27:27.875 --> 00:27:30.750 Speaker 0: level, there's gotta be interest from the people. 00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:31.790 Speaker 0: So that's what we want. 00:27:31.790 --> 00:27:33.870 Speaker 0: Like, share, tell your friends and neighbors. 00:27:33.870 --> 00:27:34.430 Speaker 1: I love it. 00:27:34.430 --> 00:27:36.030 Speaker 1: Well, that's what we're doing here today. 00:27:36.030 --> 00:27:36.750 Speaker 1: That's for sure. 00:27:36.750 --> 00:27:40.670 Speaker 1: So what does success look like for America's, Main Street party? 00:27:40.670 --> 00:27:44.670 Speaker 1: Like, five years from now, what you know, if if you could imagine, 00:27:44.695 --> 00:27:48.695 Speaker 1: success for the for the organization, what would that look like? 00:27:48.935 --> 00:27:50.055 Speaker 0: That's the plan. 00:27:50.055 --> 00:27:51.175 Speaker 0: It's a five year plan. 00:27:51.175 --> 00:27:54.535 Speaker 0: I mean, our first round would be the House of Representatives. 00:27:54.535 --> 00:27:58.535 Speaker 0: The second round, it would be expanding that and now getting into the senate. 00:27:58.600 --> 00:28:01.240 Speaker 0: And then the third round, we hope we have enough traction that we could 00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:05.080 Speaker 0: do a multi round nomination process for the president of the United States in 00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:06.600 Speaker 0: two thousand thirty two. 00:28:06.600 --> 00:28:10.600 Speaker 0: That this is really something that the way we nominate a president 00:28:10.600 --> 00:28:11.720 Speaker 0: is absolutely horrible. 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:15.615 Speaker 0: It's bad enough as this for the house and the senate, but this is 00:28:15.615 --> 00:28:16.575 Speaker 1: just, you know, 00:28:16.575 --> 00:28:20.575 Speaker 0: New Hampshire, you know, sets the course for the entire country and that 00:28:20.895 --> 00:28:24.415 Speaker 0: their states are just weighing so late in the process, they don't count at 00:28:24.415 --> 00:28:24.735 Speaker 0: all. 00:28:24.735 --> 00:28:28.735 Speaker 0: There's no reason why we can't have a field of, like, twenty, thirty 00:28:28.750 --> 00:28:32.590 Speaker 0: candidates and do this over multiple rounds and the whole country weighs in and 00:28:32.590 --> 00:28:35.550 Speaker 0: we pair the field like we do with every other thing we do. 00:28:35.550 --> 00:28:35.870 Speaker 1: Right. 00:28:35.870 --> 00:28:36.190 Speaker 1: Right. 00:28:36.190
--> 00:28:38.190 Speaker 1: It's it's it's quite mind boggling. 00:28:38.190 --> 00:28:42.190 Speaker 1: And I think even the average uneducated American who's 00:28:42.375 --> 00:28:46.215 Speaker 1: not paying attention will say that, you know, the electoral college and, like, they 00:28:46.215 --> 00:28:48.215 Speaker 1: don't really they don't think their vote matters. 00:28:48.215 --> 00:28:48.455 Speaker 1: Right? 00:28:48.455 --> 00:28:52.055 Speaker 1: Like, so, you know, even people that aren't paying attention know that the thing 00:28:52.055 --> 00:28:54.535 Speaker 1: is broken and we we need something else. 00:28:54.535 --> 00:28:57.580 Speaker 1: You know, it's just it's it's just not working. 00:28:57.580 --> 00:29:00.380 Speaker 0: And if it's a compelling contest, people will pay attention. 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:04.380 Speaker 0: And we every two years, we start following sports in the Olympics 00:29:04.540 --> 00:29:05.820 Speaker 0: that we've never heard. 00:29:05.820 --> 00:29:06.220 Speaker 0: You know? 00:29:06.220 --> 00:29:06.620 Speaker 0: Right. 00:29:06.620 --> 00:29:08.860 Speaker 0: Just produce an interesting contest. 00:29:08.860 --> 00:29:09.180 Speaker 1: Right. 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:12.380 Speaker 0: You know, make it as what we have now is a bad reality contest. 00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:14.465 Speaker 0: Let's make a good one. 00:29:14.465 --> 00:29:14.705 Speaker 1: Yes. 00:29:14.705 --> 00:29:16.785 Speaker 1: May the odds forever be in your favor. 00:29:16.785 --> 00:29:19.745 Speaker 1: We were like, we're inching so much closer to that day by day. 00:29:19.745 --> 00:29:21.265 Speaker 1: It's, like, really mind boggling. 00:29:21.265 --> 00:29:24.545 Speaker 1: I I rewatched all those movies a few months ago to prepare myself for 00:29:24.545 --> 00:29:28.545 Speaker 1: the oncoming apocalypse, but, hopefully we'll we'll steer off 00:29:28.550 --> 00:29:29.590 Speaker 1: course before then. 00:29:29.590 --> 00:29:33.110 Speaker 1: But, I I mean, I I I really respect what you're doing, you know, 00:29:33.110 --> 00:29:35.910 Speaker 1: in taking number one, the fact that you were like, if I get this 00:29:35.910 --> 00:29:39.465 Speaker 1: PPP money, I'm gonna do something good and you did it and I I 00:29:39.465 --> 00:29:43.465 Speaker 1: really, really respect that, you know, that you cared enough to save your employees 00:29:43.465 --> 00:29:46.185 Speaker 1: and your business and then you did something with it and that you're putting 00:29:46.185 --> 00:29:49.145 Speaker 1: so much effort especially as an older white man straight up. 00:29:49.145 --> 00:29:49.865 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? 00:29:49.865 --> 00:29:51.145 Speaker 1: You have less skin, you know, you have less 00:29:51.145 --> 00:29:54.170 Speaker 0: Hey, I gotta undo the damage we've done as a whole generation. 00:29:54.170 --> 00:29:54.410 Speaker 1: Yes. 00:29:54.410 --> 00:29:55.290 Speaker 1: You do, my friend. 00:29:55.290 -->
00:29:58.570 Speaker 1: But you also have less time on this planet and it's a lot easier 00:29:58.570 --> 00:30:01.850 Speaker 1: for guys that look like you to tap out and say, hey, I'm on 00:30:01.850 --> 00:30:05.610 Speaker 1: I'm on the, you know, I'm on the far side of this whole program. 00:30:05.610 --> 00:30:07.505 Speaker 1: I don't I'm gonna kinda tap out. 00:30:07.505 --> 00:30:11.505 Speaker 1: So I really appreciate you doing this work and implementing and 00:30:11.505 --> 00:30:15.265 Speaker 1: getting the word out there and, you know, putting in the work because that's 00:30:15.265 --> 00:30:15.825 Speaker 1: what it takes. 00:30:15.825 --> 00:30:19.505 Speaker 1: So I hope that people listening are inspired by this, motivated by this, you 00:30:19.505 --> 00:30:22.020 Speaker 1: know, educated by this conversation. 00:30:22.020 --> 00:30:23.300 Speaker 1: I know I've learned a lot. 00:30:23.300 --> 00:30:26.100 Speaker 1: One of the benefits of doing this podcast is I learn a little bit 00:30:26.100 --> 00:30:27.780 Speaker 1: more from every guest. 00:30:27.780 --> 00:30:31.620 Speaker 1: And I think right now that matters more than ever to be, like, slightly 00:30:31.620 --> 00:30:35.620 Speaker 1: educated on topics and stop speaking about things you know nothing about 00:30:36.125 --> 00:30:38.685 Speaker 1: aka the world could take that advice right now. 00:30:38.685 --> 00:30:42.685 Speaker 1: So I think, I I I appreciate your time and education and 00:30:42.765 --> 00:30:45.405 Speaker 1: experience and and knowledge to be there be here. 00:30:45.405 --> 00:30:46.525 Speaker 1: So thank you. 00:30:46.525 --> 00:30:47.485 Speaker 0: Thank you so much, Molly. 00:30:47.485 --> 00:30:50.080 Speaker 0: You've given me the the platform to do it. 00:30:50.080 --> 00:30:50.400 Speaker 1: Absolutely. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:53.200 Speaker 1: Well, we'll make sure that we have all of your links and everything below 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:54.640 Speaker 1: so that people can connect with you. 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:56.160 Speaker 1: Go on the website. 00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:58.400 Speaker 1: We'll tag you on LinkedIn and do all the things. 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:00.160 Speaker 1: But, yeah, pay attention. 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:04.160 Speaker 1: America's Main Street party seems like a really great solution. 00:31:04.165 --> 00:31:08.165 Speaker 1: I mean, if, like you said, if if America's top whatever can get this 00:31:08.245 --> 00:31:11.125 Speaker 1: done, then then why can't we, you know? 00:31:11.125 --> 00:31:14.325 Speaker 1: We can order phones and food and all kinds of stuff from our phones. 00:31:14.325 --> 00:31:15.605 Speaker 1: We don't even have to talk to people. 00:31:15.605 --> 00:31:18.405 Speaker 1: So why do we have to do this archaic thing of going to polling? 00:31:18.405 --> 00:31:20.400 Speaker 1: But, you know, it doesn't make any sense. 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:24.400 Speaker 1: And so, let's, let's let's push this change forward, check out the organization, 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:29.680 Speaker 1: and until next time, please share the content, send it to a friend, and 00:31:29.748 --> 00:31:30.948 Speaker 1: be excellent to each other. 00:31:30.948 --> 00:31:32.948 Speaker 1: We'll see you on the flip side.
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