EP 7: Father's Day, Conspiracies & Corruption, Guest Jason Crow | Politics is Personal

This week on Politics is Personal, Leslie Herod and Cole Wist cover the Colorado primaries and speculate on the winners. They discuss Diana DeGette and whether she'll be able to hold on, as well as legislation around social media and minors.

To celebrate Father's Day, we'll hear from Leslie's Dad and Cole's Daughter, who share what's bugging them.

This episode's featured guest is Jason Crow, a veteran who represents Colorado's 6th Congressional District and has some friendly beef with Leslie (something about a desk among other things). Congressman Crow shares what's on his heart: everything from Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia, to Anti Corruption and the pulse of the American people.

As always, Politics is Personal isn't about winning arguments. It's about having the conversations many people are having around their own dinner tables—with curiosity, respect, and a willingness to listen. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hi there, welcome back to Politics is Personal with Leslie and Cole. I'm Leslie Harrod.

SPEAKER_03 0:05

And I'm Cole Wisp. We look forward to a fun conversation today. And we look forward to welcoming our good friend, Congressman Jason Crow from CD6. So come on back.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

All right, this week in What's in Your Feed? What's in your feed, Cole?

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Well, you know, Leslie, we uh we're hearing some interesting trends that are happening with respect to regulation of social media for kids.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

That's all over my feed right now.

SPEAKER_03 0:32

Uh so what what are your thoughts about that and how far should government go in terms of regulating social media, or are we really invading the province of where parents should be?

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Yeah, so I think that's a really interesting question. And Europe is doing some things that I think are scaring a lot of tech companies, for sure. Uh specifically, what we saw come out of the UK uh is that they are banning social media um from kids who are 16 and under. So they can't use Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, whatever, whatever it is they're using. Um they can't they can't be on it. And I and I understand why, right? I mean, what we're seeing is we're seeing specifically young girls and boys, though, um having eating disorders at alarming rates, you know, depression at alarming rates. And while I think only some of that can be directed towards social media, I think we can definitely say that is a huge factor. And so I understand why government is stepping in and saying we need to regulate this. But what we've seen in places like Australia is that kids will be kids. And when you tell them not to do something, they're gonna do it. And I think I saw something that said it was definitely a majority of young people were still on social media. They were just logging in under their parents' name or they were using some type of a VPN or something and getting on through maybe more illicit routes, um, and specifically going to new social media networks and channels that really have no regulation and might be more dangerous for them.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

Well, I think you you hit a point in that is when you tell kids they can't do it, they're gonna break their necks to do it. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

I don't have kids, but I was one, and I gotta tell you everything my mom told me not to do, I probably tried.

SPEAKER_03 2:07

And it's absolutely right. Um, but I think we have to recognize that social media has done some real harm.

SPEAKER_05 2:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

And uh I've uh had some extensive conversations with with Phil Weiser about this, as he he's taken some action with respect to social media companies and being held accountable. I just think it's very difficult for the government to weigh in in that fashion and to try to regulate it. I don't think it's uh in the end gonna be enforceable. I mean, since Facebook existed, you had to be a certain age to have a Facebook account. And then the kids were just lying about their age. Yeah, you just put in, you know, goes on the honor system for what your birth date is, and then we're like, oh, okay, I guess you're a member of the club and you can have a Facebook account. So I I I'd rather do this through education, and that is to try to educate parents. Try to use our educational system to talk about how to use social media responsibly.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:03

Um and and look, let's face it, some kids don't have uh the right kind of parental influence to help them make the right the right choices. Um so I think we've we're gonna have to find some balance here which is not overly zealous in terms of regulation, respecting parents' rights and respecting kids' rights, frankly, uh, but also holding social media companies accountable because they're making a ton of money.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

Yeah, you know, I my only I agree with you a hundred percent. And my only issue, and I think this is something that I struggle with often, is you know, it can't just be about enforcement and accountability because then we've already lost a life, you know. Um we've already had multiple kids, you know, die by suicide because they were told on social media to do so, and we see that chat is having similar problems. And so, yes, there needs to be accountability when things go wrong, and they have gone terribly wrong, but what is the solution so that we don't get there? And that's what I know that you know other countries and in our country are trying to explore. Um I also know that young people find solace on social media where they maybe don't feel accepted in society, and so I don't think that taking it away is the answer, but there has to be more regulation around it. Um what that regulation looks like and how we can avoid the fact that the internet has grown grown so much bigger than the time when we were on Facebook, uh, you know, getting on for the first time and now is really, I think, the huge challenge. We don't know what's gonna what social media is gonna look like in the next month, in the next year. And so I think that's really difficult, and hence why we're here doing our own podcast. It's because of social media.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

Last question on this. What was your very first social media?

SPEAKER_02 4:34

Do you consider Napster social media? Not really, maybe. I mean, are you engaged? Definitely AOL. I definitely use that. That's probably the first. I definitely was in the AOL chapter.

SPEAKER_03 4:43

Were you a MySpace person?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

To dial up. I had MySpace accounts, I had my friends lists and all that, pick songs. It was it was very real, okay? It was very serious, and I did all of that. How about you?

SPEAKER_03 4:53

Um probably LinkedIn. I'm a goober, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Which is not really social media.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

LinkedIn is your phone. Okay, we gotta. This is why you shouldn't be making rules.

SPEAKER_03 5:03

No, but it's like I I I ultimately did get to Facebook, you know, I was kind of a You're still there? Yeah. Okay. It's kind of a boomer place now, isn't it? Um but yeah, I, you know, I just opened a TikTok account, which is I'm really, really good.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Did I do that? Did I send you to me TikTok?

SPEAKER_03 5:20

Yeah, kinda. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Well, I do like your threads, so shout out to your threads and guys to tune in. Um could we talk about CD1? That's what I wanted to go to. So we go, why didn't we go in? So CD1 is interesting, and we have not talked about it on the show. I know I don't think you live in CD1. I do.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

I live in CD6.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Okay, so Congressional District is a good one.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

My Congressman is gonna be on our show today, and I'm very very excited.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Okay, okay, I didn't realize that. Um so we have CD1 is the most democratic seat in Colorado. Um it's Congressional District 1, it's Denver, where I live. Um it's been held by Congresswoman Diana DeGett for 30 some years now. I think Wanda James, who's a candidate running against her, says she's been in that seat for holding that seat for a generation, which is quite frankly true. Diana got in the seat when she was about 30, and she's 60 or so 60 so now, and so she has been holding that seat. So you've got Wanda James running against her, who is a C regent, um, who has maybe had a controversial um path to this race. And then you have Milat Curis, who's also um been, I mean, I think she was forged in fire. Uh she lost her job uh at a law firm uh because of her stance on um Palestine and uh and ends up working at a barista at a local coffee shop, also in my neighborhood and district, uh Whittier Cafe is my understanding. And so, you know, it's a really interesting race. Um I think the the hottest thing in my feed about this race right now is the fact that Mulat uh was trying to do an event um to support her race uh with some other uh controversial left-leaning figures, um left, far left figures, I would say, uh, and got shut down and venues canceled on her, so she ended up taking to the Capitol and had quite a big showing.

SPEAKER_03 7:00

So well, I I'm not familiar with the story. So was there an allegation that there was some foul play in the cancellation of the of the venues?

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Yeah, absolutely. And so one of the people that she um that she had to lead the crowd, and I think lead this this this conversation, uh, this rally, if you will, uh, is a very controversial figure on the left who some would say it's anti-Semitic, um, and has definitely said some anti- anti-Semitic things, I think, unquestionably anti-Semitic things. Uh, and so that specifically I think caused a lot of folks in the Jewish community to say, no, you can't hold this in public events or events that we own or manage or whatever, you know. Um, and they also said that there was a safety concern. Um, I think it might some might say he's the Charlie Kirk of the of the far left. I don't know if I agree with that specifically, but I understand why venues would say that if you're bringing all of this controversy, that it could be dangerous and maybe there's not enough security protocols put in place. We saw none none of that, no violence happened at the rally at the Capitol in a pretty open-air environment. But that was the that was the argument as I saw it.

SPEAKER_03 8:05

So I I share with you an observation that I see a larger trend in the Democratic primary and how it could spill over to tip the balance in C D1, which uh by all accounts should be a very safe uh election for Diana Daget.

SPEAKER_05 8:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Um you know, she I don't I I don't really have anything negative to say about Diana Daget. I think she's she's been uh you know in Congress for a long time, she's been fairly effective. I couldn't identify five bills on that she's uh introduced as a member of Congress. Um I know she's you know touted various things, but but what I see in the Democratic primary is a lot of enthusiasm on the far left side of the party really seeking to hold what they would perceive to be establishment Democrats accountable for their failure to achieve um affordable health care, for their failure to achieve uh uh policy on on climate change, and the whole host of issues that I think the more progressive wing of the party has been asking for. So I I think that's where the enthusiasm is. Those are the voters that are gonna show up on June 30th. I think it's gonna benefit Phil Weiser. I think it's gonna benefit, could be David Seligman. Um I am I pronouncing his last name correctly.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Perhaps.

SPEAKER_03 9:23

Yeah. Uh as the AG. Uh so and that could spill over into races like CD1 where you could see uh an upset. Um and I didn't think that was possible three or four months ago.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

Neither did I, neither did I. Yeah, I mean I agree with you a hundred percent, but you know, even just all the name recognition she's getting around the cancellation of venues, whether or not it was warranted or not, is huge, right? Um I do think Diana might still have the advantage because there's a three-person race. Um and so I I think it's gonna be an interesting race. Um I think I think it's time for for our congresswoman to to retire. I mean, I don't think that, you know, when you say you can't identify one thing that she's done, I think that's interesting because I think you can identify a few things that I've done in office and I can identify a few things that you've done in office, but you know, 30 years not being able to identify is something. And so I do I think it's interesting because you know, I I say this about you recently is that I feel like you're you're you're identifying further left than me. And so one thing that before we close out this segment that I wanted to chat with you about is what are what are your political bets? And I think we should have a bit of a leaderboard. I don't know what you all think about that, but uh, but let's let's let's handicap these races a little bit. What are you thinking?

SPEAKER_03 10:37

So why don't we set it up like this? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

All right, okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:39

Who should win? Uh-huh, who will win?

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

All right, let's hit governor. Republican. Um you should I go first or do you want to go first?

SPEAKER_05 10:47

You you go ahead and take it.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

So, governor's race, Republican, who should win? Barb Kirkmeyer.

SPEAKER_05 10:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

I think for all the reasons that I've talked about before, she would restore some sanity to the Colorado Republican Party. Who will win? Victor Marks. Yeah. Uh on the Democratic side, who should win, Phil Weiser. And who will win? Phil Weiser.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

All right. Well, okay, I agree with you on the on the Republican side. Who should win is Barbara Kirkmeyer, although I still think Shannon Byrd should win that race, but she's running as a Democrat in another race. Uh and I I don't know if Marx will win. I certainly hope not, but I do know that he has the money and the power behind his race. On the Democratic side, uh, who should win? That's a that's a harder question for me because I I've said this and I'll say it again. I think that both of the candidates are very similar. Uh, I tend to give Michael the Bennett the benefit of being a better governor when he's serving, but only by slightly. Um I think the I think he took it, he took Phil's race for granted at the beginning, and Phil got the momentum. And the one thing I've never seen a candidate do before is keep that momentum, and Phil has, and so who will win is Phil Weiser.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

Yeah, interesting. Yeah. Although I'm still gonna put my money on Michael Bennett. I'll I'll I'll go different from you. I'll put my money on Michael Bennett.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

So Bennett Bennett, who should win, who will win.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Yeah, let's put that on the leaderboard. All right, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:58

AG's race. You want me to go? You want me to go first, or do you want to go first?

SPEAKER_02 12:01

I'm a I'm a Jenna supporter. Okay, who should win? I think is Jenna Griswold. She is she has fought for this seat. Um, she has fought in office, she's fought Trump, um, she has showed up um and she continues to be, I think, a great uh stateswoman in the state, and I think people are upset about her ambition. Um, but that goes against women all the time, and I think Jenna should have the seat. Um, who will win? Jenna Griswold. So I'm I'm I'm doubling up on that one.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

Okay. Um the and any any anything on the the Republican side? I have no idea who's running on the Republican side. Okay. Um on the AG's race, uh, who should win? Michael Doherty. Uh I think because he's an experienced prosecutor, because I I I don't want someone doing on-the-job training in the AG's office. And I think Michael Doherty has worked in a U.S. attorney's office. He's worked in the Colorado Attorney General's office, he's been a district attorney prosecuting some of the highest profile crimes in our state over the last, you know, five years. Uh who will win? Um, I think it's gonna be Michael Doherty.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

I really do.

SPEAKER_03 13:03

Because I think you're likely to see a split um on the left vote uh between uh David Seligman. I once again I hope I'm getting his name correctly. And and Jenna Griswold. Yeah. And I think as a result of that, you're gonna see a lot of unaffiliated voters gravitate to Michael Doherty.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

I gotta give a shout out to Heddle as well. She'll she's on the ballot. I think she's running a great campaign. I hope she stays in politics. I don't think she's gonna win this race, but I think that she has something there, and I'd love to learn more and see more of her. I think that's all the time we have on this segment today, but why don't we go to social media and see what the votes are uh and also put put our uh predictions up there and we'll come back to them.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

You got it.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

All right, thank you. Welcome back to politics as personal with Leslie and Cole. We have our good friend Congressman Crow on. Uh thanks for coming.

SPEAKER_04 13:52

Thanks for having me. I've been excited about this. Two of my long-standing buddies. We were we were just talking going back a long time with you all. So this is gonna be great.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

It's wild. We started working together in the Ritter administration where we shared a hallway together.

SPEAKER_04 14:06

Yes, we did. We did you you though had a desk. I didn't even have a desk, and I was very jealous that Leslie had a desk. I'm like, what does a person have to do to get a desk around here?

SPEAKER_03 14:18

So you had a desk. Where did you work? Did you have a closet?

SPEAKER_04 14:20

Or like in a rotating like a like a ro-like uh I had like a rotating cubicle, so I was like hot desking, I guess is the what they call it now with people. So I would just rotate around. So I was very jealous, though, of the desk, and uh, you know.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

It was you and Congressman Nagoose rotating.

SPEAKER_04 14:36

Yeah, Joe and I were like rotating around, and we had to like battle it out for the chair. Sometimes we had like chairs at the same desk, so it was austere there in the Ritter administration. It was very austere.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

But we did get to eavesdrop on the legal conversations and the policy conversations because we were in the hallway in between.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

So there was a lot going on. My God, how long ago? You know, 20 years. 20 years, yeah. My God, how many lifetimes ago? We've gone to a lot.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

It's we have gone to a both look exactly that you guys served together too.

SPEAKER_03 15:07

So, yeah, I you know, I like to say that I knew Jason Crow when he was just a lowly lawyer with me at Holland Highlands. No, we were all lowly lawyers. Um most people would think of all lawyers as pretty lowly advocates. Um but you know, I um respected you as a as a legal colleague, somebody with a very fine mind, and um, and you know, and of course, I just really appreciate your military service and you know, and loved hearing you talk about your service and how serious you are about that, and just applaud you for the role that you now play in the US Congress of being, you know, uh a veteran of distinction, somebody who's really brought those leadership skills to Congress. Um I think you speak passionately, eloquently, and very authentically for members of who are serving um in uniform. So thank you.

SPEAKER_04 16:05

I appreciate you saying that. I mean, it it's uh it's how my whole career in public service started, right? In uniform. It's been the through line to my life, and it's it's kind of tied it all together. You know, what I learned first as a private, because I started my career as private crow, enlisted, and then became an officer later and and kind of rose up through the ranks. But uh that's been the piece that uh is kind of tied it together for me and uh what what I think about often, right? You just gotta ask that question like am I doing am I doing those people that I serve with that didn't come home, am I doing them credit?

SPEAKER_05 16:37

Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_04 16:38

Am I living my life? Am I serving in a way that that um lives up to that sacrifice? Frankly, that's kind of a that's kind of the test for me.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

And I think you are. And you're now you're you're Cole's congressperson uh as well. Did you ever go to the Army War College? Were you inside of the city?

SPEAKER_04 16:53

No, I never, I was never quite uh of that rank. I got out as a captain. Yeah, okay. War colleges like colonels and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

I went to the war college. You did?

SPEAKER_04 17:00

Oh my god, you got okay. Wait a minute. You had the desk. I see where the club. You had the desk. You went to the war college. Anything else you want to disclose for the we'll get it. Okay, well, I'm gonna have to start, I'm gonna have to start happy hour soon here if you like keep this up.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

This is that should be the next segment.

SPEAKER_04 17:18

This is the next one.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

Mimosas, how are the one going on? So as we're as we're taping this, uh, we've got the G7 going on. Yeah, and Trump looks pretty weak on the world stage when it comes to this Iran deal. Yeah, speaking of, yeah, you know, I'd I'd love to hear your perspective on it. I I think my favorite quote of President Trump today was uh it's a great deal, nobody knows very much about it. I think that was his exact quote. So, what is in this deal? What can you tell us? What do you like about it? Do you like anything about it?

SPEAKER_04 17:48

Yeah. Well, um, first of all, I mean you talk about Trump looking weak, right? Of course he looks weak because he acts in ways that signal that he's weak.

SPEAKER_05 17:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:57

Right? Like people who are strong and confident don't go around talking about how great they are all the time, don't go around trying to erect monuments literally to themselves, don't go around throwing parties for themselves. Like those are all the signs of what pe weak people do. Uh and he's also happens to be a bully.

SPEAKER_05 18:16

Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_04 18:16

And if there's nothing that I I hate more, it's if it's bullies, right? But he's always he he always punches down, right? Like he's not, he doesn't punch up. Uh he punches down to weak to the weak and to the helpless, right? So all those things are just glaringly true right now. So the Iran deal. Um, this is this has got to end. Uh it never should have started, first of all. Right? Americans don't want it. They're they're done with endless conflict in the Middle East. We spent over five trillion dollars over 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan, uh, the both of which ended poorly. Right. Right. And I always draw a distinction between the honorable service to people that stepped up to serve for our country and can and should be proud of that service and respected for it. Versus the politics of it and how, frankly, they were let down. Our service members were let down by leader after leader who didn't have a strategy, let this go on too long, should have wrapped it up sooner. So that those are the lessons that I learned over 20 years that this president has not learned and starting another war in the Middle East that Americans don't want. Um, but it has to end, and it has to end diplomatically. That's the only way these things do end, right, with diplomatic agreement, and the only way we guarantee that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon, because that also does need to happen, right? We can't have Iran have a nuclear weapon. You can't bomb your way to that, right? That has to be a permanent and verifiable agreement, uh, which is what we in part used to have and what we have to get back to. So here we are. I have no idea what's in the deal because he's supposedly inked an agreement without telling anybody about it, and without even notifying Congress about it, which begs the obvious question why are you hiding it? Because it's such a great deal, and you're so proud of it. Right. And God knows this guy can put out a video within 30 minutes of things he's proud about, um, isn't willing to let us know what's in the deal, which frankly tells me that it probably brings us back not even to where we were in February.

SPEAKER_05 20:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

We spent $100 billion, 13 of our uh bravest have given their lives, 400 have been wounded, and and we are in a worse position than where we were in February.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Well, and wasn't that the the wasn't that the conversation was well, as long as we're in a better position than we were when this started in February, then we'll have made progress. And I think he promised that. I remember hearing Obama saying, you know, even if we are in a better place than you know, this this is this is a very tough situation with this deal. And it seems like we're not, because if we were, he Trump would say it.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

Yeah. So well, let's just put it in columns, right? Like uh let's take let's say take the guesswork out of it. We've spent probably a hundred billion dollars, we've lost service members, many have been wounded. Our our allies uh are have moved away from us, we've marginalized ourselves in the view of our allies and our friends who want nothing to do with this. The Iranians have discovered that if they control the Straits of Hormuz, they have tremendous leverage over us, which is something they didn't know and do before. Correct. The straits are still mined, it's gonna take a year for energy prices to come back down. They're or they're up over 50%. Yep. Right? And and um we now have a more of a hardliner, uh, because you know Komene's son uh is now in charge, and he's more of a hardliner than the elder Kome. So that that's what have we done? That's that's my my PL list, for lack of a better word, right? Uh we're not in a good position here.

SPEAKER_03 21:44

So I've seen some analysis that that say that that China is probably going to emerge much more powerful in this post Iran era. Um, do you agree with that assessment?

SPEAKER_04 21:56

I don't think that's inevitable. Uh I I think Sitting here right now, that's the trajectory we're going on, right? Because listen, China has wanted nothing more for us to be bogged down in Middle Eastern quagmires.

SPEAKER_05 22:09

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_04 22:09

They they love that. We're spending tons of money, we're spending no credibility, we're focused on Middle East wars, we're not focused on competition with them, we're not focused on building infrastructure, job jobs, you know, education system, all the things that really make us strong at home.

SPEAKER_05 22:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:23

You know, they they would love for us to be distracted. And you know, you uh you always look at you always want to look at what your competitors and adversaries are doing to know what they value and what they think you're doing well.

SPEAKER_02 22:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:36

And China and Russia have been spending years trying to replicate and build an alliance network, like like NATO, uh like uh all these other alliance networks that we have. They they desperately have wanted the networks like this and French and friends, and they haven't been able to do it. We're handing it to them on a silver platter because we're walking away from these alliances. Right? We we are doing the most damage to ourselves.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

So we're putting our national security in more in more at more risk.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

Absolutely, no question. Cool.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

Before we leave the Iran DLH, I do we haven't talked about Israel. And one thing I have heard is that Israel is saying we're not leaving Lebanon or we're gonna continue the campaign in Lebanon, and let and Iran is reportedly saying that there won't be a deal unless Israel leaves Lebanon. So will this whole thing just go off the tracks anyway? Because it could, right?

SPEAKER_04 23:28

I mean the the the Lebanon thing is the put it unhelpful is an understatement, right? Um and many of the things that have happened over the last two years there are are have been you know unhelpful at best, uh um, you know, just terrible at worst, right? I don't know how else to put it. Um but here you have a situation where you know the prime minister continues to not listen to us. He never did, right? He didn't under Biden, he's not now, he's not acting in a way that we would expect uh, you know, uh a partner to act in, and that continues, which is why I've continued to say, listen, we need to we need to you know realign and reassess our posture there because they are uh inhibiting our ability to move forward in the region and to create a broader peace.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Yeah, yeah. Well, let's shift gears just a bit because I want to talk about the corruption caucus that you just launched uh in your work in in Congress. I think you'd like to call it the anti-corruption caucus. I think I should. What do you think?

SPEAKER_04 24:25

The end corruption caucus. End it we are ending corruption as Cole pointed out earlier. We already have the corruption caucus, and that's the Trump administration.

SPEAKER_03 24:35

It's the cabinet.

SPEAKER_02 24:36

Yeah, it's exactly. So talk about it.

SPEAKER_04 24:39

Yeah, well, I joined with my friends uh Alexandro Ocasio-Cortez and Mike Levin. Uh the three of us share the a similar view to how you we end corruption, and it starts with leadership by example, that there's all sorts of things that elected officials can just do right now. You don't have to pass a law, you don't have to pass a big reform package, you can just decide to do them.

SPEAKER_05 25:02

Right?

SPEAKER_04 25:02

Like all of us don't take any corporate PAC money. We you know publicly disclose our meeting calories. These are things that you can just opt into.

SPEAKER_05 25:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:10

Uh so we formed this caucus to try to assert pressure on our colleagues to do the same, to also opt into those leadership by example uh things that they can do. Uh we are gonna um the second thing we're gonna do is support each other's legislation, to close loopholes on pop-up packs, uh, to end dark money, uh, things that we can do legislatively. And the third is to help coordinate our oversight of this administration. It's gonna take us years, even when we do retake power, which I think we will do, we're on track to do. It's gonna take us years to unravel the depths of the corruption in this administration, the the tens of billions of dollars that they're just stealing from taxpayers and putting into the pockets of their cronies and and their donors. So we have to have a plan.

SPEAKER_05 25:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:53

And it's really important that we we have a strategy for doing oversight because if you try to do everything at once, it kind of collapses under its own weight. Right? You it just would consume itself. So we have to go to folks and say, listen, we're gonna get to all this stuff, but we're gonna we're gonna triage it, get to the most important critical things first, and and do it sequentially.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

And are Republicans signing on with the Democrats on the in this caucus?

SPEAKER_04 26:15

None have yet either.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

But what does that say?

SPEAKER_04 26:18

Well, I mean it it speaks for itself.

SPEAKER_02 26:21

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_04 26:21

Maybe we should talk about Thomas Mass. It's not partisan, by the way. Yeah, he might, for sure. Um and it's not partisan either, right? There's no requirement that you be a Democrat to belong to this caucus. So it is it is a caucus that is open to everybody and anybody, right? We just want you to be committed to it uh and to be willing to you know um uh walk the talk.

SPEAKER_02 26:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:42

Uh and anyone can join.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

But they don't want to they don't want to show the corruption within their own c within their own caucus and within within the Trump administration. Quite frankly, that seems like it could be dangerous for some.

SPEAKER_03 26:52

Well, on our show we have a segment called called What's Bugging Me. So I guess as your constituent, Jason, I'm gonna say what's bugging me is that we can't get consensus in Congress around the simple notion that members of Congress can't trade uh securities and stocks based on inside information that that they're privy to.

SPEAKER_05 27:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Why can't we get a bipartisan consensus for that resolution? It it's incredibly frustrating to see that.

SPEAKER_04 27:20

It's mind-boggling to me that that this is that something like that would s should seem and does seem so simple to us and to everybody else who's listening, is such a heavy lift for Congress, right? It kind of speaks for itself. I mean, service, by definition, you need to be giving more than you're getting, right? You shouldn't be increasing your net worth and getting wealthy while you're in Congress. If you are, there's something something wrong. And um and the second part of this is we just have access to tons of information. You know, I sit on the Intelligence Committee, the Armed Services Committee. We're getting you know briefings all the time about you know what contracts are about to be given, what new programs are going to be rolled out, uh, what what you know companies are not doing well, fulfilling their government commitments, what are which are. And there's no way you can firewall that off in your mind. Right? You can you can have you can be the most well-intentioned person in the world, but uh you just have that information. Right? So let's just take the guesswork out of it.

SPEAKER_05 28:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:21

Let's take the guesswork out of it, and let's try to restore trust with Americans and with people's constituents, and just not do it. Like, nope, you know, if you if you want to be in public service, you don't trade stocks.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

But obviously, they're more interested in their wealth than they are in public service and protecting their wealth and protecting their seats as well than they are in public service and and quite frankly, uh being transparent to the people they serve.

SPEAKER_04 28:46

Which is the which is which is the crux of the problem, right? I mean that that is the problem. And let's add on top of it prediction markets, right? There are all these things called prediction markets now, uh, where you can bet on anything. If you're in Congress, you should not be able to participate in prediction markets.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

Yeah, yeah, I think that should be a given.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

I think it's so obvious and just frustrating that we can't seem to get that over the line. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Well, i shifting from your role as congressman, you're still also very active within the DCCC. Yes. Um and you are also the chair now of the battleground uh committee or whatnot, and that's a big deal. So you're in charge of making sure that Democrats hold majorities and that we actually regain the majority. Um so tell me about that work. And and and are you seeing because that means you travel the country, are you seeing the same things across the country as we're seeing right here in Colorado in some of these primaries and how things are shaken out?

SPEAKER_04 29:41

I have this knack for polling the assignments. I don't know if I drove the shortstraw or what is happening, but like ever since my freshman year, when I was asked to be an impeachment manager in the first impeachment trial, then I was asked to be the lead democrat on the investigation of our of our botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, then I was asked to to be the lead democrat on the investigation of the attempted assassination of President Trump. I mean, I get these assignments, and this is my latest one.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Sounds like you step up a lot.

SPEAKER_04 30:09

Well, uh I am asked to step up and and I will I will uh you know take the assignment if I feel like I'm the right person for the job. So I stepped into this role. Uh I'm doing the job, I'm I'm traveling the country. You know, the downside of it is it takes me away from my my kids more than I would like, it takes me away from Colorado more than I like. Uh but my job the first year in 2025, it was the recruitment co-chair. So my job was to recruit all these candidates because when you're flipping a district, the single biggest factor is candidate quality. You're going into a red community, a community that voted for Donald Trump or a Republican, you just need a great candidate that is independent, that is pragmatic, that has lived experience, that's actually done something that's non-political in their life. So we've recruited those candidates. That's what I was doing last year. Now I'm the battleground chair, now we're supporting them. Uh it is incredible, right? I I've been in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, Arizona, California, and I'm working with these candidates, and there's these teams, these are servant leaders.

SPEAKER_05 31:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:16

They are they are street fighters. They're stepping up in the best possible way. They're stepping up, they've closed their businesses, they've stopped their medical practices, they're tapping into their life savings to make it work, they're spending time away from their kids, and they're like, not on my watch. This is not gonna happen on my watch. Uh, we're gonna retake this country, and they're getting it done.

SPEAKER_03 31:38

So it's the interesting dynamic because I I think all signs point to the voters souring on President Trump. So I guess speaking to the person who's sort of crafting the strategy for the Democrats, how do you make sure that those people move to Democratic candidates and not just not show up at all in 2028 because they're so disillusioned?

SPEAKER_04 31:59

Yeah, so you know, I I flipped a seat, so I have a special place in my heart for people that are flipping seats. But even more important than that, um, I grew up in a deeply conservative family. Uh most of my my family still support Donald Trump.

SPEAKER_05 32:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 32:14

Which um still uh still and and and I love them, they're my family. I will always love them. Uh we have those deep disagreements, um, but it's given me insight into you know why why people vote certain ways, the frustration, the the anger with our system, how the American dream is broken. And uh we have to we have to know this is the first step. We have to be good enough as people and as leaders and as a country to know the differences with who we're working with. Right? There are nefarious strands to this. We know that. There is racism, there is bigotry, there is um um um you know uh uh misogyny.

SPEAKER_05 32:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:56

And and we don't negotiate with that. Yeah, we don't compromise with it, we fight it, we we will push back on it relentlessly. Then there's the other category. These are people who are deeply frustrated. They they know the system is broken, they they know that that both sides have let them down, including Democrats, by the way. Like an important part of this is we have to accept responsibility for how we have fallen short. Yeah and how we have not stepped up to the plate and met the moment either.

SPEAKER_05 33:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:23

Right? So people are frustrated and they were desperate. Yeah and Donald Trump catered to that uh in rhetoric, and then he has let them down too. So we have to go to folks and say, you know, listen, I'm I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_05 33:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:36

The conversation doesn't start with I told you so.

SPEAKER_05 33:38

Right.

SPEAKER_04 33:39

Right? Because first of all, that's just messed up. Secondly, it's not how a conversation goes. The conversation is over if you if that's what you say. You gotta go to folks with with real empathy and understanding and say, I'm sorry. I understand why you would you you you wanted to give this a shot. And and I'm sorry it didn't work out because that means you are still suffering and your family is still suffering. And I don't want anybody to suffer and to fail. And we need to now have a conversation about how we step up and and and meet your needs.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

Yeah, yeah. And so kind of final word then, I wonder, as people are thinking about the direction of this country, uh, and you're traveling the country and looking at these races, where should we be watching? Where what what is like are there any races that are like, okay, this is the the way this race goes is the way the country is going that you are really honing in on and watching?

SPEAKER_04 34:31

Well, Colorado has got bell bellwether races, right? We have Colorado 8.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:36

And we're gonna see where who comes out of these primaries. I I'm I'm I'm pro-primary, by the way. Okay, I'm somebody that believes that primaries make parties healthier.

SPEAKER_05 34:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 34:45

I I don't want to belong to any party, any organization that has groupthink where everybody has to think the same, everybody has to be in lockstep. Right. You gotta have a tough conversation.

SPEAKER_05 34:54

Right.

SPEAKER_04 34:54

We gotta we gotta figure it out. And we have to part of the process of learning and fixing our past mistakes is having that process, uh going through that process now.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Right, and that's that's that's good. That's Manny Rutnell and Schanenberg.

SPEAKER_04 35:05

Right, and it's C D eight. So uh primaries are good, they make better candidates, and they also prepare candidates for the rigors of the general, which is it will be against Gabe Evans. Uh against Gabe Evans. So CD8 is a big one. We have um we have we have um Jessica Killen down in the Colorado Springs. We have Eileen Laubacher now running against Lauren Boebert. Um there's a there's a primary on the western slope. So we can pick up, you know, at least one. I think we can pick up potentially three seats if we do it right, if we run good campaigns, we have great candidates, and and we get it, we get behind these folks. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 35:40

Uh last question for you here, Jason. Uh give us a range on how many seats you think the Democrats might pick up this this fall.

SPEAKER_04 35:48

Yeah. Um three to forty. That's a blow. That's a joke. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna I'm not gonna give you credit. Okay, thank you. I'm not gonna uh listen, I I we're we're three seats behind right now. Uh redistricting nationally is gonna put us behind another four to six, probably. So I think you know, to break even, we're gonna pick up six to nine seats, uh likely. Um I I think given the directory trajectory this is going, I think we can pick up ten to twenty in addition to that.

SPEAKER_05 36:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 36:25

That's that's my guess. Now uh there this is such a volatile environment right now. Yeah, we could lose this, which I'm gonna fight like hell not to. Yeah, we could we could break even, we could have a small majority, and we could sweep the table. Yeah, all of those things are possible.

SPEAKER_05 36:45

Yeah, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_04 36:46

Uh so my job is to make sure we are running hungry, we we are running like we're behind, uh, we're supporting our street fighters, uh, and and we we fight for every vote until the the ballots close on uh November 3rd.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 37:03

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

Uh we'll leave it at that. Thank you so much for coming on, uh, Congressman. Happy Father's Day, happy Father. Thank you. And we hope you'll come back and join us again. Thank you so much. Yeah, I'd love to.

SPEAKER_04 37:13

Let's do it again.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Yeah, sounds good.

SPEAKER_04 37:15

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 37:16

Thank you all. This is the what's bugging you segment where we have folks call in or send us videos about what's bugging them, and this is a special edition because this episode releases on Father's Day. So happy Father's Day, Cole. You're gonna kick us off with maybe something a little close to home.

SPEAKER_03 37:34

So uh my youngest daughter Hallie had the following to say to us on our show.

SPEAKER_00 37:40

What's bugging me this week is actually the surplus of political podcasts that I see all over the internet. Um a lot of them end in arguments and leave me feeling worse than when I started listening. So, my question for you guys is what do you hope to bring to the table that hasn't been done yet? And what message do you want to send in this industry? Thanks.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

So, first of all, uh I love Halley for asking that question because it's the exact right question. And uh I appreciate the fact that Halley gets what we're trying to do here, and that is to to bridge divide and bring sort of some sane conversation back to politics.

SPEAKER_02 38:17

I think it's really good, and quite frankly, we have been asked to fight more in this show, on this podcast.

SPEAKER_03 38:24

I've gotten that a lot.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

And people are like, why don't you fight more? Why don't you poke more?

SPEAKER_03 38:28

Um they are.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

I think they want they want to see us do get out. Maybe I don't know. Yeah, I think they want to see us fight a little bit, and that's the thing, is like we like we don't. When I approach you about this podcast, it was actually interesting. Also, Juneteenth, shout out. Um, I have been hearing a lot from my Republican former colleagues, including a real conservative, like not changed, so conservative, um, Neville, Patrick Neville. And he reached out because he was confused about why more Republicans weren't supporting Juneteenth when he sees it as an American holiday, as a Republican holiday. Um, and it's something that we should celebrate, the the freedom of the slaves, and he didn't understand why we weren't. And so, quite frankly, there's a lot of political podcasts and political conversations where it's just fighting the whole time. You can go to any network and find that, but that's not what we're really about. We're about having a a discourse where we might not agree on everything, but showing folks that we can do it in a respectful way, and we can remain friends and we can remain at the table.

SPEAKER_03 39:24

Yeah, I mean, you know, to Hallie's point, uh you watch shows like that, yeah, and how does it make you feel? And I, you know, it I think it's just it's gonna get you riled up, it's gonna make you angry, um, and it doesn't make you feel better.

SPEAKER_05 39:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

So I think one of the things that we've tried to do is to try to be constructive about this. Maybe we're gonna help, you know, somebody to have a conversation with a neighbor or a relative about a topic that's uh been a source of friction in the past. But you know, I think podcasts and shows like this should encourage people to have more conversation. Because if we're just getting people riled up and getting people angry, um they're just going to their corners. Uh it's just it's not something that I want to be a part of, frankly. You know, and I'm glad that you feel the same. Um, you know, and there are there are gonna be times where we disagree about things. We're just gonna do it in a way that I think tries to, you know, be mature.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

Absolutely, absolutely. All right. Well, do you want to hear from my dad?

SPEAKER_03 40:19

I do want to hear from your dad. Happy Father's Day to your dad.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Happy Father's Day, Dad. Um and here is uh what he has to say.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

Hello. This has really been bothering me for a very long time. How our elected officials can sit back in Washington, D.C. and dictate to the country which people count and which people don't.

SPEAKER_02 40:48

I think this is exactly spot on. I mean, uh just a little background about my dad. Uh so my family is in Pueblo, grew up in southern Colorado, and um, but my dad is Guamanian. And you know, Guam is a US territory that I think is completely forgotten. Um, folks don't talk about it. And my dad always says he was like raised Mexican because he was raised in Pueblo and no one knew where Guam was. Um and you know, I think it's really interesting because you know, this conversation has come up a lot recently with me as well. And it's why is this, you know, why are the Republicans and quite frankly the Trump administration erasing black history? Why are they tearing down monuments that talk about the the path of black people to where we are in this country today? It's also happening with immigrants, you know. I rarely ever see anything about our our Asian brothers, sisters, and and siblings. And so it is interesting how politicians do make those decisions about who matters and who doesn't. And quite frankly, I think we have to stop. It's all about all of us, all of us. And we can identify with a specific group and that be identified as well and be respected and celebrated.

SPEAKER_03 41:50

Well, I first of all, thanks to your dad for that question.

SPEAKER_02 41:52

By the way, best man I know. You you you you were up there, but he's the best one.

SPEAKER_03 41:56

Yeah, well, I I would expect you to say that. Um but you know, I I you know you matter in American politics anymore based on how much money you have, or based on how much money you contribute to campaigns, or how big your business is, and the kind of naked corruption that we have seen. Um I know we've talked extensively about the UFC fight at the White House, and we don't need to go there again, but uh the fact that it had corporate sponsorships on the grounds of the White House that that we have this sort of uh naked expression of corporate influence over uh politics.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

Uh the China trip.

SPEAKER_03 42:38

It just all all of that is wrong. And you know, and and it it's happening on the Democratic and Republican sides. The the amount of corporate cash that flows into campaigns is obscene. So uh to your dad's point, um people should matter, not money, yeah, and not you know, corporate interests. Yeah, and we've got to get back to that because our our elected officials are not elected to to represent businesses, they're elected to represent the people.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

Yeah, I agree completely. Um, and that kind of goes into the thing that's bugging me. Um, and it's a little bit controversial. I haven't said this out loud, but I'm going to now, and it might f feel a little conspiracy theorist. And I'll start by saying that, you know, I I have supported uh our governor. Um I do not support the Tina Peters decision, and there's been a lot of conversation about why he made that decision. Cole, when you think of Jared Paul, what can you think of as his number one issue that he's been trying to push as one of the the top issues for the state?

SPEAKER_03 43:35

I don't know that that one really bubbles to the top.

SPEAKER_02 43:38

Saving people money on healthcare. That's what his focus has been, that's what the lieutenant governor's office is doing. And I find it so interesting that after the Tina Peters verdict, we now see Colorado as the only the second state to Florida that's allowing um prescription drugs to come in from uh from out of the country. And that has been one of his number one issues. Was it a trade for Tina Peters?

SPEAKER_03 44:01

Uh wow, I had never thought about that. Could it I mean it just it was such a bizarre decision, it was so out of context.

SPEAKER_02 44:07

There had to have been trades going on.

SPEAKER_03 44:08

Yeah, I I I hope that's not the case. Um, but it does certainly make you wonder why he reached that decision.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

It's been bugging me to my core. Was this one of those trades? And is that why we see it happening now as opposed to any other time in the administration when he's been talking about this, um, like I said, the entire time, and the only other state is Florida, and they failed at it. Now Colorado's up. So we'll see.

SPEAKER_05 44:30

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

All right. Well, I think that's all we got for the show today. I thought you were waiting for me to say something, but I was like, I'm just gonna leave it with that because my mind is a little spinning and blown about it. I want to hear what you have to say about it too. But thank you so much for listening. Thank you to all of our listeners. We would not be here if it weren't for you. So keep tuning in. You can find us everywhere. You find your podcast, and you can also find us on social media. So follow us there.

SPEAKER_03 44:53

And remember, friends, politics is personal, so keep talking.

SPEAKER_02 44:57

Thank you so much for listening. This episode of Politics is Personal, hosted by Leslie Harrod and Cole Whisp. The episode featured Congressman Jason Crow from Colorado 6th District, and was directed and edited by Julie Jackson and produced by Leslie Harrod, Cole Wisp, Ian Saveri, and Julie Jackson. And special thanks to my dad, John Borgia, and Haley Wisp, part of the crew, for what's fucking you this week. Music by Jake. And follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and any site where you get your podcast. At Politics Personal with Leslie and Cole. All rights reserved.