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- [00:01]
A
Hello and welcome to Bald Ambition. I'm your still very bald host, Mookie Spitz, and the one with all the ambition today is Mr. Gary Lux. Welcome to the podcast, Gary.
- [00:16]
B
Hey, thanks for letting me be here. Good to meet you and be part of this.
- [00:21]
A
Good to meet you too. You are an environmental attorney by day and you are also an activist, an organizer, and you have a book that I can't wait to talk to you about. We Are the Power.
- [00:38]
B
There you go.
- [00:39]
A
And as I understand it, it is a prescriptive guide, grassroots level for organizing, getting your ass out to vote for these critical midterms. Share a few of your rallying cries and motivators because the Democr Democrats have been wonderful at snapping defeat from the jaws of victory over and over again. And I, I personally would love the switcheroo. Let's. Let's change it up. It's healthy for democracy. And regardless which side you're on, we need to keep this frothy mix of democracy actively engaged. And now it's the Democrats turn.
- [01:36]
B
Yeah, well, I would not have written this book if there was something else out there. And we all have a very clear understanding of what we're facing. The pundits are quite accurate in terms of their depth and detail, looking at what the problem is, why we're here, and we know it from every angle. It's saturated. But what we don't know is how people can engage. Because you listen to a pundit or in the news and people say we're in these dire straits and it's up to you to go out and vote and make a difference in a rhetorical way. And then they leave us flat and without any depth or detail or direction or roadmap on where we go and how we get there. And so if someone had written that book, I would have gone on with my business. And so I would venture to guess. And there's some data out there that points to, if you ask 100 people leaving a no kings protest, what they'll do next, anecdotally, I would say 90 plus percent will post their pictures and call it good and feel like they've done their part. And ultimately, and I think there's some data I can confirm, it's like 70 to 80% of people I believe empirically just don't do anything more than that. And so, you know, Michelle Obama says, go do something, or people say, just go vote, and so on, but it's rhetorical. So I wrote the book because I've been a lifelong activist. I've worked with every campaign since college. I'd rather not do that. But I'm convinced that it's everybody's civic duty, like jury duty. We have to be part of our democracy. We've been so complacent for my entire life, taking for granted our freedoms. Free speech, due process, the right to vote in a fair, free and fair election, and so on. All of these freedoms that we've taken for granted are at risk, in my personal opinion, and we have to fight for them. And it's not like you spend one election cycle. It has to be a lifelong commitment. In the book I write about, sometimes I get up on a weekend where I typically spend a couple hours each Saturday and Sunday handing out flyers, energizing and educating people on what they can do to make a difference. And sometimes I think, God, you know, I just want to sleep in. Or I'm at the farmer's market and I'm like, ah, I just, I want to go home. I want to go, go out and go for a hike. But then I go back and I think about people. And I was just watching a documentary about the Civil War just last night, and 700,000 people lost their lives to deliver what we have that we take for granted. And they would have given anything for a two hour shift on a farmer's market. That versus going waking up that morning not knowing whether they'd survive to the next day. So the book is all about how people can be part of history with this midterm election we're facing, but also be part of the solution and part of democracy and weigh into an outcome that we can be proud of 100%.
- [05:02]
A
You know who was great at getting out? Voters, especially African American men, minority voters in record numbers. That was Donald Trump in the last election. And he did it with bombast, hyperbole, theatrics, insults, performance art. It motivated segments of the Democratic Party to flip in ways that was truly, we hear it all the time, unprecedented. We could do better, I would assume, as Democrats getting that base activated to do another screwtape letter kind of CS Lewis example. Karl Rove said that if you can activate your base, you can win elections. What's so hard about getting Democrats to go vote in the way that you mention, especially when facing challenges like The Trump administration 2.0, especially when states like Tennessee, Alabama, soon, Missouri, are gerrymandering with the Supreme Court's AOK about even using race ostensibly as a criteria, because now you need to substantiate that in the court of law and all of these red states feel they've got carte blanche to just redraw their maps. And conversely, Virginia has thrown back the Democrats attempt at this. What is going on and how does your book propose to turn this cycle of frustration around for the left?
- [06:58]
B
90 million people didn't show up in the 2024 election. Donald Trump did not win by a majority. He won by a plurality and didn't crest over 50%. And so if a fraction of those 9 million people showed up, it would have been a different outcome. And you know, there are all kinds of reasons why Democrats don't show up. Part of it is because there, there are rules that depress and suppress the vote in, in certain demographics that make it more difficult as a burden and barrier to overcome. There was also a lot of rhetoric with disinformation that is demoralizing. And part of the reason the MAGA movement grew up as it did, in my view, is that people felt, well, you know, the Democrats are no better than the Republicans and it's a fault. But in my view it's a deep false equivalency. But ultimately people, especially the blue collar workers that and working class that were in the Democrat party's column for the longest time, there are all kinds of structural and other reasons they're left behind. And despite Democrats efforts, it doesn't happen in one election cycle. So there are all kinds of reasons why people sit it out. And you know, and as a general rule, the demographic, at least historically of the Democrats have been working class and middle class and they tend to be more mobile, renting and moving from place to place and don't re register. And because of these barriers that are placed in front of them, a lot of people who might otherwise be registered aren't able to vote. And then voter intimidation and all kinds of reasons why people don't show up. But ultimately the way we overcome that is through organization and strategy. And so the Democratic party was accused of political malpractice in the 2024 election, notwithstanding having been quite successful from 2018-2020-2023-2025. Losing the big presidential kahuna was demoralizing for people. And so that's another factor. People are demoralized and feel like, oh well, it just my efforts don't work despite reasons for success. And so one reason to energize and motivate people is to realize that the Democrats have won seven of the last nine presidential elections with a popular vote, but the electoral college got in the way for some. And so the Democrats actually have done quite well, but we don't feel it. So there's kind of this psychic barrier that is in place as well. And the Democratic Party has been accused of malpractice because for different reasons, they did fail us in some ways. And there's new leadership under Ken Martin, and there's a 50 state strategy which is designed not just to be competitive in the red districts in the future, but working hard in the purple district. So it's an investment for the future. And so organization strategy supporting the Democratic Party. And also I write in the book, we list 80 organizations, many that grew up in the recent election cycles, that are focused on grassroots opportunities to be part of the Democratic Party process. So together with the Democratic Party, Activate America the States, Project, Flip the Vote, Sister District, all these organizations that came about, they can work in concert with the Democratic Party. So there's a reason to be hopeful that we can succeed. But back to your original question. We need to be able to target those who are occasional voters feel demoralized. And the only way that will happen is through raising money, supporting the Democratic Party, state and federal, and supporting the other NGOs and the Senate and congressional committees focus on winning. And we just have to be able to be behind that and give time, money and effort and leverage your passion, resources and relationships to be part of that solution.
- [11:38]
A
Can you drill down a little bit? And then we could get into the nitty gritty and perhaps get back to policy. But I really want to keep it practical because you bring up many specific recommendations and I'm sure our listeners and viewers are like, I don't like what's going on and we need to change it up. But I honestly don't know how I might have gone to a King's rally. Every time I turn on the tv, I'm fuming to the point where I don't even want to watch the news anymore. I had hopes that with Biden, things would, would turn over and that Trump would be gone forever, a blip on history. And it's flipped to the point where there's been no more significant a figure in our lifetimes than, than the Donald Trump. And it's a nightmare. But I don't know what to do at this point. So, Gary, tell me what, what I can do. Help. Help me out here.
- [12:39]
B
Yes. Well, I've been an activist every, for every election cycle. And then, you know, I've had opportunities to write policy papers for Governor Newsom, for Feinstein when she ran for governor, and let elected officials in the state legislature here In California, where I live. So I'm a policy junkie. But I've learned about getting the vote out. And there's traditional opportunities of getting the vote out, which we can discuss. But in the book, I offer a menu of choices, whether you live in a blue congressional district or a blue state, a purple part of the country or red part of the country. And they're the most important thing anyone can do is commit some time and think about how much time people worry and complain about the news about their circumstance. Those minutes turn into hours and hours turn into a lot of time. If people can just take a certain percentage of those hours on a weekly monthly basis and say, I'm going to commit to doing any one of the following things. So I'll start off, I'm in a blue, I'm in Oakland, California, a deep blue part of the blue state, Orange
- [14:00]
A
county here I'm all purple. I'm all purple.
- [14:04]
B
We're going to get. Let me start with blue and then we'll go to purple. So, okay, so there's a lot that people can do in the blue to help in the, in the swingable purple battleground states. And so there's outsized time, money and resources in a blue area that can be exported to Orange county or, you know, North Carolina or somewhere else. And so what we can do is, number one, join an organization. And I list 80 of them in the book. The most easy, the easiest one to consider joining would be indivisible. I started an Indivisible group 10 years ago where the Resistance Action East Bay indivisible group. We've grown to 1200 members. Now, not all of them are active or they ebb and flow, but we have a core of our members. And each indivisible group, of which there are about 25, 20, 600 in the country, each one of them has their own personality, resources, complexion, areas of focus. And so what I write about is some of the areas of focus that we have. But join a group. We started the first, gave the first seed money to one of the other groups I highly recommend. It used to be called flip the 14. In 2018, we gave the first seed money to start them. They flipped seven of the 14 seats in California in 2018 from red to blue. And they've now grown to a nationwide organization. Now they call themselves Activate America. They work in the purple districts. You could join Activate America and they, they do grassroots shoe leather work of phone banking, text banking, postparting and knocking on doors. Right. But join a group is Number one,
- [16:00]
A
let me put a pin in it for a second because this is a big state change from losing your mind watching TV to channeling that energy, getting a personal catharsis and actually doing something. So these groups you mentioned, indivisible, these various organizations, I can find them online. I could offer my time, money, talents, and they'll plug me in to things that are feasible for me within my busy schedule. I'm free weekends, I'm free Wednesdays, I work the night shift, etc. And then they will partner with me to utilize me in any way that I can offer.
- [16:50]
B
Absolutely, yeah. Anywhere from like, we have teachers in our group, we have graphic artists in our group, we have lawyers in our group, everyone can play. We have musicians in our group. We did this a year ago. We connected with an Earthscape artist who invited us to volunteer on Ocean beach in San Francisco to do Earthscape art on. And there was a couple football sized field dimensions of the message on activating, energizing and being part of the solution. So it doesn't matter whether you're an artist or a lawyer. There's so much you can do or you have money or resources or connections with people. And so join. And the thing is, there's a home for everybody, Elaine, for everybody. So, and what I coined this term political therapy. And so everyone's freaked out. The existential impact is psychically impacting people. And so what, you can be alone in despair and complain and worry and be on the sidelines and defeat us, or you can be part of an organization where you come together with kindred spirits for common cause. And people come away feeling they built connections, friendship, and they feel like they're doing something. And you sleep better at night. Which is my own therapy is why I do this, right? So joining a group and I list 80 of them in the book. And then the most important, the next most important thing we can do in order, quite frankly, is raise money. And I'll explain how we do it in a moment. Because the Republican Party in the MAGA people have considerable financial advantage right now compared to the Democrats. The MAGA pack is over $300 million. The Republican Party is in the black with over $100 million. The Democratic Party up until recently is in the red. And so we're way behind. And you can't raise money at the end of the cycle. You have to raise money front loaded in the beginning of the cycle. We're in spring of 2026. So we just started. This methodology I write about in the book Called Parties for Democracy. We started in 2020 working on raising money with a big concert. We had connections with Bonnie Raitt. We were one degree separated from David Crosby. We're going to have a big venue, raise about 150 to 200k net, and get people engaged and energized to work for Biden. And then Covid derailed the whole effort. And so. But instead of giving up, we morphed it into Zoom Parties, which is something that seems, like, straightforward, but number one, it's not done nearly enough and it's not done well. And so we raised $450,000 in three months in the summer of 2020. And each host averages $10,000. So, you know, Mookie, you end up doing one of these parties, I'll work with you. You just spend four to five hours of time together. We can curate a party. You invite your friends and family across the country, 5 o' clock on a Thursday at their desk. In one hour. We can raise 20k for any one of these organizations or the Democratic Party or whomever, or a combination of the both. We did a party a week ago, raised 12 to $15,000 with my friend, honoring their dad, who was a great activist who passed two weeks earlier. A friend of mine raised $24,000 an hour, and the average is 10. So if you have 10, 10 friends, that's $100,000. We work with you. So my point is, now's the time to commit to raising money. And if you do, like a fundraiser in person, it's a lot of time and effort to organize, logistics, RSVPs. But the party for Democracy is a Zoom party that takes four or five hours, mostly putting your email list together, sending out a couple reminders, doing a run of show, and showing where the money goes with QR codes. And it works. And we want to raise another half a million dollars this year. And that's just our indivisible group. Imagine if 2,500 indivisible groups each did a few parties. We talk about millions and millions of dollars. So join an organization, raise money early.
- [21:34]
A
Both these methods turn personal anxiety into collective action. And along the way, you're actually networking with other human beings. You're meeting people, you're clubbing it up. Instead of just doing a rock climbing meetup or a hiking meetup or a biking meetup, you can do a meetup for the midterms. And you can do this in two ways. Like you mentioned, join an organization and become actively involved over time, or even throw a Zoom party to make some money.
- [22:06]
B
Yeah. And it brings people together. You know, it. I did one for my birthday and, you know, there are people I haven't seen for years, you know, on the East Coast. So friends and family enjoy it. When my friend honored his dad, they had all kinds of pictures. They invited friends and family, so they got family pictures. And there was a Hollywood Squares type of connection after the formal show where people are like, oh, how have you been reconnecting? So the whole purpose of this entire effort has to be underpinned by joy. We cannot let them take joy away from us. We have fun doing this. Like, I'd rather be doing other things, but we've made great connections and we laugh and we're doing something meaningful. So there's a psychic benefit to doing this together with joy. And it can't, it can't deprive us of that as we fight this most important fight.
- [23:03]
A
I love the socialized approach to it. I think that it's very holistic, it's very therapeutic. And, you know, in the, in the military they say, quit your bitching and drop your linen. Right. Which is, you know, it's a little bit vulgar, but it's like, stop complaining and do something. Just go for it. It's such, such a therapy. It's such a catharsis. It's a terrific release.
- [23:29]
B
Well, and, and the other, the third thing I'll say that is highly effective and what I've shared with you so far can be done in blue, purple and red districts, you can join a group. If in Orange county you can join a group in North Carolina, you can raise money anywhere. And in fact, if you're in a red area feeling demoralized and alone, you can reach out to your friends and family who are kindred spirits outside of your purple or red area. So these are nondescript in terms of what you do. And the third thing I'd share with you that we've done a lot of is we're at. We first started out at transit stops in the Bay Area. It's called the Bay Area Rapid Transit. When people would come off the trains, we'd hand them a flyer and the flyer would be, you know, 1/4 of an 8 1/2 by 11 page with a QR code with a 2 minute ask of where to give time or money. A lot of people are getting off the train, they're reading the paper, they're angry, they're upset, they're confused. We're there with a flyer like, this is how you can channel that. So we're kind of a trusted advisor. We build rapport relationships. And then after Covid, the train ridership dropped. So we worked our way to farmer's markets. We're in about six to seven farmers markets and we want to grow it across the country. And every week we're there for a two hour shift from like 10 to 12. And people at farmers markets tend to be more engaged and more likely to be in the purple blue column. And so we've recruited the vast majority of our volunteers at the farmer's market. And you're in California. You know, we typically were focusing on purple districts for years, but when Prop 50 emerged as the antidote to Texas's effort to mid cycle illegally gerrymander, we as Californians in the blue had to get engaged. And so we focus on registering voters at the farmers markets and educating them on why it really mattered. So the farmer's market, whether you're in Orange county or elsewhere, is a great way to build community and build recruits and connect with people and educate.
- [25:48]
A
Do you have a little table and you sip in coffee and it's like you need to volunteer, prove me wrong, that kind of thing. Or what do you do? Walk around with flyers or QR codes? How does that work?
- [26:01]
B
Yeah, so we have these really portable mini ironing board size tables that fold up. So in one arm you've got the table and the other arm you have a canvas bag. And in the bag we have like bumper stickers and buttons. I should have worn a button for you. And then we have a sign up sheet and suntan lotion. And we set up at the table and we got our flyers and I'll usually have a sign that conveys the message of the week. So for example, in California we have this gubernatorial race coming up in the next month. There's lots of concern about the possibility of our jungle primary producing two Republicans that would advance to the general election. And our message this last couple weeks has been don't vote early. Normally you want to vote early. This is not the time to vote early, wait for the top two or three candidates to congeal and settle and then vote among them. So that's like the month long message and we'll shift to getting the vote out next. But we keep shifting our message. And so we hand out the flyers and people come up to us. And number one, the vast majority are like so grateful and they thank us for being there because they appreciate what we're doing. We become trusted advisors, we recruit volunteers along the way. And it's gratifying and it can be done in a purple, red or blue district.
- [27:38]
A
Excellent. So purple, red or blue, join an organization, set up Zoom Calls and be a fundraiser. And if you can, participate in grassroots campaigning, marketing, getting folks to sign up, getting folks to participate, getting folks to give some of their coin. And whenever you do any of this, you're getting away from freaking out at the screen and going out there into the world and meeting like minded souls with a common purpose. And that's good. Good for, good for the heart and good for the mind.
- [28:12]
B
And what happens too is, you know, as I said earlier, if you complain on average 10 hours a month, which is probably more for most of us, and you take two of those hours and you show up in a farmer's market or, or give money or do a party for democracy, Zoom call, that's two hours obviating the problem you're complaining about. So you're actually working towards a solution and assuaging your, your apprehension and concern along the way. Another couple of things people can do, they can like Minnesota, Minnesotans were unbelievably inspiring. And you know, what they did in the bitter cold is really heroic and patriotic and they were constitutional observers. And there's our group doesn't do this, but other groups, indivisible groups and others do. They're gearing up for what could happen in November with disenfranchisement and intimidation at the polls or another version of what happened with icer National Guard in LA and in Minnesota. So other groups are focusing on training people to be ready when or if there's intimidation and the federal government acting illegally to prepare and be the observers to protect people's fourth and fifth Amendment or due process and, and not, you know, avoiding illegal search and seizure. So that's another thing people can do. And lastly, I'll share after the election or after November when we have these outsized double digit victories in purple districts and special elections, we pivoted from getting the vote out to educating people on where their money goes with the companies that they support in an or in what we call the Buy Blue campaign. And so the Buy Blue campaign uses an app called the Goods Unite Us app that emerged after the Citizens United case by two lawyers in the Midwest. And they basically wanted to educate people on where companies give their money that they're given to Republicans or Democrats or neutrally. And so it's really empowering so you know, you can vote with your dollars. So during the holiday season after November, we wore blue and white Santa hats in the Farmers markets. And we handed out flyers on the Goods Unite Us app. And we would. And so you download it on your phone. And I would ask people, if you're a coffee drinker, if you had a choice between Pete's Coffee and Starbucks, what's your preference? And most people picked, if I'm not mistaken, Pete's Coffee as anecdotal evidence.
- [31:05]
A
Right.
- [31:05]
B
And then I would go to the Good Unitis app and say, where do you think Pete's gives their money to? And where do you think Starbucks gives them money? And the majority people were stunned and really disappointed and enlightened at the same time when they found out that Pete's gave. I forget the number, but it was like over 65 to 70% went to Republicans based on Federal Election Commission data, and Starbucks gave more money to Democrats. So that's knowledge is power. Right? So post election, we did buy cottage. You can buy supporting companies that align with your values.
- [31:43]
A
Those are great. So just to summarize your two additional things that you can do. So the first, the first few were join an organization, do a zoom fundraising call, and then get your ass out there at the farmer's market to do some grassroots canvassing. And these other two happen pretty much concurrently with events. So for example, be a witness, be an observer. It made a huge difference in Minnesota when Americans complain and they complain with a voice change does occur even with this administration. And the other one is with this app and just being more self aware. Be a conscientious consumer. Understand that the brand names that you participate in by want of being a consumer, a consumer, give to causes also, and they're not value neutral. There's humans in the boardrooms. They make big decisions and the big decisions tend to delineate red versus blue. So be transparent about it and be conscientious in terms of funneling that money to the ideology, to the value system that you believe in.
- [33:05]
B
Beautifully said. Yeah, well summarized. And I'll add two more. One is called the five Calls app. The five Calls app curates your message to your elected representatives. And there's strong evidence, empirically and otherwise that supports the fact that our elected officials pay attention to phone calls. And so, but you know, people are intimidated by that. The five Calls app curates different scripts and then will get you, depending on where your district is, to your representative. Now, it's important to note that if you're unhappy with, say, you know, Mitch McConnell in Kentucky with what he's doing, you're wasting your time if you're calling his office because they correlate your area code or your zip code with origin of the call. So the 5 calls app takes all that guesswork out of it in terms of what to say, how to say it, with a menu of choices, and you get directly to your representative. So that's another thing to make your voice heard. And the last thing I'll share at the moment would be election protection. This is going to be the most important election. We say that every two years, but there's no exception by far in this case. And if you're a paralegal, you know a paralegal, you are a lawyer, you know a lawyer, encourage them to do the training and show up in swing districts where elections might be contested because we need to protect the vote like we never have before.
- [34:48]
A
So these two ideas, just to cap it off, have to do with the old school. Pick up the phone and call your representative and express your opinion. Now, I know some people in the music business and remember that app, Shazam, where you hear a song and you're not quite, you know, you're asking people you know at the bar or restaurant, who is that? Do you. Or what's. So you hit the app and then you put it up in the air and then it hears it and then it plays, pulls it up. Usually it connects to Spotify or whatever and it's like, oh, wow, it's the Supremes and it's the song. I love. Those little gestures disproportionately influence what gets chosen to be played on the radio because the industry needs data. And even if it's a relatively small N, they rely on that as a success metric, a key performance indicator of popularity. It's like the old school Nielsen ratings, where 250American households chose programming for 100 million people before the age of digital. And the Shazam App actually influences radio play. And if old school, you pick up the phone and you call your congressman and you annoy them that way, it actually does make a difference. Just because they're getting some information. We had a, you know, the, you know, Mr. Congressman, Ms. Congresswoman, the phone's off the hook this week and they're not having it. Well, that's, that's an input. That's information. So you think you might not make a difference, but you actually are. So that's very, very interesting and impactful.
- [36:33]
B
It moves, it moves the needle. And just like town halls will move the needle, even if you're, if you're in a purple area or even a red area, One thing that people can do, which has been pioneered by Indivisible and others, is to do an empty town hall. You know, if the Republican congressperson is unwilling to have the courage to represent and face their voters, then put that empty chair there and call them out. Right. That's something you can do in a red district. Right. Um, and if you're in a red area or a blue area, consider traveling in October to a. A swing district, a purple district that might be. A lot of people in Northern Cal will go to Reno, California. Southern Californians will go to Las Vegas. I went to Tucson in, in the fall of 2024, swing state, to see a college roommate. And several of my friends showed up and converged on my roommate and we walked precincts for a couple of weekends. So consider taking election day off or consider traveling for at least one weekend and having fun with your friends, making a difference and quite frankly, having no regrets.
- [37:55]
A
Yeah, go for it. Make your voice heard. And these little bits, cumulatively, in aggregate, make a disproportionate amount of difference.
- [38:07]
B
That's usually the case. A lot of elections are tight. Like, you know, just about an hour and a half drive in the Central Valley from where I live in the Bay Area, Adam Gray, who ran for Congress, he won by less than 200 votes. Right. You know, there are narrow victories and it all adds up. By turning out the occasional voters that we're targeting. It really, it doesn't feel like it. And some people complain about, oh, you know, I'm making phone calls and I only reach 1 out of 30 people. The data shows that it matters incrementally and collectively, it all matters. The most important, get out the vote, turn out the vote activity is frankly, knocking on doors. And some people are intimidated by that because they think, oh, I've got to persuade someone. It's not about persuasion. It tamps down the apprehension. It's about targeting voters, educating them where their polling place is. There's going to be lots of confusion out there. So as trusted advisors knocking people on the door, that's an opportunity with a friend or someone that you're paired with to turn the vote out with a higher probability of an outcome versus a phone call and that you're not having to persuade. And it's energizing for the most part. I mean, every once in a while, to be honest, you get someone who's unfriendly, but that's what your partner is there for, to just take a deep breath and move on.
- [39:42]
A
But to your point, when you knock on somebody's door, you're not going to change their mind. What you're doing is, is just activating voters who have an inclination and a belief system that align with yours, only circumstantially, they're not actually going out there to pull the trigger. Back to Karl Rove, if you just get your base out there, you're going to win.
- [40:07]
B
Exactly. It's turning out your base. Right. And that that's how elections are won or lost for sure. You know, the other thing in the book I talk about is disinformation and deep canvassing, which we need to win this midterm election to defend our democracy. And it's going to be years of rebuilding and strengthening our institutions, codifying what were norms that we took for granted. But ultimately, we need to build connections and find our neighborly connections again. And over time, when we have our democracy intact, we need to come together and through civility, find common ground. Because my friend Bill Shireman, who wrote a book called in this Together, he points out that 70% of people believe on 90% of the issues, it's the 15% of the extreme left and the extreme right that will Never agree, but 70% agree on clean water, clean air, on gun safety issues. That should not be polarizing, but because of disinformation, people in their corner, confusion, and all kinds of reasons, we're polarized. And we need to disentangle that Gordian knot and find ways for us to come together. But that's a longer time horizon. There's a friend of mine who was the founder of MoveOn, Joan Blades and her husband and Joan started an organization called Living Room Conversations. And it's all about trying to get your uncle, who you don't talk to anymore, who's in the red column, and find common ground and rebuild those relationships. And what we find is the more you lead with commonality about your kids, what you care about, your safety, you find out that we have a lot more in common, and then that tears down those barriers. So eventually we need to really invest in rebuilding. But today we have to fight to hold on to our democracy, especially between now and November.
- [42:30]
A
Scott Galloway, the NYU professor, marketing guy, big mouth. I, I, I love him and hate him at the same time, probably because he reminds me of me. He's the ultimate bloviator. But he's got a new podcast called Raging Moderates, and he hits home every point you just made, which is most folks are reasonable. They've got common sense, they've got lived experience, and they want their kids to be safe and happy. They want to do a good job, earn a decent income and just things to move on and move on in a bipartisan way. And just because of social media, especially because of social media wedge issues. Polarization, clickbait. If you want to make money, if you want to accrue power based on our media ecosystem, then it's that raucous 15% on either side that are churning this cauldron of polarization, much to our collective detriment. And it's a. It's a real shame. So to your point, we need to get over that hump. To summarize your last point about if you know a paralegal, you know a lawyer, the idea of election fraud runs deep for authoritarians the world over. If you can claim that free and fair elections are rigged, are tainted, then what you're really doing is you're throwing a Molotov cocktail into the bedrock of democracy itself. You are invalidating a democratic society so that you could superimpose tyranny on top of it. It's part of the playbook, and unfortunately, we've been experiencing a lot of that. Are elections here in America flawed? Well, nothing is perfect. But was there systemic fraud? That's been shown over and over again to be demonstrably untrue. But conspiracy theories feed off of that contrarian nature. You can't throw evidence at people. You can't say that there were 63 court judgments, all of which ruled that the election was valid, because it merely reinforces that frenzy. So you need to be authoritative, you need to take action, and you need to rely on that foundation of expertise. And that's to your point, about activating the legal system in a way that protects not. This is the thing that drives me nuts. Goes to the gerrymandering, too. When we, when we pull this shit, it's horrible for everybody, because if you're taking rights away from me, eventually my people are going to take rights away from you. And it's a downward spiral of abuse, corruption, and degradation of the principles that have made this country what it is. And it's a real shame right now.
- [45:53]
B
It is. And you know, with the Supreme Court has not done us any favors with overriding or emasculating the Voting Rights Act. And we're returning to Jim Crow south, where you're disenfranchising people of color. I mean, Louisiana is 35% or so black, and they're trying to eliminate every. All districts, so there'll be no people of color. Same thing with Alabama, Mississippi, and, you know, disenfranchisement is just antithetical to what our democracy is about. And we're a multicultural, multiracial country, and we're going to continue to be more so.
- [46:32]
A
No, we're not. Because again, elements of that 50 right are. Are boldly going where authoritarians have never gone before. There the dog whistles are now megaphone shout outs that we are a white, Christian, male, heterosexual nation. Deal with it. And that is the game plan. So.
- [46:57]
B
And Obama, you know, there was such advancement with President Obama, but the backlash is what we're facing.
- [47:03]
A
Backlash is huge, especially with Obama's second term. That. That's what really did it. That was the evolution of interruption of the Tea Party during that phase. And, and that's when the rage of those having to endure the white man's burden became. Became truly manifest. And, you know, here we are. But that said, the Democrats need to put a mirror to themselves as well. And this has to do not only with policy, but even with what's done with all that money. And in this sense, I'd love to hear your thoughts about that, because fundraising is a key element of your grassroots approach. And as we know, you know, Kamala and Tim had a billion dollars and it didn't work. So I'm being a friendly contrarian here to make your point of view more acute with what's effective and what isn't. When it comes to Democrats retaking the White House, a lot of mistakes were made and an obsession with Trump and everything. Maga, I think, sometimes misses the point that the Democrats need this period of soul searching. And when we're doing this activism and we're really connecting with our fellows to take it back, as you say, I think when it happens, and it will happen, because we tend to oscillate between one extreme. And I would hope personally that some important lessons on the left have been learned.
- [48:56]
B
Absolutely. As I said earlier, I think there was a lot of soul searching. Ken Martin, the new Democratic chair, has a long history of successful outcomes when he was a state chair. And yeah, there was lots of malpractice that took place in the Kamala Biden era. We can go into that. But, you know, and money alone is not going to get us where we need to go, for sure. But, you know, there's such a disparity. The vast majority of money that the Democrats raise are small volume. Right. And because of Citizens United and PACs, the MAGA and Republicans have fewer donors, but larger amounts.
- [49:40]
A
Yeah. Now AI the Techie Bros have gone full Maga. They were all at the inauguration. Zuck, even Bezos. Right? It's. It's amazing. You go from the buying the Washington Post to donating to donating to the new ballroom. How's that for a. For a backflip?
- [50:05]
B
Well, that mean democracy will die in darkness, which is the mantra of the Washington Post if we don't. And, you know, and one thing I do want to share, I think people, we have to support journalism. We, you know, we have to support newspapers because they are the watchdogs, right? For democracy will not succeed without facts and information. And, you know, we have to give money and not give money, but buy the Guardian, buy your local newspaper, have investigative journalism support it. It's critical, right?
- [50:46]
A
Get a subscription to the New York Times. Even though they did that cataclysmic 30 best songwriters in America. That. That was unforgivable. I almost unsubscribed from nypd. Seriously, I was like, you didn't include Billy Joel.
- [51:11]
B
But, you know, we need to support, you know, the AP, NPR, PBS NewsHour. I mean, these are legitimate sources of news that no one can deny are objective and truthful. New York Times is, you know, a storied newspaper. We have to support local and other newspapers because democracy will die in darkness without it. I also want to share another great organization that I've come to really appreciate, and it's called the Hopium Chronicles.
- [51:44]
A
We can put links in the description below. So for the audio, whether you're on Spotify, iHeartRadio, we will have links. And then if you're on YouTube and seeing us, then we. We'll have links in that description, too, for you.
- [52:00]
B
Yeah. And what's great about Hopium, it's curated by Simon Rosenberg, who used to be an ABC reporter, and he predicted in 2022 that there would not be a red wave in the elections. And Nate Silver was not too happy with him because he basically was right. And so Simon's unbelievably capable as a policy thought leader and especially as a political thought leader. So he's. He puts out a substack and podcast every day, and it's the best thing out there, in my opinion. And, yeah. So highly recommend that as a source of information as well. He synthesizes the news every day. And for people who are just demoralized and have trouble listening to the news or reading the paper, get the Hopium. Because what he'll do every morning is he'll take three hours in the morning. He'll take all the sources of News where he lives in D.C. he'll synthesize it and package it. And he's never missed anything that I've, as a news junkie, caught as well, so I couldn't recommend that more highly as well.
- [53:15]
A
That's a great conduit. A steady stream of data, insights, punditry. And he's. He's the wonk who walks the walk. Right. Because if you could be accurate in your predictions like Nate Silver was. I mean, the. The Obama election really just. He got. He nailed it. The. Down to the electoral count.
- [53:38]
B
Yeah.
- [53:39]
A
And he's been. He's been riding on that fume since. I don't think he's doing the politics anymore. He branched out since. But Nate was the guy, and now this guy's your guy, so. And.
- [53:49]
B
And he. He has great interviews. Really. He's super. Quite well connected and just meaningful, enlightening information that I find quite useful.
- [54:01]
A
Great. Maybe I'll try to get him on Bald Ambition. We can do a crossover.
- [54:06]
B
You could get Simon. You. You. That would be a real.
- [54:11]
A
I got Lawrence Jubir on the. The guitar player for Paul McCartney. That was my. My recent coup for podcasting. We had a wonderful hour conversation, and he actually played Strawberry Fields for me. Oh, I love a little concert. So that was. That was really fun. Amazing things can happen, folks. Go out there in canvas. Do your Zoom fundraiser, Join an organization, start a podcast. We're a DIY society. Do it yourself. All the tools are at our disposal. I got my, My microphone here. I got my podcast app. And all you need to do is hit a link, send an email, pick up the phone, and get your ass off the couch where you're eating Cheetos and complaining about the Cheeto and. And go do something which. Which is what I love about your perspective and your book. And I think that's the first step to this mirroring of the Democrats, which is let's not take things for granted anymore, especially our democracy, and give, give, give freedom a shot. With the caveat that I got to go there a little bit. A secure border is a good thing. Democrats. It's really a good thing in a reasonable, humane kind of way. Democrats. There's two genders and there's transgender people, but there's not 86 genders. I just want to let you know, and maybe I'm old school, but when I see she. He him her in the signature line, I know that that's sending people to go vote for Trump. So I'm just infusing this with just a little bit if you make demands on the American population and you demand critical thinking and common sense, then to your exact point, Gary, let's be mindful of the 15% on the left that are creating 125% of the problems at the voting booth.
- [56:32]
B
Well, and what we find is another area where the Democrats, I think have not done the best is we're not the best messengers.
- [56:40]
A
Right.
- [56:41]
B
We speak in wonky terms and policy jargon, Hillary. Right. And we don't speak emotionally and straightforwardly and it's not that hard. Right. And so I think we're learning from that. I think there's an investment in a 24. 7 pushback to get the message out positively. And I think and hope we'll see more of that in the future. But yeah, and I think the immigration issue, Trump cratered that in the 11th hour of this summer, 2024, where there would have been bipartisan agreement on strong border and more judges and so on.
- [57:22]
A
But yeah, but I'm, I'm not letting you get off on that one. Biden f that off. And, and it's, we've been dealing with that backlash as a country ever since.
- [57:34]
B
Well, no, but in 2024 there was bipartisan agreement, but by then the, the
- [57:40]
A
immigration problem had left the station already and that ball was severely dropped before that.
- [57:46]
B
Trump, you know, leveraged it, of course,
- [57:49]
A
as he does everything. But I think that's part of my point though, that I started this with the idea of the Democrats have this litany of self inflicted wounds. For example, the crime issue, okay, I was jumped in New York City by Times Square. And when there was a lot of pushback on the left, there was this notion that crime has gone down. The pushback to Trump for bringing in the National Guard and securing the hellholes of Democrat urban reality was that crime is high and we need to bring in the military to calm it all down. Now that was clearly hyperbolic over generalized fascistic kind of behavior and messaging. But the Democrats coming back and saying, but crime is down, crime is not a problem. To me, this epitomized what's messed up about messaging, which is acknowledge the lived experience of Americans, stop telling Americans how it should or could be based on an academic idea, based on some progressive concept and empathize with the plight of the working people of this country. Remember Bernie for 30, I could say it on my podcast. I already got explicit on Apple. For 30 fucking years, Bernie Sanders has been saying the working people of this country. And it took all of these cataclysmic losses for The Democrats to go, you know, we should pay attention to the working people of this country. And to me, that's an endemic problem. And it goes back to what you were saying, which is this wonky messaging is inability to make an emotional connection with Americans and over complicating the. Out of everything because the Democrats are so fragmented. It's, it's an obsession with identity rather than finding a unified platform of 3, 4, 5 points that you keep hitting home, which is what, frankly, Trump and the MAGA base are great at. They're terrific at messaging.
- [60:13]
B
Right. They may not be honest about it, but they're terrific.
- [60:17]
A
They swap them in and out. It's like the Iran war. It's like regime change until it isn't. It's the nuclear program until it isn't.
- [60:27]
B
Yeah. Democrats also have been too cautious and have been testing their messaging too much. They need to be more like Bernie and just speak the truth, people.
- [60:40]
A
I was hoping. This is, this is kind of funny, but it kind of hits this home. I thought Bernie Sanders would make the perfect vice presidential candidate with Donald Trump in 2016 because they were hitting. They were hitting. They were, you know, when they were, they're doing the trumping on the circuit and they were having the rallies. You have Bernie kind of warm them up. I even gave it a name. You want to hear the name for that ticket? It was the Nationalist Socialist Party. But in all seriousness, it epitomizes this schism that the Democrats. Democrats, get over yourselves. Right. It's like this false dichotomy is so self destructive.
- [61:35]
B
I agree. Yeah. And, and this is in my view, anecdotally, we're not a center right country. We're at least a center, maybe center left country. But because of voter suppression, depression and people staying on the sidelines, it's not, there's no reflection of the complexion of where the country really is. And we have to get to organizing, getting people to show up, do the things I write about. But also the Democratic Party, which I do believe gets it, is aware of what needs to happen. And we have to message better and push back against this disinformation industry that, that, that benefits from clicks and emotional anger that causes people to just propagate the lie and the canard and the conspiracy theory. And it's, it's, to me, it's, it's an absolute outrage and we can't stand for it and we have to do better.
- [62:33]
A
The word of the day is canard. I love that, that, that is so, that is so good. I feel Lucky having Gary Lux on the podcast and your message hits home loud and clear that, you know, I'm sitting here, the Democrats need to do this, do that. That's all policy. But at the end of the day, it's got to be butts and chairs. It's got to be asses out there. It's got to be canvassing, fundraising, joining organizations, getting active. And your awesome book, We Are the Power, offers a detailed and prescriptive guide. In summary, you're Action Jackson, which is like, stop. Stop complaining. Go do something. Your book is delightfully prescriptive with best practices. And the point that you started with, I think, is the best point to end with, which is, we live in deeply troubling psychological times. The rates of addiction, suicide, unhappiness among the American people have reduced our overall quality of life to the point that our median age has plummeted two, three years. And it's not just Covid. We're unhappy, we're frustrated, and we don't know what to do. And what your book does is we do know what to do, which is put your frustration into action. Go out there and do something, meet people, affect change. You'll be better for it, and so will the whole country.
- [64:05]
B
Yeah, I mean, ultimately, you know, people are alone, more so than they were decades ago. And by joining a group, you're like, it's a civic engagement where you can come back together in community. So that's one way that's a win win. And I think ultimately there's no cavalry that will protect us. There's no knight in shining armor. We keep wanting someone to protect us and get us through this. And what I want to emphasize is no one's going to save us, and the only people that will save us is ourselves. And the reason why I wrote the book was to give people a menu of choices. And it can't be just this election cycle. There's 20, 28 that'll be right around the corner, and there's lots of rebuilding. So much damage has been done. We need to maintain power, to have the levers of power to rebuild and strengthen our democracy. And that means commitment not just to this cycle, but quite frankly, just like jury duty, it has to be a lifelong civic duty obligation that we all have to be part of. And what will happen is if we win the midterms, we'll get complacent and we'll think, okay, I can rest. We can't rest, and we have to pace ourselves. So we're living a lifelong marathon of civic Duty. And the only way we navigate that is we work hard for six months in one way or another before an election, 18 months between the two year cycle, we can step back and keep the engine idling, but then we put it back into gear six months before. And that's how you navigate the marathon, which is our life commitment, which it has to be, because otherwise what we take for granted will be gone.
- [65:53]
A
Amen to that. And I want to bring up one other great point that you made, which is be inclusive. Listen to people and talk to people. Don't shut people out. And that'll improve and enlighten you as a voter, as an activist, as someone who believes in this great country, that inclusivity. So if you got a funny uncle and you don't want to invite him to Thanksgiving, or, you know, you dread when he might come, come around, or if you go over to his house and you got Fox News on all the, all the screens, have a conversation and understand that we're all Americans. And again, to your point, most folks agree on most things and we have been propagandized by that fringe 15% to hate each other and not listen to each other. And a lot of your activism has to do with exactly that. Knock on doors, talk to people, be inclusive, listen to the other side and Democrats, maybe even learn a few things that we can improve
- [67:12]
B
democracy depends on Democrats improving their game.
- [67:18]
A
You know, and I want to bring one last point, if you still have a couple minutes. Who, who, it's all, if we've learned anything at all from the 10 years of Trump, think about it. He rolled down that escalator 10 years ago, right? And counting. Okay, two, two term president, he would say three. It's, it's, there's love him, hate him, whatever. He, he's got his base and he knows his audience and he's a personality. Okay, look at, look at, look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, the guy, you could see him being a bodybuilding champion because he had a perfectly symmetrical body and he was handsome. But then action movie star and governor, it's so don't, don't judge, folks. You know, you get to the chopper, he's the governor of our fine state of California. So don't judge the peoples when they make decisions about who they fall in love with. And learn something. Democrats, there's got to be woo, there's got to be charisma. You need a personality to make an emotional connection with people. And that is the key motivator. We don't use our head, we use our Heart and Democrats. That I think is their biggest lesson, which is choose wisely when you go for that front. Man front, woman front. They. I'm rooting for the first transgender president. I wrote a science fiction short story story about this like 25 years ago and I'm rooting for the first transgender. I want a they president. You know that that'll make Mookie really happy because I think then we finally figured that one out. Right. But I just go back to who I mean. Pete Buttigieg. No one speaks better than Pete. Okay, but does he have it? Gavin Newsom. He's got great hair, he looks super presidential and he's very nimble in the debate. Is he the guy we could go through the list and I don't, I don't expect us to do that now, but I just want to convey this notion that if we've Learned anything from Mr. The Donald, it's like we need to. It's not just about policy Democrats. It's not about freeing democracy. At the end of the day, the candidate has to be full of woo, likable and attention getting.
- [70:05]
B
They need to dominate and relatable and it comes down to emotionality. Like yeah, amygdala in our brain is what reacts to fear in the fight and flight and you know, Fox propaganda and all the right wings media and disinformation wants to make us angry and fearful and that moves behavior. Right. And so we have to be aware of that when we're being manipulated. And number one and number two, you need to be able to emotionally connect and relate and candidates that will succeed, hopefully the Democratic column will be relatable and you can emotionally connect with them and not get lost in the wonky information that people, people don't even pay attention to in their eyes glaze over after a while.
- [70:58]
A
Let's keep our fingers crossed. You know, I would hope that the Democrats set up the casting couch and I think they're already overdue. And I've had various guests to use digital technology to engender greater transparency when it comes to legislation and when it comes to voting. I had some great guests already and that got me thinking and I discussed this with them too. Why aren't we using digital technology to recruit fresh blood for the Democrats? We need new faces, we need new places. We need to change this up, folks.
- [71:35]
B
I think the Democratic bench is strengthening and I think the. But it'll be a challenging primary for 2028, but I think there's a lot of strong candidates to select from who I think have what we're looking for. Like, look at Pritzker, man. He's a commanding, gravitas guy who.
- [71:57]
A
You make it a face.
- [71:59]
B
You are making a face.
- [72:01]
A
I'm. I was born and bred in Chicago.
- [72:04]
B
You're Midwest.
- [72:06]
A
Pritzker has got charisma. But if. If Pritzker can become president, I will. I will wear a toupee.
- [72:16]
B
Well, but people like a father figure. Like a strong, safe father figure. My point is, I think, yeah, whatever it takes to get good candidates. And we just have to vet that so we end up with viable candidates and not get in our own way.
- [72:33]
A
Nothing against you, Pritzi. My last name is Spitz. Spitz. Pritz. You know, I'm poor, you're rich. Nothing personal. I think you're great. But. But, you know, to my point, we. We just might need someone else to run. Thanks so much, Gary Lux. We really appreciate your time. Get. Get his book, folks. It's really good. And get your ass off the couch and doing stuff. You'll feel better about it. And I am going to. I'm going to share. Usually I don't share my podcast with my friends. I.
- [73:09]
B
When.
- [73:10]
A
When I started podcasting, I'll be, hey, look. And they got sick of it, and I got sick of it. But this. This. This podcast, I am going to share personally with my network, especially the lefties, and go and go. I see you complaining on Facebook all the time. It's the. The Trump memes and, you know, end of democracy, and we're all screwed and look at ice and et cetera, et cetera. And I'm going to blast them with. With your book because I think it's the ultimate salve for. For troubled times. And I appreciate you doing what you do.
- [73:47]
B
You got. You got to channel that into something productive. And you can get the book at your favorite bookstore, order it, or get it at Barnes and Noble or Amazon or even an ebook right now,
- [73:59]
A
ladies and gentlemen, and anyone in between, including the future President of the United States of America, let's do three genders. I'm giving the Democrats three. Three genders, not 86. Three. Thanks for listening. Like, comment, share. And thank you, Gary. This was a wonderful exchange, and I wish you the best of luck and keep doing what you're doing.
- [74:26]
B
Thank you so much.
- [74:27]
A
Viva la resistance.
- [74:30]
B
Take care. Thank you so much. Thank you.