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- [00:00]
Peggy Flanagan
Foreign.
- [00:05]
Podcast Host
We have a very special guest today on IHIP News. Lieutenant Governor from Minnesota, the highest ranking female Native American Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan.
- [00:20]
Peggy Flanagan
Thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here with you.
- [00:22]
Podcast Host
I'm so happy to meet you. I have been pulling for you. I did not realize that the United States had never had a native governor. So when Governor Walz was running with governor or with Vice President Harris, I was like, the number one thing I'm excited about is for them to win. The second thing I'm excited about is to have a Native American governor. And we got neither. And we got a complete net running the country. So add it to my list of disappointments with the election.
- [00:54]
Peggy Flanagan
Well, I think that's the least of our problems, but I appreciate your support. The good news is that, you know, we have the opportunity to have a Native American woman governor and Deb Haaland, who's running in New Mexico. And so I'm going to try to be the first Native American woman to serve in the US Senate instead.
- [01:13]
Podcast Host
Well, I wholeheartedly support your position. You have a populist message, which seems to be something that the Democratic establishment is having trouble wrapping their arms around. And I note that you do not take APAC money. So how does that put you in comparison to other candidates?
- [01:35]
Peggy Flanagan
Sure. So I, I don't take corporate PAC money and I don't say corporate PAC money because I think corporations have plenty of power in Washington. It's the, the rest of us who, who need it. And it's folks on both sides of the aisle, frankly. And I think that's what's impacting our elections and the results that, that we're getting. I also do not take APAC money, nor do I think that they would, you know, I, well, but I made the decision, you know, to speak out and say that I would have supported the Sanders resolution this summer that both of my senators, Senator Klobuchar and Senator Tim Smith voted in support of. To say that we're not going to have offensive weapons going to Israel when children are starving is. And that's a position that I stand by. I'm a mom, I'm a child advocate, and we have to use our voices to speak up when we see injustice. And so I can call out Benjamin Netanyahu's government in the same way that I can call out the Trump administration as well. And I think we need to use our voices. And that's what I did. And now they've decided to go after me and they're Supporting my opponent in.
- [03:01]
Podcast Host
A big way, isn't that just. It's so frustrating because it's like, doing the right thing, since Citizens United has put people that really want to do the right thing in terrible position in terms of being able to compete financially. And it takes so much money to run now, Right?
- [03:22]
Peggy Flanagan
And, like, that's, of course, you know, we've known that for a long time, but really, you know, running for Senate is the thing that has, just, for me, opened my eyes in a major way. People want us to do the right thing. People want us to be courageous. And simply nibbling around the edges isn't getting us anywhere. When I travel across the state of Minnesota, folks aren't saying, like, gosh, you know, be careful, right? They're saying, be bold. Do the things we need you to do. People cannot afford their lives right now. And so we need to make sure that we're going big so that folks know, one, they can trust us, and two, that, you know, we're going to fight for them, but not just in 2026. It's what we're building for 2028 and 2030 and 2032. We need a Democratic Party that is no longer fighting from a defensive crouch, but is telling people what it is that we're for, that we're going to fight for the things that they need and that they deserve.
- [04:28]
Podcast Host
I completely agree. And I'm just wondering, what was your thought, your first reaction when you heard that the Senate had caved on the government shutdown? I was so profoundly disappointed. And it goes back to leadership in the Senate is old, stale, and, you know, governed by corporate interest and seniority. And so, as somebody looking to be in that body, what was your reaction?
- [04:56]
Peggy Flanagan
I mean, I was. I was pissed, frankly, and so incredibly disappointed. I think people were with us. And we literally saw that on the, you know, in the election results on. On Tuesday. It was up and down the ballot all across the country. Folks were like, democrats are fighting for us. And we somehow, these eight Democrats, were able to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory. And I think it makes everyone's job who's running right now so much harder. We were starting to rebuild that trust. We were starting to rebuild that enthusiasm. And so I think we just have to really call it out for what it is. It's capitulation to Donald Trump and to the congressional Republicans, and it's bullshit. And I think it's just so clear that that's what I'm hearing from folks in Minnesota, and people are sick of it. That is why we are in this very position that we find ourselves in is that folks just aren't willing to stand up and to fight. So I think it is the opportunity for people now, as we are going into the 2026 cycle, to decide who do you want? Who do you want fighting for you? Do you want people who are just going to go along with the status quo and somehow think that in three years when this guy's out of the White House that things are going to be okay? Or do you want people who are going to fight, who are going to organize, who are going to bring new people into the party because they see themselves reflected in these fights? I know what my choice is and I'm ready to bring one of those new voices. And frankly, a voice that's never been in the U.S. senate before. I think democracy works best when it accurately reflects the community it seeks to represent. And it is bentime. And believe it or not, right. I will be one of the youngest people elected to the, to the US Senate, you know, as a, as a 46 year old. And so, you know, and there's only four, four women, four moms with kids under the age of 18 who are serving in the US Senate. Boy, you know, can you tell? So it's time.
- [07:08]
Podcast Host
Exactly. What, how do you address, how do we, how do we look at the economy as it is right now and say, yeah, people are, you know, they have to get government assistance because the minimum wage has not changed in decades. It's $7.25. I was a divorce lawyer and you do this guideline and it's like I did one the other day for a friend and I was like, are you kidding me? It's unbelievable. So how do you, in your campaign and moving forward, if you are elected, how do you intend to address the minimum wage issue?
- [07:50]
Peggy Flanagan
Absolutely. So I am the former executive director of Children's Defense Fund Minnesota. And so when I was at Children's Defense Fund, I co chaired the campaign to raise the minimum wage in Minnesota. And the big fight for, for us was to make sure that we were also indexing it to inflation because costs were always going to go up. So we needed families to catch up and then to keep up. Now, every January for the last decade, we've seen an increase in the minimum wage here in Minnesota. And the way that we talked about it is when you like increase family income, you improve child outcomes. And a $7.25 minimum wage that hasn't been increased in 16 years is completely unacceptable. So I believe that need to fight for at least a $17 minimum wage. To just be very clear that what we are seeing now, 42 million Americans who are on SNAP, many of those folks are working. Many of those folks, right? For example, at Walmart or Amazon. And we are subsidizing these companies because they do not pay their folks a wage that is high enough for them to not qualify for public programs. It's outrageous. So like they're spending, you know, their SNAP dol at their employer. It's double dipping. Let's just pay people a living wage so they can just live the lives that they want to live.
- [09:15]
Podcast Host
And I think it's so important to restore dignity to the working person because the person that works at Walmart bust their ass. They have to a deal with the general public, which to me would be one of the downsides and people bitching and complaining and then on top of that, they don't earn enough to exist without supplemental income. It's just, it's crazy to me. So let me ask you this. How do you feel about Jennifer and I talk about on this podcast like Amazon uses infrastructure, Walmart uses infrastructure. All these big corporations use infrastructure, but they're not paying taxes and they're not paying for it. The American taxpayer is subsidizing for the infrastructure. So we want an infrastructure tax. So like, if you really use, like let's say Amazon, then you need to pay a percentage of your use to go back into the infrastructure budget. How does that sound?
- [10:19]
Peggy Flanagan
I mean, it sounds pretty good because right now the folks who are working at Amazon, right, are paying a higher tax rate than the very corporation itself. That's not right. That is the, you know, that is the entire situation that we are facing right now. It is folks at the very, very top. It is greedy corporations who are getting sort of everything they want and need with a just free ticket from the Trump administration and congressional Republicans that we have to say, like who are we actually for? The folks at the very, very top or people who literally are the ones who make this economy and this, you know, this country work. It is overdue. And I think people are smart enough to start to understand that. These are the conversations that I have all the time about how unjust this is. And people are ready. They want fire, they want fighters, and they don't want folks who are just simply going along to get along or worse, you know, taking campaign contributions from Amazon, right. And then somehow saying in the other hand they're going to hold them accountable. It's outrageous. And people are smarter than That I hope you're right.
- [11:30]
Podcast Host
After the 2024 election, I'm not 100% sure. Tell me about. I did not know until Governor Walz was campaigning that Minnesota has so many social safety nets and like is the happiest, one of the happiest places in the country to live. So how do you, how do you fit those together in your mind?
- [11:53]
Advertisement Voice
Sure.
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Peggy Flanagan
Well, I think part of it is we just want to make sure that people can live the lives that they want to live. And our whole philosophy has been we want to make Minnesota the best place in the country to raise a family. Which means that you have investments in things like nation leading child tax credit, where we are simply feeding kids breakfast and lunch at school, no questions asked. And frankly, as a kid who used to have a different colored lunch ticket and relied on snap, like that's a total game changer for folks. In January, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program is going to go into effect. And I started that fight when my daughter was an infant on my hip. We got it done when she was in fourth grade. Which tells me, you know, you get what you fight for and get what you organize for. But that I think is really part of what it means to be Minnesotan is that we give a damn about our neighbors. If you move into the neighborhood, we're going to bring you a hot dish. Right. If you can't, you, you know, get out and shovel. We're going to shovel your driveway for you. We're going to make sure if that you need access to, you know, reproductive healthcare and abortion, you can get that here too. Right. Like that's part of being a good neighbor. And you know, we invest in infrastructure and in communities and I think that that matters regardless of which side of the aisle you fall on here in Minnesota, I think we care about each other and boy, I hope that that continues. Absolutely.
- [13:24]
Podcast Host
I hope it spreads like a virus through the United States. Instead of individualism, we become collective.
- [13:32]
Peggy Flanagan
That's right.
- [13:32]
Podcast Host
Lieutenant Governor, thank you so much for joining us. Best of luck in your primary and campaign and you are welcome back any time.
- [13:41]
Peggy Flanagan
Thank you so much for having me. I love this podcast. It is so fun to be a part of it. And thanks for everything that you do.
- [13:58]
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