 Hi everyone, I am back with Chris Armatage who is running in Washington State's fifth congressional district He is facing off against Kathy McMorris She is a pretty far right evangelical Republican and Chris has been on the program before but he's back to give us an Update on his progress Chris welcome back to the program buddy Appreciate the opportunity to come back And this time we're not completely matching. So, you know, I don't mean to coordinate better. I guess Yeah, yeah, definitely definitely if people can tell the difference between the two of us That's important I did see an image floating online of an interview that you did with TYT's John Iderola where it looks like you two were twins I thought that was awesome So, yeah, he's just a foot taller than me. That's what people don't realize when they see us sitting next to each other That's the big difference Right on right on so give us an update about your campaign because the primary is coming up really soon Or the election has come up really soon. How's everything going? I know that COVID-19 kind of shook up the race your grassroots funded candidates So knocking on doors isn't necessarily something that you can do As you did before unless you figured out some way to do it, you know in a pandemic, but explain to us what's going on Absolutely, you know despite COVID It's it put everybody in a similar starting position Where you know normally my opponent who is a lifelong career Long-term incumbent politician They would just hire 12 or 15 people to canvass for a year before the election. That's a pretty common practice out here with conservatives And then some other campaigns do they just pay people to do that But we have the same starting position So our campaign is already set up really well to be able to do digital canvassing and digital outreach And that's something else too people who are watching we could use more text bankers and phone bankers It's something you do on your phone and it makes a difference. It's a way to communicate with people and let them know That we have an option here. We actually have a choice and we can win this race And we've also coalesced our forces in a really good way. We've gotten endorsements from IBEW teamsters AFL-CIO AFSCME WFSE, which is the largest union in the state is the Washington Federation of State employees And so it's been a great opportunity To do the behind the scenes work of building a campaign that can really effectively Actually build the big umbrella the big tent the big tent that people talk about So, you know, we're turning the obstacle into the way. Yeah, and what's interesting is that, you know, there are different Factions within the Republican Party. There is the evangelical faction, which I think that Kathy McMorse would be characterized There there's also, you know, libertarians. There is the more nationalistic Trumpian republicans But you have managed to kind of appeal to libertarians while not actually Sacrificing or watering down your core message at all I mean you support Medicare for all Green New Deal. How are you reaching these people who otherwise would theoretically be turned off by your type of campaign? And I think that's that's what it really means to build a coalition is to find where your venn diagrams overlap Right because decriminalized sex work and the war on drugs Those are policies that have broad support in the libertarian community And you're not going to get that from an establishment politician And that is where we're linked up Is, um, you know rooting out corruption in the system That's something 99 percent of voters are going to agree on But they're not getting from the people who've been representing them for decades And who created this corrupt system that we currently face the consequences of Yeah, and I think that's important like a lot of people mostly liberals Uh in in in dc currently they have this instinct to try to appeal to the other side And what that usually means for us is that working people are going to get screwed over in some way, you know Whether they give tax cuts to the rich or they agree with deregulation to get crumbs for the people I mean the, uh, coronavirus care act I think is a great example of that where we all got a $1,200 stimulus But large multinational corporations got trillions of dollars So it's nice to see you have this strategy where you can appeal to the to the other side But you're you know, you're meeting them where they are, but you're not compromising on your ideals I think that's so key and not a lot of people know how to navigate that because it's tricky It's nuanced. It requires you to be savvy and I think you're doing a great job of that So kudos to you. Uh, I want to on this on this, um This talk of freedom and you kind of promoting that as a way to appeal You're running against someone who quite literally is anti-freedom because this is an evangelical and you are an openly lgbtq Uh candidate now There is a difference between descriptive representation and you know substantive representation I don't just want to elect Gay and trans people to congress just to say that we have them there Like we want them to substantively represent us and that's what I think is a really key Factor here, but you I think you getting elected really says something beating an evangelical would make a huge statement So do you want to talk to um your experience as an lgbtq politician running against someone who is an evangelical Who doesn't support your rights? Yeah, and that's you know, uh My opponent, uh, our long-term incumbent has spent Decades since I was actually two years old and they were first elected to the state house Uh, that entire career has been just a consistent record of voting against marriage equality voting against lgbt discrimination protections They have a zero percent rating from the human rights campaign zero percent And uh, so you can't you can't have a worse record than that I don't think they've given anybody a negative rating below zero percent yet And so when we swapped that person out in a district that was on the red to blue list last cycle That's how close we were last time. This isn't a long shot We can say um, you know, we're gonna have someone here in me that Protect your individual rights protect your individual liberties protect your constitutional rights Um to the extent that they should be in an evolving and growing and developing nation Nobody should be fired from their job because of their sexual orientation It's that straightforward and if someone, uh, doesn't get it then they're not really pro freedom. They're not pro constitution Um, they're not pro human rights Yeah, it's as simple as that and to have someone who hasn't Evolved at all. I mean like if if Kathy were to Uh evolve on this issue even a little bit. I mean, that's great I think there's room for people to grow as we you know change as a society as culture shifts But she has not moved at all like this is a really Antiquated mindset that she's still in and she's still representing that district, which I think has changed. It's outgrew her Um, so it's absurd that she would still be The representative which I mean explains why this could be a flippable district I want to ask you though moving to the democratic party establishment and the state apparatus What's the response been to you because they always talk about You know the need for diversity bringing in invoices That are marginalized being more inclusive and your lgbt So I I think that they would want to include you But at the same time your policies aren't endorsed by the national democratic party Like you would be considered too radical for them. What has been the response from the washington state democratic party to your campaign? I'll say that I mean pretty pretty non-existent. That's just uh, they don't they don't Always give the most attention to the side of the state. Um, it's been treated like a lost cause for a long time my opponent, uh, they've so they've been elected eight times and The last six times their lead shrunk by one to four points every single election They've never done better than their reelection campaign to the point where they they were reelected with a 66 margin And they only they only got 53 54 percent of the vote in 2018 And we didn't have the massively increased voter turnout that a lot of the country had we're trending in the right direction um, and so You know what nobody owes us their support if the state party doesn't feel that this is the best use of their resources That's up to them. Um, but I'll say my feelings about the parties is, you know, also the makeup of the parties There's democrat voters republican voters independent voters libertarian green you name it and those are the people We really try to focus on because one of the big mantras of this campaign since day one is nobody's gonna swoop in and win it for us Not gonna happen. It happens here on the ground Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. I think you have to put in the effort and you guys are clearly doing that um In terms of the national democratic party, I'm curious what your take on this is because Bernie sander's lost the nomination. Unfortunately, as we all know Um, and I think that he would have been a really great motivator for younger people to turn out and I think that um, him not being at the top of the ticket is going to affect turnout for lower races such as yours. So How are you able to make sure that turnout in your district is high if you have someone at the top of the ticket Who doesn't necessarily motivate young people, you know, joe biden How are you kind of offsetting that because I think that it would have been easier for candidates To win had we had bernie as the nominee but now since joe biden is nominee I feel like, you know, maybe enough anti trump voters will come out and choose to support down ballot democrats But it's tough to say. So what are you guys looking at in terms of um upping turnout in your district? You know, I think I mean fortunately, washington state already has Automatic voter registration that started this year and we already do mail-in ballots as well So that's something that helps give us more increased voter turnout than most places But it's the same thing where like I said, you know, we can't expect anyone to come in and win it for us A president sanders wouldn't have been able to get everything he wanted done without a support of congress And that would have been probably his main battle even with largely public support for his policies And the same goes for president trump if he does things that people don't like It's not going to be able to break rules without a complicit congress and so Really, I think it's about rethinking the whole model that we approach our electoral system in We should be focused on having members of congress congressional representatives senators City council members who we're proud of We know who the heck they are we're paying attention to that And so we're going to increase voter turnout just like we are now when the people who are watching this Decide to step up and be the leaders that we've been waiting for because we are the leaders you me and the people watching this We're the leaders we're waiting for not burning not biden not trump Nobody comes in it's up to us to decide that we're going to take a personal role in the outcome of how things go And when someone who's a text banker or a phone banker or one day again a canvasser knocks on a door And it's clearly passionate about a candidate or that candidate does it themselves That has an impact that that that beats msnbc that beats fox When you get that face to face with someone who can have a real conversation with you break down the straw man And actually talk about a candidate and who their representative is Yeah, I think that's key because people are realizing now That this over reliance on electoral politics It can be a dead end electoral politics is important But there's more that needs to happen if you truly want political change And I think that direct action is something that people are realizing is really useful I mean throughout the country There's nationwide protests that erupted after george floyd was murdered You actually showed up to this event in your estate There's been a lot of activism in washington and in seattle City councilwoman shama savant was actually tear gassed and then city council banned tear gas I'm curious. Um, what is your take because you made a tweet Saying that you feel relatively hopeful that maybe we're starting to see a shift in culture So just in terms of um your take on this You feel hopeful. Can you explain why based on what you saw at these rallies? Well, and I'll open by saying um about I think like don't give up on electoral politics But a lesson my mom told me when I was very young was They're not going to start paying attention until you're costing them money right and by them I mean whether it's politicians or corporations The they are always running algorithms On pr and any decision they make and when they know it's going to cost them money that's going to affect their decisions Now I've managed to go to Demonstrations in a few different towns within our district some smaller towns like kettle falls and showela And our second largest city in the state spoke hand, which are all within our district I was tear gassed as well On an evening right near curfew. I saw a homeless man. I've known for years He's not some antifa warrior. He's just a guy who lives downtown has always been nice to me Um, and he got hit by three rubber bullets had some giant welds on him. He was just walking across the street and um, you know, then there were armed folks who were in paramilitary gear who weren't law enforcement Who were with some uh some groups who've um, you know been troublesome around here before like the proud boys and three percenters And they were allowed to walk around unharassed by the police And so that was a a pretty, um, you know disruptive thing. It was clear that there was Uh people being treated differently Now what makes me hopeful Is I was we had 4 000 people show up in spokane for this march. That's twice the largest, uh march I've ever seen there before we had a climate strike last year that had maybe half that many people 4 000 people in a pretty small city and It was a very diverse crowd. There were a lot of people there who were saying this problem Might never personally affect me as someone who's white But i'm here in solidarity. I'm here to amplify And then we went to chawila and kettle falls and it was the same thing It was a ton of people out there and not only that but there were people driving by honking their horns and supporting And these are small rural towns where they're saying yeah police brutality is something we're against I know people handing out some veteran friends of mine where we're in vets against police brutality shirts People were really happy to see that it just felt like a culture shift Yeah, that's great I kind of feel like people are actually doing a little bit of soul searching White people are trying to figure out how to be better allies how to go further the further than just saying Well, I'm not racist. So I've done my part, you know, actually putting in time to make sure That we stop this once and for all there's been Times throughout history where it feels like we're on the cusp of change And then things just kind of go back to normal because racism is able to adapt. So I think that if we really Shift culture then that can be a way to you know, get institutional changes I wanted to ask you because you're a veteran and a couple of weeks ago Donald trump threatened to use the military on peaceful protesters and protesters just in general um And this is something that really struck me because this is very explicitly against the first amendment You know, he had attorney general william bar gas peaceful protesters So he can have a path cleared for him to take a photo in front of the church that everyone has seen by now How do you respond to that as a veteran? Like if you got the call to Basically shut down a protest, which i'm assuming would happen violently if we're using the military How do you how do you respond to that as a veteran? Do you object to what they're saying Speak to this because I feel like this is something that People need to hear from especially if you are a veteran like your voice in this conversation is really important I I I think probably the best thing you could do in that circumstance would be disassemble Your weapon throw it on the ground and join the demonstrators um And just openly say i'm not going to follow it unlawful order because that's what it is And there will be consequences to that because it might say in the uniform code of military justice That you don't have to follow an unlawful order, but that's not going to be figured out until you're court-martialed and so it's It's right and wrong There might be tough consequences, but right wrong. You know what the right decision is And that's part of how earning conservative votes Um, I think really starts is let's talk about the constitution First amendment doesn't have a bedtime You know second amendment I wish we fought for every other one as hard as people fight for that second amendment because you know what when you put someone to death By need of the neck when they haven't had due process They haven't a day in court They haven't had a jury by their peers And you've given them cruel and unusual punishment as their death something no court in the land would sense in someone too So no court in the land would say we're going to execute you by need of the neck What that happens on the streets in america every day You bring it to those terms That's bad news for the people who stand for existing structures. And I fully encourage my friends And brothers and sisters in arms who are still serving Don't follow unlawful orders. Don't do it. You want to be on the right side of history Based on like your social circles Within the military Do you think that most would comply or do you think that they would actually not Follow through with you know in an unlawful order because I feel like There would be consequences for them if they didn't listen. They would be reprimanded So, you know, they're you're balancing what's right with self-interest and not wanting to be punished So just you know based on your experience, I know that you wouldn't follow an unlawful order But do you think that a majority of people in the military would follow that unlawful order? Because this really set up a conversation about you know, what is the role of the military? And I think that most people who are reasonable agree that it's not to be used Against its own people, you know, it's that's not what the military is for So what do you think would happen in the event? He actually did Order the military to come through and shut down a protest How would that play out in your view? Would there be a mutiny? What would happen if we're you know allowed to kind of speculate here? Yeah, and that's a tough question to answer because it really digs to the core of our nation's military leaders hearts and souls and morals and values but I think most of the military do the right thing I do I don't think that our soldiers would open fire And then now you asked me the same question about police Absolutely, they they act like they're an occupying force in our own country But our military folk I think there's an understanding You know, I think that there's there's more of an understanding that we're here Are the people the military is supposed to be protecting Are here in this country even the people we don't like even the people we disagree with You know when I enlisted I didn't enlist to just protect Democrats or just protect Republicans When you're fighting you're fighting for the people you despise when I was you know deployed on my two non-combat deployments I was there are clansmen in the United States and all sorts of people who I detest but They're also being protected by our military So I I have faith that our military would do the right thing and not harm our own citizens Yeah, thanks for speaking to that I know it's difficult because we're kind of trying to cycle analyze A lot of people But you know, this is this has really got you know, a lot of people thinking like what would happen in this instance because This would be unprecedented I mean the military has been used to quell protests before or at least attempted to quell protests But the the president hasn't unilaterally did something You know to this effect so it is it is interesting to think about and you know What would happen in that scenario? So I appreciate you speaking to that because I know that is kind of difficult You can have your feet in both camps, you know as a veteran and as an activist So it's difficult to you know to try to put yourself in Both camps at the same time. Well, I was also a military law enforcement as well Yeah, it's not something I talk about as much Because I love getting into the meat and potatoes of you know, health the health care crisis that we're facing Ending forever war and military law enforcement. It's a little bit different than civilian law enforcement but The you know, it's a thing I've experienced quite a few Different fields that are involved right now and I think You know, I mean as as our district's next congressman as another Representative in the federal government I know that there are so many amazing leaders stepping up around this country right now, whether it's creating content that can help get information out there or volunteering for people Or contributing what they can We're just posting about it on social media showing up taking to the streets That leadership gives me hope it gives me faith I don't think that they I think that we're facing an unprecedented time of challenge and strife in in us history And an unprecedented amount of leadership To push back. Yeah, I agree with that. Uh, so with that being said, I know that my audience is familiar with your campaign I know we're rooting for you and you're gonna kick ass But tell us what we can do to push you across that finish line You know, if we live in That district, what can we do if we don't if we live in a different state? How can we help you get elected? Here's what we need We need people to contribute because if you watch this the tens of thousands of people that are going to end up watching this $5 each $10 25 if everybody did what they can We would outfund raise someone who gets five million a cycle from the fossil fuel industry wall street banks big pharma We could out raise them with small dollar donations if everyone who watched this could lead in their own way But there are other things too in addition to that Our digital volunteering our website armitage for congress.com arm it a g e f or congress.com You can sign up to be a digital volunteer there. You can have conversations with people where you say look We need to lead this country towards a greater future that we've ever had because we're not going to find progress in the past We're only moving in one direction and longer we spend looking behind us The further behind we're going to continue to fall. We used to have the best schools in the world We used to have the most reliable health care for for citizens in the world when it was nonprofit We used to have affordable housing. We used to be a country where you could raise a family on a single income And we can build that together. You can be the one having those conversations. You can sway votes This isn't what the establishment tells us that that it's just voting blocks. We're always going to go one way or the other There are there are trump bumper stickers with my bumper sticker next to him and it's not because of medicare for all It's because we had conversations and and and I listened And I addressed what they were worried about and you have that power too That is a power that we wield and that's what happens when you volunteer for a campaign And then also if you're in our district We need your vote if you know someone who lives in this district We need their vote And so that's it All right, and what is the primary taking place? Ballots drop in four weeks. We are getting down to the wire here We need to send out a lot of social media direct mail. We have we have billboards We have all different sorts of ads On top of just other voter outreach methods that are very much might not be needed by the by the general But are absolutely needed in the primary. We do a top two primary So our primary involves me actually running against our republican incumbent It's important it matters And we need your help All right. Well, there we have it chris armatage running in washington state's fifth congressional district Go to his website to contribute. There will be links down below. Um, yeah, we're going to be rooting for him