 Hello everyone, I have a treat for you. I'm here with three very special guests You know them from the hit Netflix documentary knock down the house I'm here with Paula Jean Swarajan Corey Bush and Amy of Layla So assuming that you just finished the film and you want to learn more about these very fantastic ladies We're gonna get the rundown. So thank you all so much for coming on the program Thank you We covered your campaign on the Humanist Report for more than a year But one thing that I wanted to ask you all about was this is the impression I got running for Congress is very difficult and on top of that you all have Different things that make it more difficult for you. First of all being a woman and running for Congress is more difficult second of all in your positions You were running against an incumbent which makes it incredibly difficult and Corey one thing that I wanted to ask you about You were talking to someone who said people don't even think they just vote when you were giving him a flyer So here's what I want to pose to you guys How do you overcome this voter apathy because you guys have talked to hundreds if not thousands of people So we'll open that up and start with Corey. How do you overcome voter apathy? With a message and actually going to where the people are I think that's the mistake that we make we we continue to do the same thing Okay, you go to you go to the churches you go to The community events you go to townships award meetings and all of that But who but and then you go knock doors of registered voters that voted in the last three years I mean, you know, but what about the people that didn't you know? So those are the doors we need to knock those are the places we need to go We need to go to the club. We need to go to the bars. We need to go to the grocery store Stand outside. We need to go to the thrift store We need to go like places like that go to the family reunion, you know and crash it You know, that's what we need to do and one thing that really struck me with that conversation You had with this constituent Corey in the film was that he said look clay has seniority and that counts and you said Well, but who does it count for and he kind of remarked that I you know You have guts because I haven't seen a Democrat want to challenge a clay in ages So you you guys are all running against these really big names Paula you were running against Joe Manchin a US senator, which is a little bit different than running in the house Someone with a little bit more name recognition. So what was it like going up against such a gigantic political machine? Well, it was hard to run a campaign grassroots and we learned a lot of lessons You know, we did something amazing. Everybody talks about it being a big loss But actually it's a big win for West Virginia because we have such a the you know It's so corrupt here our government's so corrupt and we want 30% percent of the vote We got more votes against the seating incumbent in 75 years and I got more votes than any Republican on the ballot So we we we shown them that you know, we're tired of the threats to our democracy in West Virginia and you talk about engagement We need to see more people run for office We can't motivate people to go to the polls and vote for people and they don't feel like they have something to vote for And people I think people are tired of the lesser two evils so You know, especially here in this state. We actually got some great candidates in our house this year We got Daniel Walker and Sammy Brown really great grassroots candidates and they're doing a really good stellar job You seen with their teacher strike here in West Virginia. I mean people are doing big things But you know people are always asking why why does West Virginia vote against their interest? You know their best interest. We have more Democrats and Independence registered in this state than we do Republicans But you look at what happened in 2016 with Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders went on 55 counties The super delegates went against the popular vote come general time, you know that pit You know voters registration was down people wasn't going to the polls because they didn't like their vote mattered People actually showed up for the polls that knew about me and learned about me because they were excited about my campaign Because I was a West Virginia, you know, I care about my state and we need more of that We're not only in West Virginia, but across the country. That's you know When you know, it was hard the biggest challenge was name recognition We could have done better. We could you know, but we also learned Really inventive ways to campaign in West Virginia, you know, because you know some districts It's easier. You can walk, you know, even when you run for house, you can walk the district be done with it We don't have expensive broadband in West Virginia It's hard to canvas up on these mountains and rural areas. Some people don't have access to television They still have land lines. They don't have cell phones, you know And it's it's it comes along with the state because people still don't have adequate sewage systems And I one of the it the most effective things that I did was putting ads in the Sunday paper Believe it or not because people go and buy coupons and people are still buying that newspaper You just have to be inventive and when if people decide to run for office, you know There's it's just there's just not one basic way that you can do it You have to look at your area your state and what you're doing to figure out Every day when you wake up how I'm all gonna reach the most voters today, right? And that's really important especially when like you said name recognition is such a huge factor and When you're going up against these political machines who people already know and they don't really even think About they just realize I'm voting for them Like there was one scene that really struck me in the film where Ocasio Cortez was she was canvassing She was giving out flyers and one lady said I'm going with Crowley Didn't even want to hear what she said so you have these people that are established and one thing that was unique Amy with you was that what we didn't see in the film was you actually went up against numerous political establishments So we kind of talked about on my program the Harry Reid stronghold in Nevada, which we didn't see You went up against Ruben Keewen. You then went on to go up against numerous people who were strong in Nevada and politics You have a candidate that was endorsed by Joe Biden So talk about what it was like going through this process Amy where you start off going up against one candidate He essentially gets knocked out and now you're going going up against a range of other candidates What was that like and how did you adapt like was it easy to adapt that quickly because you certainly had a bunch of Random things thrown at you So initially I thought I was going against, you know Ruben Keewen who was a sitting loved congressman and Probably within a month or so then then he Was stated that he was not going to run for re-election so the field was opened up at that point and I was in the race a little bit and then we had Pat Spearman came in who was a state senator and then we had This now congressman Forsford come in and he was actually living in Washington, DC area with his family They lived out there the entire time he ran he actually Registered to vote the same day that he registered to run for Congress and rented a house in the district So he was brought back specifically to Run for this seat in in my district So it was it was hard, you know You can see that even the transformation of my physical look the stress was taking a complete toll on my body My mind we were constantly fighting against, you know Curve balls being thrown every step of the way when it looked like we were actually making gains In the numbers it looked really good and promising then we had the dump was like shum We had an ex-president an ex-vice president a current presidential candidate We had you know different unions all of them came in and it was just like they Rallied around this candidate the chosen candidate and then he was on the then he was supported by the D triple C and Then there was an outside Dollars so as we were fighting our way he didn't he didn't raise substantially on his own more than I did But when they saw he wasn't raising you see that he actually that the money started coming in at that point He even see Crowley was donating to him. They were more worried about my race then than most others and and again, they didn't pay attention to the The Bronx girl out there that was running a really good campaign and actually Brought them more habits than I probably could have because of her ability to reach out to the millennials Yeah, and that's really one thing that stood out to me in the film was the call Amy that you had with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez So there's this scene where you lost and you have her on speaker and she says in order for one of us to be successful a Hundred of us have to win and that was such a profound statement I think they even put it in the trailer because that really it shows how difficult it is and it shows each of your stories And how every single one of you went up against basically a machine and not just a local machine But a national machine this network that was basically it seemed like to me like the mafia like you were fighting against this Huge machine that was so difficult. So here's what I want to ask you well now that you all have experience What's the one thing you think that you've learned? That's the most important Corey I want to start with you because this fight is not over for you I mean the fight isn't over for all of you, but you're running for Congress again in 2020, which is super exciting So taking this knowledge that you have now what's going to be the biggest thing that you carry with you into 2020 in terms of knowledge of what you need to do So one thing that I need to do is not get in a car accident, you know, so that's Not get hit by a car by random people But and then the other thing would be We just got to raise money as much as we want the money out of politics right now We're not there and so making sure that people understand that we Appreciate every single dime. We all appreciate every single dime But if you can do three dollars, can you do six if you can do 27? Can you do 50? You know, and so I just so looking at it like that Because one thing for us being women is harder for us to raise money and I say it all the time I need people to know and understand how much how much more difficult it is for us to raise money And then me as a black woman is even harder to raise money people pat me on my head with their words And you know and then you know and and I just it's so anyway So that's what I'm taking with me is making sure that I get the message out that if you love me If you want to see me there, I need you to rock with me for you know For this campaign and just be able to give whatever you can give to give me there And I promise it's coming back to you when I get there Yeah, absolutely how about you Paula because you ran for the Senate and At first we were all like I thought all of you were going to win like I there was no doubt in my mind and When I saw that you got 30% I Paula I was so frustrated because I'm like how could she get 30% But then after seeing all of these primaries dozens across the country play out that really was huge especially for the Senate So what do you think is the most important thing that you took away from that race? well, you know like I said it was monumental to get 30% of the vote and I'm not going to say we did make mistakes. We were grassroot candidates. It was our first time running for office Our field game was good. It could have been a lot better. You know, we could have had you know more I never had a commercial. I think that hurt me So, you know, there was a lot of organizational things that we could have done But also if I run for office again, it's going to be a well-owned machine because that experience You know, we gained a lot of knowledge see that experience One thing I won't do again is because my biggest resistance was the Democratic establishment Every time you know when I was out in the streets, I had Republicans, you know changing their party affiliation to vote for me The establishment knows They know from the second we've been for office what we're doing, they know the threat to their chosen incumbent I'll not spend my time at meet and greets with the Democrats and trying to rub noses with them I'll be out on the streets. I'll be at spaghetti dinners. I'll be reaching people which I did that anyway. I was it You know, I went to in a meeting. I went to you know, I went to food banks I was all over, you know, I'm gonna be a public servant. I want to know what the problems are I was very schooled on what was going on in the cold fields and it was amazing to me to learn what else was going on in my state And my advice to any candidate, you know, the establishment, they're gonna fight you They're gonna do everything they can to hold, you know to keep keep that corruption and that power within the party Reach the people the people, you know, that's who's gonna get you in the office That's who you serve find out what the needs are and like I said wake up every day and think how many voters Am I gonna reach today because if you're really in this to you know in this to be a public servant and You know, that's who you serve. That's who's funding you So you should be out there on knocking on doors talking to the people You shouldn't be rubbing elbows with the establishment trying to win them over because you're not it's just ideas That's a really powerful point. How about you Amy? One thing that you took away and I want to follow that up with Something that Corey had brought up about fundraising because we got this actually really fascinating scene of you on the phone And it seemed like probably for hours agonizing and I'll tell you that scene gave me anxiety because I hate talking on the phone So just I you really feel how difficult it is. So Would you also say that fundraising is probably one of the biggest things that you learn from because we all know It's crucial and you all three just so people who don't know who saw the film and now are learning more You all chose to be principled zero corporate PAC money zero special interest dollars that in and of itself is such a huge Thing but it's also a disadvantage So what would you say about that Paula or excuse me Amy in terms of what you've learned and also the fundraising aspect How difficult was it like are you worried every single week about we don't have enough money? We're running out. We have to raise money. How difficult is that from someone who's a grassroots candidate? So I knew in the beginning that Fundraising was going to be foremost, but I didn't realize how hard it's going to be You know, it was getting people to actually want to donate when they don't know if you can actually pull it off, right and And here's the thing the one thing I would tell you and this really ties in with with with fundraising is You know coming from the 2016 election and being a part of the Bernie Sanders campaign, you know, everything was about ground But I want you know when we went into this we had no institutional knowledge We did we went in there. We had to learn so when you see me fundraising I knew I had to course correct at that point and it was too late. I did an extensive round Game and I have one though. I had one of the largest districts in the United States But what I was learning was it wasn't getting the impressions necessary What I mean is you need to you need to have an oppression on people at least three to four times for them To remember your name and get motivated out there to go and vote for you So we did no mailers huge mistake We have to give we have to know that when we go into each and every district, they're all different in Nevada Even the ground game that AOC had in her district would not work in my district 90% of the communities are gated in my district or our way Eight-hour drive, you know, there's no way to hit them three or four times and have that impression So it really has to be a mix of ground and and more of the traditional ways of doing campaigning Mailers, you know making sure you have a TV ad and it's not necessarily having the digital We had a great digital digital campaign. We we were out there hitting the ground, but We made some missteps not understanding and and not really having anyone tell us how guide us to this process That doesn't work in every district So I'm actually like writing a book that's gonna really put all of this together and it's even have a chapter called how to lose You're running you need those things that you need to take into consideration and nobody we had generalizations I read the book on Bernie's campaign, but that doesn't necessarily translate to a Congressional or Senate campaign So I think going into this, you know We had lots of losses across this country because we were learning first thing I'd like to say about that is We know what we're doing this time and if we're not running we're helping the other ones run. Yep secondly We lost the race, but we did not lose the conversation That's right. I think every one of us that ran across this country either as a justice Democrat or a brand new congress member or our Revolution candidate we changed the conversation where we're now seeing a different type of Conversation with our presidential candidates right now So, you know, it's a movement. We can't be afraid of losing We still have to be fearless and go out there and raise right back up after we lose and be ready to go again Because we're gonna keep on having losses, but each time hopefully we're gonna have more and more people get into office Amy brought up a really good point one that we don't talk about enough the point that Nobody helps you to know what you need to do as far as in people that are In those positions or that have helped people get into those positions like it's this clothes knit group This this this tight lit group like you can't we can't tell you the secrets We can't tell you who you really need to talk to we can't tell you how to get into the senior homes We can't tell you, you know, it's it's this thing because we don't want you there We want to keep it within our family or we want to keep it within the people that you know That are that we want to know these because it these to know What to do so that they can get those positions and so that's another way that we it it pushes us to to this point Yeah, and you know, they brought up a good point because Amy was fussing at me when she came up to West Virginia They're not for a screening of the film because I say we don't need to point five million dollars to win But I should have reiterated we do need money to win you have to you have to have Money to be able to you know to campaign you do need the basics you need swag You need to be able to advertise, you know, you need to be able to you know be able to travel You know all those things take money, but you definitely don't need two point five million dollars for a campaign You don't need all that pack money, but you definitely need money to be able to at least Compete a little bit so people can get to know who you are So, you know when we're talking about small donations, we still need that money to be able to you know To have the things and the tools that we need, you know We need staff we want to be able to pay our staff a livable wage when they come under our campaign You know, there's all kinds of things, you know To me two point five million dollars, you know I I could have sent there against all over the state mailers and had big TV ads and probably never had to work But I don't think that's what it's about either when we're running these campaigns like this, you know I know these three women right here never just set out walk woke up and thought I'm gonna be a politician I surely didn't it's because you know, Amy went through the struggle of losing her daughter You know, Cory's dealing with everything. She's doing it. You know dealing with in Ferguson You know, I'd been an activist fighting for clean water and clean air and one of my children's gonna get cancer every day You just we get you know, most of the candidates that you're seeing run for office all over across the country They're not polished politicians It's ordinary people wanting to bring change because we're not being served anymore. So and so, you know It's totally different because we want to be you know, if we're gonna be public service We want to know how to serve and we want to get out there and talk to the people that were supposed to serve So I would never ever want to run a campaign where I just send out a mailer and have a commercial not reached You know reach the people across this day I wanted to know everything if I got elected so when I went to serve in the Senate then I knew what to do for the people here Yeah, and you guys are all kind of touching on a broader theme That was addressed in the movie too that this isn't just about like each individual person Like you all know your districts and your states very well, but there's this sort of interconnected Interconnectedness that you sense there at the film that this is about a broader movement like if I lose and that's okay If somebody else goes on to win AOC one. So we've got one. So this is about like all of us We get a little bit of the scene from Corey talking about Ferguson And these are all so relatable because I like I remember myself Ferguson when I was seeing these live streams Then I thought this doesn't look like America. This is this is America Like we have these militarized police cars And then you hear about all these health issues and we talk about Medicare for all and Amy has that experience of her daughter Shalyn dying because she didn't have proof of health insurance and then with Paula you were talking about this health issue in West Virginia That's largely being ignored because of special interests So these are things that I think they're important and your stories are great and they're so crucial But this is really a microcosm like the way that I saw the film was that this was four stories That are small pieces of a broader conversation because a lot of these stories are similar everywhere And there's other people now running for Congress just because people like you decided, you know what? I'm not a polished politician, but I can do it. So we have a new crop of candidates We have people taking on the establishment some very bold people mind you challenging democratic leaders Makayla Wilkes taking on Steny Hoyer. We have Shahid Batar taking on Nancy Pelosi So here's what I want to ask you guys because now you're experienced you guys everyone knows who you are now You know people know you because you're in this film So you are a powerhouse in and of itself, you know, you're the people machine unlike, you know, the special interests money machines So what would you say to these people running for Congress now? What's your one piece of advice? We'll start with you Paula self-care smart Well, you know what we we went into this fast. I mean it was like a storm all of us were running crazy We were there to support each other have people to support you You know, we're here to support other candidates, you know, always reach out to us and ask for our help and our advice But take days off. I went to sit during my campaign. Sometimes I went two and three months and it didn't see my kids I mean it really took a toll on my body even so You know Be power focused but also at least take one day off a week if you can spend time with your family watch it You know way around watching Netflix if you have to self-care is very very important Because if you don't if you don't take care of yourself, you ain't going to be effective nowhere else Yeah, how about you Amy? You know Mike was awful, but Paula said, you know And I really like to address that when when we're running and we're not Typical politicians. It's usually for a personal problem, you know personal issue that we have encountered um Tragedy or that we have a friend of ours. We are running for a reason that is very personal and you know When I I didn't see it at the time when I was actually running But afterwards looking back and really when I saw the movie and I saw the difference Even the way I looked and then I saw the scene of what I lost I remember that moment, you know, a lot of people asked me Amy. What were you thinking? You know, I've been holding Shilin's urn all day and When when I saw the first thing that came out of my mouth was no Now more people are going to die and I couldn't save them like I couldn't save Shilin And so when we're running in campaigns like this Know that, you know, it's going to be much more personal And you're going to feel the weight of the community on your shoulders and that responsibility But you have to remember that The loss is okay because even through losses in a campaign We are still making movement forward We are still chipping away at that old guard at that old way of thinking and educating You know our communities and it's okay Don't be afraid of a loss and go into it knowing that you know what I'm in it to run it But if I don't win it That way of the community it's still there, but you don't have to show her that alone The community is with you and you have made progress and you just pick yourself up and get going again Yeah, how about you Cori? For me it's knowing yourself go in Like do that self reflection know who you are walking in the door to this because The good the good and the bad is going to come out of you because you're going to be tested in all of it So whether it's a character weakness or character strength that thing is going to come out and the the problem The issue is it comes out in public. It comes out. Maybe nationally So knowing you and then just being your authentic self once you know who you are I tell this to people if you if you need therapy get therapy, you know If you need, you know medicine get medicine if you you know, if you need ice cream get ice cream Whatever your thing is, you know, that's me. I do ice cream and therapy But um, you know, but I But I you know, but get those things and be your authentic authentic self the people That's why people want you there is because you are who you are You're not trying to assimilate or be like someone else You're not trying to be this polished somebody that they can't believe in just the other day Um, I was speaking um at an event and I had on ripped up jeans And I say, you know what because I'm running as I am You know and because you know once I get the congress, you want to see me and ripped up jeans So you might as well know now that I were I were ripped up jeans and big earrings Well, I have on now, but but and so the so what I'm saying is if you know If you can be your authentic self And know your mission know the reason why you're running and he says it all the time He says no, you're why I say no, you know your mission Know the reason why you're doing it because in those days when you have hard when it's hard and you and the trolls are at you and Money isn't there and all of these things are happening. You haven't seen your kids and just so much going on and you work a job You know, um, when that when all of that's happening, you have to know why you're still doing this And so that is um that will help pull you through Yeah, these are all really good points because I don't think that people really think about this aspect of like self-care Because you just kind of get in it and you don't realize that you've been working kind of like Paula said I've been doing this for like three months and I didn't even take a day off That really takes a toll on you and you guys are if and if the film demonstrated anything You are normal people and even if politicians generally seem robotic and they're rehearsed What I like so much about you guys and what the film does so well is it It demonstrates these are normal human beings Like the most powerful part in the film was when it showed each of you getting the results And I'm so glad like I knew that in the film Corey's election came after aocs. I'm glad they showed aocs last because That was such a gut punch to see all of your reactions Because I mean we all kind of reacted individually and we we kind of coped with it after following you for so long But seeing that toll after like a year and a half of just pouring your heart and soul into it That was so Rough. So one thing that I wanted to follow up on was with Paula Jean. You were talking to Joe Manchin He planned a meeting with you. Did he follow through? Did you get that meeting that he promised you and how did that go if so? Well, uh, I did and you know, I can honestly say that Joe Manchin is a personable person He's done a lot of bad things in West Virginia, but he's he's very friendly um We we sit down Well, he is so he everybody calls him uncle Joe and I mean that he He's a really nice guy and he treated me really well Which I was really surprised after the years of being ignored that he he sat down and actually talked to me Like I was a human being and had a one-on-one conversation I guess that's that's how I should put it, but um You know, he asked me how to get my votes and I told him He had to earn on like with blood sweat and tears like I did And I told him he could go out with a legacy like Robert Burr did and Rockefeller did and he could He could serve the people of West Virginia or he could move forward like in down the same path that he has And I didn't concede I didn't endorse him, but I told him if he did good things That I would sing his praises that you know, the people of the West Virginia deserve better no matter what And so the first step was was he went down into a community called Mendon West Virginia? I spoke a lot about it in my campaign It's a community that's been begging to be on the Superfund list for about 40 years there was a company called Schaefer that Buried PCBs and put PCBs into an abandoned coal mine there and so people are dying in alarming rates and So he did put out a letter to the EPA and asked the EPA to put him on the Superfund site and he sit down his campaign manager Mora to tour the community and She acted like she really cared but she was talking about getting on new roofs and new carpet and fixing their houses and Myself and the community told him that's not what they wanted. They wanted relocated because they're dying and He took in water. He got him a truckload of water But one thing that he did promise that he didn't follow through with was he promised a mobile health clinic for one of the universities and They came back and said that they could go to the sliding scale clinic In oak hill in adjoining community, which is is still detrimental for them That's always been available. But you know, they can't afford 600 dollars for x-rays and within the week, too He was campaigning in the general Trying to get the republican vote So he went full mag and said that he would endorse donald trump if If he run for office again, so I pretty much to be blunt I pretty much said patrick morsey and joe magic could kiss my ass Yeah, yeah, I don't blame you One question Yeah, I love the fire. I love the passion One thing that I wanted to ask you amy was there was this really I think incredible moment between you And your campaign manager where you guys were both kind of in tears This was I think before the results were were learned and you were saying look Win or lose you've been one of the best campaign managers that reminded me of like a battle scene or a pre battle scene in like game of thrones Where it's like, okay. We may not come out, you know, like can you talk about this because what I learned is that These are all basically many Proxies for you. They know that jumping on board with the grassroots candidate who isn't taking corporate money That's going to be difficult, but they're still pouring all this time into it So first of all my question is do you still keep in touch with them? And how do you keep people motivated or does it just happen organically and they're always motivated? I definitely do keep in touch with them. Um, I love them Like family and when you go through this together that battle together as you saw they did whatever and Whatever was necessary. I mean spray painting signs. I mean out the 113 degree weather knocking doors I mean we were doing garage sales to try to raise money We were doing like so much and and all of it came from a love of community when you love your community And you're fighting for the same things You know when you're fighting for social and and and health care and racial and economic justice and lgbtq justice every one of them Represented a different facet and we were all intersectional as far as the way that our issues You know, we're intersectional with each other. Um, that love Was immense and it's she there were parts of the movie that didn't get in there, but people we were bawling I mean, I wasn't the only one crying We were all Really upset because we knew That the the alternative was going to be that we were going to have someone who was just going to be interested in keeping status quo and that's what's happened and so It was crushing it was crushing more because we had been out in the community mike And had saw not only our own issues But the people that were even in the communities the more that you're out there and you're seeing all the pain and the despair and the suffering Knowing you have the answers knowing that you have the drive in the fight But you just can't make it over that last hurdle. It was tough, but it's been motivating for all of them The I I'm happy to report. They're all still involved in politics Good a lot of organizations through nevada We're not done. We're not done It's been we haven't kept in touch as much as we want mike, but you know, I've been traveling around helping a lot of different states as well I've been doing some work in texas. Um, I've been traveling around to different states talking about health care So, you know, I really have been able to use that time knowing that nevada is in good hands Um and use it to also help spur other or other people in other states to get motivated and start fighting for these issues Yeah, that was really something that I was curious about because it's not just that you're learning about these four women But these people who are also kind of helping with the message and you kind of develop the sense of like Well, what are they doing now? Where are they at? You know, you really get invested in these people and it's especially powerful because this is not like a movie This is a documentary with real people. Um and going to quarry The scene at the end where it kind of like ended with you your story in the film ends with you crying after the loss That was so Difficult but the good news the good news is that that's not the end because you're running for congress again So what we saw was basically an hour and a half of you guys telling us how difficult it is to run for congress And my thought was oh my god, I would never be up to this. I would not have the willpower But you're in the race again quarry. So tell me What made you want to run again because it was hard enough the first time, but what made you want to keep going So let me start with uh one thing that that you brought up with amy so When we lost so my team was when amy was talking about ball and my team was it was a mess and um But they were balling and then they went over into a corner in the room at the watch party And they started organizing the next race literally at the party and and um And so they carried that on they started having meetings and I'm still like what the heck You know, I'm still crying every day. I lost my job. I couldn't walk all like I was Accident but they had they stayed together and they kept it going they It was just amazing. So they said okay, you're going to run again. So just let us know when you're ready So that was um, so you know, it was kind of like and then people that didn't believe in me before Running came to me during that during those few weeks saying hey if you run again, we we understand now We'll support you. Um, and so but I I got back in the race personally though one because of the support and the love and then the the the The terrible feeling that I felt when I I feel like I let everybody down that people gave their time their talent And their treasure to in in the hopes that I would make it in and I didn't and so that crushing feeling like you just Let everybody across the dog on country down. Um, as well as the even more importantly the um, you're the district but um, also We still have the same dang issues. We had the day when I sat decided to run the first time We still have those same problems. We still have um, somebody that's never present in our district that You know, they didn't grow here. You know, somebody that does not that that whose blood sweat and tears isn't in this community And people are hurting and suffering and the only way to change that is for somebody to run against them And this is the thing I did better than anybody else has ever ran against him before Um, um for congress. Um, I ran I did better than him A congressman ran against him when after when redistricting I did better than that person and I did better than a sitting state senator So those people had name recognition. Those people had money. I'm the one saying I'm not taking corporate PAC money Even though 250,000 was offered to me, you know, and so but we still did better and I did and we did better And for the last three months I was off my feet. My team did everything. So it's because of that That meant that it's time. So I can't sit down just like the the sexual assault that I suffered. Um, um I knew that with that and then all the things that I deal with One thing I just need to say Mike, you know, what people don't realize is I'm still I I still I'm still heavily surveyed Um Surveilled from the Ferguson from through my activism. I still get death threats. I still get Chased I'm stumped. I get so much still happens to me, you know, and um, and I live a very dangerous very dangerous life um here and um, and so with if I sit down and I say enough is enough then They think they win they can continue to do those things and so the so I'm staying in the forefront I'm standing their faces and I'm not going to back down because they can't win This is why We love you and this is why I I recommended that my mom watched the film And she calls me like immediately. She's like these women are so amazing I feel like I can do anything because it's like You watch these films with like these superheroes and whatnot like Wonder Woman and whatnot But you don't get role models Like this like where you have normal people who you can actually identify with like normal people just like me Just like you who are doing something that is entirely possible that theoretically can be done by anyone now It's tough. That's really what the film showcase, but it's possible. So I want to and by kind of Asking what happens next because you guys all have a lot of political capital Now you have the name recognition and you're kind of superstars now So now if you run for congress, um, it's going to be a different story. So What is uh, what does the future have in store for the stars have knocked down the house? Well, before we get into that, I wanted to echo what Cory said I think that was one of the biggest hardest thing the hardest thing for me When I came home after my campaign was feeling like I just you know the disappointment Of not you know feeling like I may I probably disappointed people During my campaign. I lost three of my family members and seven my friends It was a you know cancer drug addiction and suicide So people were still dying you know during my campaign I had my neighbor's baby daughter He was sitting over there dying with black lung and cancer and her coming to the fence every time I come on from the campaign We need you apology. We need you You know my aunt passed away during my campaign of cancer My uncle was diagnosed with cancer and he has black lung And um the hardest thing to come home even though we have community organizers You know still working across the state I've been organized and even with everybody ever since the campaign and I continue to do that no matter what um, it it was hard to come home knowing that Joe mentioned was still going to still play a part in that and you know Shelley more capital democrat or republican You know, we have people in congress that still play part of that We still have people in the capital that still play a part in the death and destruction of west virginia And I thought about my brother sister candidates I thought about you know being out of Ferguson with quarry when I was and seeing what she's going through and I thought about Amy and her daughter It was it was it was really really hard to come home And know that you know that was our biggest losses because we're still going to keep going and we're still going to be community organizers But these people are still in power too um So that's why it's so vitally important and I've said it before and I'll say it again over and over again As if you can run for office from a local level to a federal level Do it as past time not only west virginia, but everybody to invest in themselves because these problems are not going to go away No matter how many times you've got some women that's getting some popularity on knockdown the house Or you hear somebody give good speeches I humbly ask everybody in this country To vet your candidates because Amy was talking about changing the conversation But now everybody's progressive and everybody has a grassroots campaign when they're taking corporate and corporate pack dollars and there's Whatever needs to be said and that's that is Me to be on in that there's so many progresses now patrick morsey said he was running a grassroots campaign We have to vet our candidates. I know it's hard to understand campaign financing I fully didn't even understand campaign financing until I run for office I know it's hard to start, you know to look at voting records. It's hard to look at past speeches and previous speeches I mean everybody, you know, my grandmother always said everything that shines is not always gold, you know It they can paint a pretty picture, but are they really going to serve the people I've heard incredible speeches from some of the sorry ass people get that I know that are corrupt We have to vet our candidates. We have to or we're going to be in the same position You know that it they may sound glorious, but our lives are not going to be glorious Yeah And as far as next steps, I am exploring my option. Apologizing is not done Um, there'll be some announcements really soon, but I'm not ready to make those announcements. Okay. Sounds good. How about you, Amy? Oh, I would love to run again. Um, but I think I'm going to be sitting out this this, uh This election is I really want to help a certain presidential candidate win Are you allowed to say which presidential candidate that is? Oh Is it Beto? I love it. You have to ask. I can't tell you how many times I people ask me. Who are you supporting for president? I don't know. Maybe the revolution sticker or the burning books on the background Or might I let you know? I would really like to be a part of Um, of making sure and helping in any way I can um with uh, bernie's campaign I'm also going to be helping Um, you know candidates that are needing to run Um, I and then, you know, definitely going to be helping out too that I know that are I'm on board right now on this interview. Um, and then I will run again I will run again and I uh, I will go in there probably in 2022 and uh And and make a hopefully make it into Congress this time Yeah, because I'm going to do fundraisers and everything and you get to come to my office You know, I'm going to have it all laid out. You know, I'll get you real out Of course me. I know I Well, since since you brought up bernie. Amy, let me ask everyone else. Um, is it bernie again for you guys? I fully endorse bernie sanders Right on. I'm not saying yet. I'm rolling mine out When I'm ready. All right. All right. I can respect that Let me ask you guys this though because you all want to run for congress and here's one thing that really struck me I mean, it's not surprising, but it still is draw jarring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She is target enemy number one not just for the democratic party establishment But for republicans that we see this with ilhan omar other grassroots candidates or people that came into office So are you ready? Like how do you think you'd be able to cope with that because I'm just thinking psychologically How difficult this must be to be the number one target when you're one of the only people in congress representing the people like can you just respond to The response that aoc got after she won and how you think you would be able to cope with that if you know It remained the same which i'm assuming it would how about you cori because you're running again right now Yeah, um, so I guess my the last five years of my life has been nothing but um the first three years anyway, which is a lot of scrutiny a lot of um Um People saying some really terrible things about me not knowing who I who I am You know and then I became a black identity extremist and then all of those things So I think for every for every bullet that's been shot into my car for every Um everything that I've gone through every time I was ran off of a road I think that I pretty much I think i'm ready to be able to if I can handle that if I could stand up in front of Thanks, if I could be you know, if I can be assaulted by the police I can handle that like I think I I think I'm ready for that and I and I know that um But I when I see alex every time and she can still say this every time I see her I say How are you doing? How are you handling this? How are you sleeping at night? You know because no matter what you say people are there recording and putting out articles You know, even when you don't want to do you even get to go to the bathroom? But um, I think that that comes with it. That's part of it So I think um, I think that in the same way We grew to be to this point because we're different people than we were when we first decided to run You know, we've given our skin has thickened and so many other things. And so in the same way I think that we'll all be ready Yeah, yeah, how about you Amy? I agree. I think that we've all been brought It brought to this level by the amount of persecution that we faced even just with announcing I have to say that um, you know, alex is a human being. I mean she is dealing with an immense amount of pressure And you know, all of us we offer words of encouragement when we see each other But you know at the end of the day, I think all of us Know that what we're up against is the fight Of our lives for this country And even even the ones that didn't make it. We're still feeling repercussions from us standing up publicly For us having a voice in our communities and our abilities to have jobs and our People, you know the way that they treat us We're every one of us across the board has had to pay prices Many of us can't get jobs in our career fields anymore Many of us because of running for office and being that outspoken, but that's what To go and have a movement. That's what it takes to stand up against a machine and against power We have to be willing to sacrifice and say come what may bring it on Yeah, yeah, that that makes a lot of sense. How about you paula? Well, I've I was already facing a lot of scrutiny before I run for office I mean, especially deer and um the mathy era here We it was if you bet if you were begging for water and you were fighting against industry You were you know, you were labeled as a tree hugger and people threaten your life. And so You know, I've been through a lot of that already It was it it was amplified probably 10 times after running for office, you know, there was a lot more scrutiny I had my life threatened. I had people follow me Um, but the struggle the struggle here at home Is no greater than any struggle that we can face You know, like Ferguson like, you know losing their children because we you know People dying because they don't have health care or people dying of drug addiction in this state and dying of cancer You know, people think they think it's extreme But I've said it, you know what they've asked me why aren't you afraid for your life? Because if things don't change, I'm going to die anyway You know, people die here of alarming rate and that's real. That's real. So You know, I think that you know, you just develop you just develop This this thick skin because you know, my biggest fear is if my kids will get you know, or if my kids will get cancer every day And um, I would whole lot rather fight than lay down and take it and so You know, when and if I run for office again, it's it's it's it's no bigger than the battle We have a home Yeah Well put so before we end I just want to give you guys each the opportunity to kind of plug whatever you're doing your twitter because Obviously, we're not going to hear, you know, this isn't going to be the last that we hear from you So if you guys can just direct us to what you need. Cory. I know you're running for congress and you need money So plug all of that and we'll go through each of you if we've learned anything from the documentary Is that money is key? Unfortunately, but that's the way that it is Yes, yeah, so, um, yes, please if you have anything that you could give that you can donate We need every every single every single dollar that somebody is willing to give You can look us up on act blue. My name is cori c o r i b u s h. I'm the good bush And um, or you can just go to my website at coribush.org or g and um go there We love we would love for you to do a recurring donation Because that way we know how much money we have every month and we can kind of plan So if you're able to do that, even if it's just 10 dollars if that's all you have we appreciate it So go go in there and um and make a donation tell your friends you've got to tell other people Thank you for your donation, but please to other people to donate. Um, and my twitter is at coribush Facebook and everything else is at coribush reach out to me. We need help. We need volunteers remotely and locally and Just help us amplify this message All right, um amy Yeah, so right now definitely keep an eye out on my um social media. I will be um You know again releasing a book for those who are wanting to Run for office or who are just interested in the story of What it was like to be running um and And how you actually I really want to be a transformative book that is going to help give people Um, you know that that power within to you know, how do you transform from a place of grief and feeling less than to Using that as power to go forward and fight for the people so Keep a look at it. Amy the number four the people calm also you can follow me on twitter at amy the number four the people calm and As far as what i'm doing, you know, go to our revolution Dot com and bernie sanders dot com Definitely can use people, you know volunteering your time donating, you know Of all of us are running. We definitely need to have somebody who's going to be able to Um, you know implement any of these if these issues and policies that we're fighting for so It is so important as much as you scrutinize someone who's here in your Who's in the house or the senate you need to do the same for someone who's going to be the president And as far as I can see the only person I know that's going to be putting the fight necessary To win on the issues that we were fighting for It's going to be bernie sanders. So sorry. I have to do that shameless plug No, hey, this is where you get to plug whatever you want. So Go bernie sanders dot com Love it. Love it. Um, how about you call it real quick? Let me plug. Maybe let me plug for a while ago Let me plug I need twitter to verify me. This is this is good. I need that again, too. Me too Okay, are you verified amy? I am you are. Oh, wow Now they won't verify you if you're a candidate and so oh really Because i'm a lifetime candidate at the same I was verified apology to Yeah, they put it changed in january 2018 Yeah, yeah, they're they're very stingy with the verifications nowadays. I hear Yeah I was verified at polygene 2018, but when I went polygene 2020 they I wasn't that could I wasn't verified anymore. It went away Oh Do you do you want to plug anything pala? Um, well, you can follow me on twitter polygene 2020. You can find me on facebook polygene swearingin Um, but I am plugging for my brothers and sisters as they're still running for office Donate to quarry bush Donate to anthony kark Look at this slated brand new congress candidates that are about to be recruited and Help donate and volunteer for brand new congress so we can and also Look at your local candidates local candidates do not get a lot of support We had a lot of support just congressional candidates But local races. It's really really hard If you can knock on doors and donate and phone bank for local candidates Don't have the available resources that we do Take a you know try to try to pick a congressional candidate and a local candidate to support because it's really important not just you know, not just congress and start looking at the senate and We need to vet more people to run for senate right now because no matter what's going through the house It's getting knocked down in the senate. So we need some more people to run for senate So if anybody has the guts to do it, we need more people in those seats And I think that's it for me. Yeah, just donate and keep watching All right. Well, thank you all so much for coming on It's been an absolute privilege to talk to you again and to see the documentary It was just such a great work. It's it has 100 score and rotten tomatoes, by the way So obviously it's good and i'm just so excited to see what you guys are doing next and you know What what the movement has in store? I know that we're gonna hear more from you So thank you all so much for coming on One more plug. I want to thank you and other people like you as we have we've been running for office because if it wasn't for you We would have not got the name recognition that we did Thank you for amplifying our voices and supporting us. Thank you. That means a lot. That means a lot Hard of aiming for the people so Yeah, it's it's hard because I don't It's difficult because I every time that I bring on a candidate. I try to have this theme of you know, um They need money. They're not taking corporate money, but that means you have to come in So I don't know how successful that is I hope that you guys got boosts whenever you came on like an indie show like this But certainly, uh, I'll be doing whatever I can as loud as I possibly can scream use my platform to help you guys because Um, like the documentary kind of illustrated. This isn't just about people like individual one person This is about a movement which I feel like I'm part of that movement and I know people watching Feel like they're part of that movement So, you know anything to help our brothers and sisters Yes, because like yesterday I we we brought in $18 Oh my gosh That's the realization. Oh my goodness Yeah, it's it's a tough struggle. Yes. We we will try Whatever we can so thank you all so much. Thank you for running again Thank you for dedicating yourselves to the cause and just tremendous sacrifice It truly is it's so meaningful to people and let me just say one more thing The people who watch like I think they would have tuned out of politics Had it not been for people like you because it's so difficult to stay like motivated when constantly we're beat down We see everything unfolding, you know in dc and there's all of these local issues on top of that So if there were people that just gave up if there was nobody like you guys willing to run Then it would be very difficult to stay motivated. So just understand that what that means to us is huge Your contribution is tremendous. So thank you all so much. It really is meaningful Thank you