Ever wondered what happens behind the political curtains during the heated rush of primary elections? Dive into a gripping conversation with Congressman Dean Phillips as we peel back the layers of the Democratic primaries and his eye-opening campaign trail adventures. Phillips sheds light on his New Hampshire primary surprise and the DNC's delegate allocation controversy, providing a rare glimpse into the strategic intricacies of the South Carolina primary and Michigan's open primary system. As we navigate the nuances of union politics and the quest for dynamic leadership, Phillips' candid insights reveal the complex chess game of American politics.
Strap in for a heart-to-heart with Dean Phillips that transcends the mere mechanics of campaigning, touching the very soul of our democracy. We explore the critical role of voter participation, dissect the influence of third-party candidates, and ponder the transformative power of local elections. Phillips champions a vision of unity, with common ground dinners that aim to bridge divides and foster an environment where diverse voices are not just heard but celebrated. Join us as we embrace a message of hope and optimism, urging you to be an active participant in shaping a more equitable, compassionate America, and reminding us all that change begins with our collective dedication to a generous and undivided nation.
Engage the conversation on Substack at The Common Bridge!
Ever wondered what happens behind the political curtains during the heated rush of primary elections? Dive into a gripping conversation with Congressman Dean Phillips as we peel back the layers of the Democratic primaries and his eye-opening campaign trail adventures. Phillips sheds light on his New Hampshire primary surprise and the DNC's delegate allocation controversy, providing a rare glimpse into the strategic intricacies of the South Carolina primary and Michigan's open primary system. As we navigate the nuances of union politics and the quest for dynamic leadership, Phillips' candid insights reveal the complex chess game of American politics.
Strap in for a heart-to-heart with Dean Phillips that transcends the mere mechanics of campaigning, touching the very soul of our democracy. We explore the critical role of voter participation, dissect the influence of third-party candidates, and ponder the transformative power of local elections. Phillips champions a vision of unity, with common ground dinners that aim to bridge divides and foster an environment where diverse voices are not just heard but celebrated. Join us as we embrace a message of hope and optimism, urging you to be an active participant in shaping a more equitable, compassionate America, and reminding us all that change begins with our collective dedication to a generous and undivided nation.
Engage the conversation on Substack at The Common Bridge!
Welcome to this episode of season 5 of the Common Bridge, where policy and current events are discussed in a fiercely nonpartisan manner. The host, richard Helpe, is a philanthropist, entrepreneur and political analyst who has reached over four million listeners, viewers and readers around the world. With our surging growth in audience and subscriptions, the Common Bridge continues to expand its reach. The show is available on the Substack website and the Substack app Simply search for the Common Bridge. You can also find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. The Common Bridge draws guests and audiences from across the political spectrum, and we invite you to become a free or paid subscriber on your favorite medium.
Speaker 2:Hello, welcome to the Common Bridge. It's the fiercely nonpartisan discussion about issues of the day, opportunities of the moment and, of course, some political analysis. Well, it's on. The primary season is going. Remember when we used to have that and voters got to pick who the candidates are? And of course we've covered that the major parties are doing everything they can to subvert democracy and thwart the will of the people. But we have one outspoken candidate on the Democratic side of the house, three-term congressman from Minnesota, Mr Dean Phillips, back to tell us what life's like Now that the primaries have started. Dean, welcome back to the Common Bridge. It's nice to see you.
Speaker 3:It's great to be back and what a joyful journey. Let me tell everybody I wish you could all come along for just one day on the campaign trail. It'll restore and reinvigorate your faith in American democracy. But we got a lot to protect.
Speaker 2:Indeed, we do. Well, look, new Hampshire primary just came off. You picked up 20% of the vote. Coming from a place with little media support, they just don't want to cover you with all the rules stacked against you from the DNC. In fact, they're not even going to give out delegates for New Hampshire. But Joe Biden got 50,000 right in votes. Is that right? You ended up right in votes to get 50%. How did New Hampshire turn out?
Speaker 3:Well, first of all, a lot better than I think anybody could have imagined. You know, rich, we started at 0% in the polls, 0% name recognition, and we had 10 weeks from scratch to introduce myself against the incumbent president with the full force of the Democratic National Committee, a big write-in campaign, a super pack, every single elected official, cabinet members, the mayor of Boston, the governor of Massachusetts, and I'll tell you what to develop 20% market share in 10 weeks with what we had to work with. I am really proud of my team, really grateful to voters, and that's exactly what I intended to get a start there. Now I'm in South Carolina and I'm coming to Michigan soon and I cannot wait.
Speaker 2:Well, the Michigan primary is February 27th and we do have an open primary here. Voters can ask for either a Democratic primary ballot or a Republican primary ballot and vote in one primary or the other. South Carolina is a curious choice. In the general election it's going to be a Republican win by a large margin. But four years ago Representative Clyburn backed Joe Biden. That kind of put him over the top, and since that time the Democratic National Committee has changed their rules so that South Carolina goes first. It makes no sense to me why a state is gonna vote for the republican gets to pick the democratic nominee. What's going on in south carolina?
Speaker 3:Well, according to the democratic national committee and president biden, south carolina is a more diverse state and that's absolutely true and I respect that and I do think Diversity early in the elections, in the primaries, is a good thing, for obvious reasons. I think we all agree on that. But the truth is, and there what they're not telling you is. Even mr cliber himself said that joe biden did this because you want to be embarrassed in new hampshire, where he came in fifth place and got only eight percent of the vote in twenty twenty. So I think you can tell what's really going on, but that's why I'm here right now in south carolina, meeting voters, listening, learning I'll be making my way to michigan shortly, but I'm learning quickly, rich that you can barely trust what any Political organization says, and sometimes even those in the highest positions of power, because they're just not telling you the truth.
Speaker 2:Well, here in michigan and I am in michigan, I will be voting in michigan there is a lot of discussion and it says basically, donald trump is going to beat joe biden, beat him badly. The president now is trying to rally. He appeared with the ua w leadership but I don't know that he understands you. A w leadership is not the rank and file. The rank and file does not fall in behind the ua w united auto workers leadership back it's been the union leadership that's gone democratic and the rank and file. The hourly workers have pivoted sharply To the republican side and were some of the first people to go for donald trump. What's it looking like for you in michigan going against the headwinds of the governor of the state of michigan, the mayor of detroit, all big power brokers here.
Speaker 3:Well, look, I love being the underdog and in america there's no better person to be, and that's what our whole campaign is about. You know, the truth is, joe biden is a good man, but he's going to be eighty two at the next election. He'll be eighty six by the end of his next term. If you were to win and I think I'm just saying the quiet part out loud I think that's really difficult to foresee A good man, but it's time to pass the torch. His approval numbers are had historic lows. He's losing, as you just mentioned, rich in the battleground states and ultimately, in the business of politics, it is about winning and if my democratic colleagues of my democratic friends in the party and voters around the country really want to win, they're gonna have to start waking up from this delusion and look at some other options.
Speaker 3:In my whole, contention from day one is let's have a competition, let's not do a coronation. Our founders would be appalled by the notion of coordinating an incumbent just because he or she's the incumbent. And that's my case. And I'll tell you, michigan, as you probably know, rich better than most. It is very right for an upset. I think we're gonna perform well. We're about to make some great investments and president biden is got. He's got some trouble in michigan, as you well know. So we're gonna show up, we're gonna compete and, best of all, I listen to voters, I take their questions, I show up in front of the press, I will do debates, I do town halls.
Speaker 3:I don't see the president doing that and I think that's part of the problem. People are growing concerned about why not, and I'm going to try to encourage him to show up, because if you're not willing to and you seek the most important, powerful position in the free world, I think there's a real disconnect. And I'm afraid. Donald Trump I understand why some love him, I understand why his policies to some are quite appealing, but he is not a good man and I'm going to extend invitations to Trump supporters the same way I did in New Hampshire when I showed up at a rally Trump rally, introduced myself to a good 50 people in line and Rich was treated with kindness, friendliness, respect and decency. And I got to tell you that's the mission of this campaign Everyone's invited, no matter your politics. I do care about your principle and I'm going to demonstrate that in Michigan.
Speaker 2:As you said the first time we spoke, you bear no animus to the Trump voters and you understand why they were looking for something other than business as usual. And you also spoke directly, said you have animus toward Donald Trump because you've seen him up close and personal. But to get that competition against Donald Trump who's also hiding from the voters, hiding from the debates you've got to get past Joe Biden. And look, there's a discussion out there right now that says you know Biden's going to step aside after the primary and there's going to be another person put forward. Will the Democrats ultimately dominate Biden or will they pick someone else and ignore the will of the voters?
Speaker 3:Well Rich. If voters had access to the information, I think they'll make the right choice, and the right choice is the candidate best position to win. I do not foresee that being Joe Biden. And back to your earlier point, by the way, you know, donald Trump, to his credit, does big rallies. He shows up in a lot of parts of this country, but he doesn't do what I think is the fundamental role of a United States chief executive, which is to answer people's questions, and Joe Biden's not doing that either, and I think it's a grave concern, should be a great concern for everyone in this country. Why would someone who aspires to this position be afraid to appear in front of voters and simply answer their questions?
Speaker 3:As for the convention, I just want to answer that one too. You know, my belief is it's hard to beat the machine. It would be hard to win a lot of states in this contest because the Democratic National Committee is insulating the president and has the mechanisms in place to almost assure victories. But at the end of the day, I do believe I will earn name recognition, as hard as that is right now, in a number of months, and head to head polls will almost surely show me better position to beat Donald Trump as a Democrat than Joe Biden. In that case, it's up to the president. Will he continue on knowing he's likely to lose to what I consider a dangerous man, or will he deny the nomination, even if he earned it, and ensure that a candidate me or someone else appears was better position is better position to win in democracy. I believe that's how it starts and that's how it should end, and I do believe the president will ultimately make the right decision for the country.
Speaker 2:If he doesn't, where big trouble well, we are in big trouble because in a democracy are constitutional republic, it's supposed to be the will of the people. The will of the people, according to polls, are seven out of ten voters don't want Joe Biden or donald trump. Yet the machine and the system and the people that are invested there are going to give us that again and they steer away from the issues of the day. Look, we've got wars breaking out all over Iran, the hooties, hamas, israel, ukraine, and now a war brewing, american against american military force on the texas border. The texas national guard in the texas department of public safety are deployed and there are odds with our own customs and border patrol. How do we get into this situation? How do we get out of this and what could a president do and what should a president be doing about the border today?
Speaker 3:Well, let me start with your first comment about the seventy percent of the country that doesn't want either of these guys. I'm gonna make this really easy for everyone watching and listening. If you vote in the primary, you can change the course of this election. Michigan is can do this if you show up and vote, but if only the ten percent on the left, ten percent on the right, the usual customers, if you will do the usual thing and just basically re nominate the coordinated candidate, we're gonna get the same thing. So if you really care about this, if you're really pissed off, if you're really frustrated and you really want change, if you're an independent, even if you're a moderate republican, if you're a democrat, you don't want this anymore. You're afraid of what happens if Biden's gonna lose the trump, give me a shot and you can change the course of this entire campaign. I'm gonna make a big play in michigan and it starts with that.
Speaker 3:As for what you just said about the border my goodness rich. I've been there twice. It is. It's a human disaster, it's a national security disaster and now it is becoming a potential constitutional crisis, and that starts with leadership. We've not had a president, I would argue, in many years that has adequately addressed not just border security but also the root cause, which is a an asylum law that actually creates the very crisis in which we find ourselves. This is not that hard to change. Special someone like me, who is the second most bipartisan member of congress, who has the relationships and, I think, has the capacity and competency to understand the basics of how to fix a problem and I'm afraid donald trump and joe biden are just not at stages of their respective lives To accomplish the hard work necessary to actually lead with competency, with integrity, and solve these problems I can and I'll do it in a thoughtful, bipartisan, common sense fashion.
Speaker 2:Well look, I think the major party that gets a sane candidate at first wins, and the backlash against any reasonable person such as yourself is astonishing Even to someone like me that I have a hard time understanding. You know, we brought the cultural wars into law with the d? I and people are not realizing the rabbit hole that has become and they're trying to back out, and I think you may have something to say about that, perhaps another day. But also if you look over on the other major party, you know niki hailey, who I happened to meet before she was governor for the first time. She was a capable governor, made some really tough decisions, went and got her ticket punched at the united nations on international relationships, has always been her own person. She's getting shredded from the right and from the left. I'm just curious, when you look over niki hailey, any common ground between the two?
Speaker 3:of you. Sure well, there is some common ground, a lot more common ground between niki hailey and me than donald trump and me, and the truth is I know this country would much rather see a niki hailey dean philips match up this november. I think most of the country recognize democracy wouldn't be at risk and most of the country recognize that you have two candidates in their fifties, hopefully in a stage of life where we have the energy and the competency and the ability To look at the problems that we're facing and actually solve them. So the sad truth is this is what we're getting from both parties right now, and the sadder truth is it's actually not the parties who ultimately control this, because, no matter how hard they try to set rules to favor their interests, if people voted rich, if people voted man peep, this would be entirely different $.
Speaker 3:I'm kind of getting a little bit upset at the fact that a lot of people and class I used to be like that. I used to take it for granted. I used to complain about the people at the top of the ticket every November and I realized I had an epiphany you can't complain if you don't participate. And this is the most important election if you really care, because if you don't think your vote matters, let me tell you it matters big time and never more than right now.
Speaker 2:I recently wrote a column about that and make your vote count. Look, I understand people are busy. They're going to work, they're raising families, they're trying to make ends meet, they're going to school, they're trying to enjoy their lives. And they get a narrative. And that narrative says oh, it's Biden and Trump. And I actually talked to people in Michigan staunch Democrats and said first of all, who is Dean Phillips? They go, we don't know. And then others. I talked to Dean Phillips they go well, we like him better, but we think that Biden is the only one that can beat Donald Trump. I suppose You're obviously not looking at the polls and look if the two major parties can't get there. I recently had former governor of North Carolina Pat McCrory on the Common Bridge. He's with no labels. They're saying that, should Super Tuesday come and go, and it still looks like Biden and Trump, they're going to announce a ticket If no labels approached. You have you thought about how you might react to that overturn?
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, rich. My values are pushing Democrats and Republicans together, and I think finding space in place to do so is very important, and that's what no labels endeavors to do In this case. I've made it very clear to them, and publicly, that I need to see data and if the data demonstrates, a no labels ticket somehow can actually defeat Donald Trump in some way, who wouldn't want to look at that? Do I think I at the top of that ticket or on that ticket, could be helpful to that cause? I really don't imagine that and I'm not going to do anything that would make it easier to have Donald Trump reelected Now. If they were to place someone like Vivek Ramoswamy or Ron DeSantis at the top of the ticket, that might draw votes from the candidate that I do not want to see win.
Speaker 3:You know what I think? Democrats and independents, and never Trumpers, should probably take a good look at that. I mean, rich. I do not see any scenario where the data would show that I at the top of that ticket, on that ticket, frankly, would be helpful to that cause and, frankly, this is one of those years where I wish more would run in the primary like I'm doing, rather than as independent candidates, because I'm afraid that's actually going to result in the very outcome I'm trying so hard to prevent. So what we?
Speaker 2:think ahead to January of next year. A year from now, the new president will be inaugurated, and we saw in 2016,. We saw riots and burnings and property destruction when Donald Trump was elected In 2020, of course, we saw more riots and destruction and an invasion of the Capitol after Joe Biden was elected. Just imagine if you will Dean that you win the election and you're standing in front raising your hand for the oath of office. What's the mood in the country should something like that occur?
Speaker 3:Well, I'll tell you, rich, I think it's something we have to be prepared for, and I'm afraid that if either of these men are currently leading these tickets, when we're going to have real problems. You know, I can tell you my personality and my positioning is to always be respectful of people, and I believe that can only happen when you meet someone face to face. And should I become the next president of the United States, which is my intention, I'm going to lead with repair, respect and decency, and that means people who are angry right now, who feel their voices aren't going to be heard, and that's why they are showing up with vigor. I will want to meet with them. I'm going to have common ground dinners Rich in the White House, democrats and Republicans from all around the country, red and blue in a casual setting, with their president, having their listening to one another, getting to know one another and the president having the opportunity to learn about people's challenges and their reasons for being upset. So, if I'm president, you're going to see someone lead in a very different manner. I know how to take down the temperature, I know how to listen to people and I know how to ensure that everyone's voice is heard.
Speaker 3:I understand why people who support Donald Trump are really angry. I get it. I'm angry for a lot of the same reasons, but I don't pursue the path to resolve those issues in the way that Donald Trump does, which I think is really dangerous for our country. So that's my contention. If I'm the president, you're going to see a country that I will focus on repair by listening to people, including people, not demeaning them, not calling them insurrectionists or socialists or communists or fascists. Even if a handful of people in this country are not good people, the overwhelming majority in my mind are decent, hardworking, reasonable Americans that are just fed up with a system that is not serving their interests. I'm going to do it differently and that's my whole pitch to the country. The sad truth is there are a lot of major networks on television and platforms that don't want to hear that message because, frankly, it's a little bit of a strategy to deplatform people who speak common sense and elevate people who, ultimately, are not going to be helping this country in the way I know we all need.
Speaker 2:Well, you couldn't be more right about that. I was driving home yesterday and listening to the various cable networks and if it wasn't so serious it'd be funny. We've been talking today with Dean Phillips. He's the Democratic candidate for the nomination to the presidency of the United States, three-term congressman from the state of Minnesota, very successful business person in his own right, a centrist looking for a way to bring us to a better day. As we sign off today on the Common Bridge, mr Phillips, any closing comments for the listeners, readers and viewers of the Common Bridge?
Speaker 3:Yeah, first, rich, thank you, Thanks for doing what you do. I wish we had more of you all around the country. I know we're out there. I know there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people feeling exactly the same way all of us do right now Frustrated in what has happened in Washington, frustrated and kind of afraid even about the fear now that is populating our politics. But I just want to remind you all we can be hopeful again, we can be joyful, we can be optimistic again, we can be the country that goes to the moon, we can be the country that beats the Russians in 1980 in that men's Olympic hockey game in which we all celebrated together.
Speaker 3:That's the kind of country I want to return to, where we repair the wounds of the past, where we raise the foundation for everybody, where we address the costs that are out of control and making it so hard for people to live because life is unaffordable, and reduce the chaos in so many parts of this world our southern border and many of our cities and around the world. If you care about change and you think what you see right in front of you is kind of troublesome, there is an option I really am grateful to you, rich, and everybody listening and watching right now. If each of you just tell 10 people about me in the next month, we can affect some pretty remarkable change, and you will know that you created a legacy for which the rest of this country can celebrate, along with your children and grandchildren. That's why I'm doing this. So thanks for the time, rich, thanks for what you do, keep the faith, and I can't wait to see you in Michigan.
Speaker 2:I look forward to seeing you when you get into the great state of Michigan. We've been talking today with Dean Phillips from the great state of Minnesota, who has found great people in the United States, again reinforcing my contention that the United States is populated by generous and compassionate people. We're being done in by two major parties that are focused on their own power and an established media ecosystem that wants to fan the flames of division. Let's not let them do it. The power is in our hands and with that, this is your host, rich Helpy, signing off on the Common Bridge.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining us on the Common Bridge. Visit thecommonbridgeonsubstackcom or use their Substack app, where you can find more interviews, columns, videos and nonpartisan discussions of the day. Just search for the Common Bridge. You can also find the Common Bridge on Mission Control Radio or your Radio Garden app.