Latest / Coconut Justice / CJP #70: Paige Beachemin ( NH-2 )

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CJP #70: Paige Beachemin ( NH-2 ) · Coconut Justice

• Carlos: New Hampshire, here she is, as promised. New Hampshire 2, Paige Beachemin Hey, what's good? Paige Beauchemin is a mom, a baby nurse, and a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives. She grew up in a trailer park, so she knows about true struggle. That's why she's running for New Hampshire's 2nd District House of Representatives. She believes that if things are going to change, it's up to us, the people, to step up and lead. Fair warning, she's a rabble rouser. Paige: That was pretty good. That's pretty good. It's Beachemin, but pretty good. Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Hi. Thank you. It's so good to meet you, Carlos. Carlos: Yeah. Beachemin? Okay. All right. Hi. It's so good to meet you. I'm I'm a big energy guy. I feed off of people's energy and I'm s I'm full of excitement right now. I met you like three minutes ago Paige: Okay, good. ⁓ Alright. Carlos: She even flipped off the New Hampshire governor. This is my conversation with State Representative Paige Beauchemin. And after you watch this video, you will understand why it's so funny that I called her State Representative Before we get into it, remember to go to CoconutJustice.com to get you some clothes that I think would look good on you. Let's go. Paige: so good people afterwards people are always like well you can tell you're passionate and i'm like never sure if they mean it as a good or a bad it really depends how like how pearl clutchy they are on whether or not they like it but yeah so i have to ask you i j like i joined the the courage candidates and i love them Carlos: Yeah. ⁓ Paige: But I really don't have a good sense of what your connection is with them or like how I got I know how I got connected with you, but I mean, you know, how did you get connected with the whole thing and doing this? Carlos: I ⁓ I was trying to grow my YouTube audience and ⁓ And I kept it I told you before we started recording, I'm I'm like my brain is perfect for software development because if you hand it something, it will continue to chip away until that problem is solved, right? And then you just build the software that way, you know. And so I started doing what's called reaction videos on YouTube because I was working on my process. Paige: Right. Mm-hmm. Yes. Carlos: And then my process got me to where I wanted to I was gonna draw and animate and talk to my friends. It's the perfect excuse to talk to my friends while I worked. And then one of my friends, he and I have been friends for twenty-five years. He's a also a rapper and he's very into politics and stuff. And he saw he was watching some of my content. So he reached out and he says, Hey, I have this song. I need a music video. And then we made the music video. And then I said, Well, now that we have a music video, come talk to me on my channel about it. And then after that, he said, Hey, you mind if I asked a couple people to come on the channel so we can talk? I said, Yeah, go get ⁓ He went and got Cliff Cash, the comedian. Paige: ⁓ okay. ⁓ Carlos: And then it w he went and got Sergeant Rhodes. And then Sergeant Rhodes was just he was just like a a door opener. He you know, he's he's the guy that kept putting me slash us in front of people and cosigning to what we were doing. And then once once Johannssen Paige: Okay. ⁓ Carlos: got wind of me she reached out she reached out and said hey ⁓ I see what you're doing we need help over here if you're interested and I said yeah come on so we just started signing you guys up and it's just been get the word out get the word out because we're tired we're tired Paige: That's awesome. Man, I love it. Well, no, I mean, it's something that that I haven't heard a lot of people talking about. And I wonder if you, you know, if you've heard these conversations, but one thing I've I I've learned so much from running this year as ⁓ you know, I'll say a non-establishment candidate. There's lots of words for all of us, but let's just say non-establishment pretty much covers most of us, right? And Carlos: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: I've been doing this since October. And since the beginning I said to my team, look, we're not running a millionaires campaign. We're running a working person's campaign. So we're gonna learn all these ways, the playbook. And because none of my people that volunteer are like actual campaign people. You know what I mean? They're just like people who care that are that are helping. So so I said i i it doesn't mean we're not gonna do it the millionaire way, but we're always gonna pause and say, Is this how we do it? Right. Carlos: Mm-hmm. Paige: And and and we try to do that, but somewhere along the line, we're writing a new playbook. So it's easy to fall into the old one because I'm learning the old one before I write a new one from it. But what I have really, really realized is I thought it was gonna jump in and somehow we were gonna raise all this money. I don't know what I thought was gonna happen, but I thought something was gonna happen. And I've learned so much, but one of the things I'm coming away with, and it's something I want to work on, whether I win or not, is that we all, like all of us doing this, right? We want working people. We want, I want poor people. Like I w I grew up in a trailer park and unhoused frequently. Like I want people coming from that, right? We want people who are not gonna take dark money, who are not gonna take all this stuff. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: And then we've just left the candidates hanging out to make up for all that money on their own. We're saying we don't want you to throw fancy things, we don't want you to hang out with these people. We want you to be poor, but you still have to earn our respect. So what I've been and we do, but here's the thing is like I'm seeing candidates like me being held to like people are taking all their anger out on these other people that are jerks. Carlos: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Paige: And and putting it on me because I'm running now. I'm like, what the hell, guys? But but no. But really, what I'm saying is I've been telling people look, if you want people like me to run, there are three things that we as the people not running, the rest of the people, we have to all together start thinking about. And the fact is that if we want people like me to run, the candidate is gonna look different. I'm not polished, I'm not putting makeup on. Carlos: Right. Paige: I wear my t shirts to my events, right? Like that's Carlos: That's a great logo though. You tell your graphic designer they killed it. Paige: Tell me about it. So good. I mean, this is my signature glasses and earrings. Like it's insane. But anyway, so so I say though, the candidates are going to look different. The campaign might look different. I don't have somebody to write my post and check all my typos. I can't respond to every single thing that happens and every single statement and every single response. I just Carlos: Yeah. Paige: don't have the ability to do it. And and the other thing that I've been telling people that's the most important is that the people are gonna have to engage with campaigns differently. Because instead of and you know I tongue in cheek like of course I want to earn people's votes but also if I want to earn people's votes I can't I can't there has to be some responsibility for the rest of us because we have to do what working people have always done, which is millionaires can buy and they can just do things and buy it. We have to figure out different ways of working together. And that's what I'm not seeing hap. But this is why I got so excited and jumped into this because that's what you're doing, right? And that's what Jen's doing. And so without really explicitly maybe calling it out yet Carlos: Right. Paige: There are folks who are saying, okay, I get this. I get what I need to do, even if I'm not the candidate. And I think, you know, I keep thinking of myself as a band. And I'm the lead singer, right? But this is a I I can't do it. It's not like people say it when they don't mean like literally you don't have the band, you have a lead singer, you have a solo artist, right? Like you don't, and that's what we need is I'm not a solo artist. Carlos: Right. Right. Paige: I'm part of a team. ⁓ but it's so great to see you and Jen doing that because I really and the cur you know, ⁓ Kira and Sarah, like we need that happening. So anyway, thanks. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. And I and I do understand and this is this goes out to the folks that are thinking about participating and helping and supporting these folks. You keep asking for a third party. These guys are the third party. It's unfortunate that they have to use the structure of The two parties that you see, but it's possible, it's possible for Paige and all these other candidates that are promising not to take pack money. They say, You I'm gonna do my job for the salary that I'm asking you for. No more. No more than that. Paige: Yes. Yeah. Carlos: And then everyone looks at you guys like you're nuts. That's and you're you're you know, you're talking about learning so much from just running, just from speaking to you guys, I've learned a ton. Like if we can get a bunch of you guys that promise not to take pack money that are the courage candidates, if we get enough of you to influence the Democratic Party, we have that new third party. Yeah. Paige: Yeah. Yes, yes. We do, we do. And that's something I've been saying to people a lot because you know, some people will say, ⁓ well, progressives, they don't get anything done or, you know, well, what are you gonna actually be able to do? And I mean, that's just a silly argument anyway. Like that's just somebody who's being resistant. But the reality is in good faith, it's a fair enough question. But but when you look at the answer, it's like, well, yeah, I mean, Bernie Sanders couldn't do anything as the only progressive for 30 years in the entire Senate. Like, ⁓ okay. Like, yeah, Bernie wasn't effective against Israel as a country. Yeah, strong flex there, bro. Like, you know, like, what are you talking about? but what I what I think about is like. Bernie paved the way for us. And I think he inspired AOC. And she brought in, you know, she paved the way for the squad. And then we've got Mam Donnie and all of these folks. And then and and all, you know, it's building. Every couple of election cycles, we're building. And it took Bernie decades, but now you can see how exponentially that's happening every time. And and I tell people all the time. The courage candidates. I think last meeting I was at, we were at 150 candidates across the country. Carlos: A hundred and fifty votes would make a huge difference. Paige: Huge, huge, and and even if we got 75, I mean, how many people do we have doing this in Congress right now? 10? 20? I mean, the Progressive Caucus in is like 20 or something, you know? Like, if we brought 10 more out of the 150, that would be incredible, right? So I get very, very excited, and I have a lot of hope and faith. And when people ask me why. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: Honest to God, I say the courage candidates. Because before I started this, I thought I was this really unique person that was doing this crazy special thing. I didn't know this people across the country were doing this. I didn't know about Grand Platiner. Mamdanny wasn't that big yet. Like when I started thinking about it, people were like, Have you heard of Kat Abagazaway? She's this cool girl in Illinois, you know? And so, but like. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: There weren't a lot of people. And ⁓ so anyway, I it just I had this I so many of us had this idea b and that reason is because the we're leaders and we saw it, duh. ⁓ but now is the time, right? This is the time of any election that my brand of politician is gonna win. It is this election. And and the point is Many of us saw this. We all saw this independently. And that makes me feel like maybe there's a possibility. You know, maybe there is. And if we get some of us in there, we really, we really can make a difference. And then imagine we can do it 2028. Right? Like this is setting the foundation. This is a lot of us learning and setting the foundation. And if some of us can get through, that's that's awesome. But Carlos: Right. It's it's the momentum. Paige: I think this is about building a movement. Carlos: I agree. I agree. And and it's a movement. I keep telling my friends this so much that they're that they're getting sick of me hearing or hearing me say this. We're building all this stuff in the light. Paige: I'm Tell me more. Carlos: You know what I mean? We're so used to slumlords as our bosses. That now everyone is saying, hey, stop treating me like that. I don't want you to treat me like that. I want you to pay me what it what I'm worth. I don't want to struggle. I don't want to work a hundred hours a week. I want to raise my kids. And it's this this waking up period. And so if we continue this independent media thing that's taking off. Paige: Yes Yes Carlos: where we get to reach out to people that are running. I got to I got to reach out to I got to speak to two people running for the same office that are that for my district. Paige: Okay. Carlos: Not a lot of people can say that. So and I got to ask them like, hey, what's going on in Sonoma? Like what do you what are your plans? It's a little bit of a job interview. Paige: This is true. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It is. It is. It is. I think it's funny because so so there are three federal positions open in New Hampshire, this election cycle, and then of course the governor. So for all four of those seats, we have non-establishment candidates. And in fact, for one of those seats, it's an open primary and there's three or four. non-establishment candidates. So there's a lot of us. So when you say I got to talk to two people, I'm like, I'm used to talking to all these people. I'm like, ⁓ they're just people, like whatever. 'Cause I'm like, ⁓ you know, I there there's this guy from here, John Kuyper, he's running for governor and I'm like, ⁓ Kuyper But like he's running for governor. Like if he's governor somet I'll be like they'll be like, ⁓ governor I'm like, ⁓ that's just Kuiper, whatever, like, yeah, you know, but Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. That's the thing I wish our culture would step away from is the the like people are just people. Their responsibilities are different, but they need you as much as you need them. Like why are you why why are so many people kissing Trump's ass? That doesn't it doesn't make sense. Paige: I I I don't know. I'm not an ass kisser. I've never kissed ass. And so I don't I don't know. Like maybe, maybe, I don't know. Maybe I just feel like I don't have anything else to lose. So why I don't care. You know what I don't know. Why? I do not understand why people are so weak. I do not understand why all these people who are supposed to be leaders, both sides of the aisle. Carlos: Yeah. I wonder if that I Todos. Paige: Both sides of the aisle like what the hell is wrong with you guys? Like what are you actually afraid of? Like what are you really actually afraid of? And I think it's the loss of power and wealth. I mean that's all it could possibly be. That's all it could be. Carlos: That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. Hey, let me tell you. I grew up probably very similar to you. I grew up half a block away from the projects. ⁓ and now I Paige: Mm. I'm like half a block. Does that count as not the pr No, I'm kidding. I'm with you. I'm kidding. Yeah, yeah. Carlos: Y I mean, you know, cause like it eventually eventually someone's gonna be like, well he said he grew up in the projects. No. Just outside the projects. Right. not that I'm running for office. I I have zero zero want to run for office. Zero. Anyway. So I grew up there and I currently live the opposite of that. Paige: I gotcha. I gotcha. Gotcha. I gotcha. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mm. Mm. ⁓ Carlos: My credit score does not reflect it, but I live the opposite of that now. So I can tell you the different stages and I can tell you that living in this neighborhood is way cooler than living in that neighborhood. Paige: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Carlos: And anybody that tells you different is a damn lie. Paige: Right, there's lots of reasons you have to tell yourself differently, right? If you're yeah, yeah, yeah. And you don't wanna lose that. I mean people don't wanna lose it, right? Carlos: Right. Right. So anyway, that's why. Yeah. And then and then again, of course, when you base a person's value on money, That's where there are personalities out there that want to have more money than you because it shows that they are more powerful than you. Paige: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Carlos: But when you grow up broke as shit, money doesn't mean anything. You have a different relationship with money. Paige: Yes. I think that's right. I think that's right. Yep. And I think Carlos: Yeah. Paige: Maybe for me, and I I'm a verbal processor and I'm just thinking about this now, but I think one thing I always recognize about myself is in high school I never felt that like teachers were better than me. When I started jobs, I never felt like the boss, especially as a nurse, as a female nurse, especially with male doctors, that's like a whole there's like whole areas of studying and like the psychology of that. And I never was intimidated, you know? I was always just like Carlos: ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Paige: We're both people, man. Like you do a different thing and like yeah, like good luck drawing some blood, okay? I bet you can't even take a blood pressure. So like, you know, but I but I don't Carlos: You need my help. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's probably why we don't fit in in corporate America. Paige: Well yeah, I tried doing I did it for a few years and I was like, ⁓ I don't belong here. But no, but I mean I think it's kinda like if you're low income and you think anybody who's above you in status is better than you, then you are th everyone's better than you because you're the poorest, right? So where do you draw you don't draw a line. You're just like, if I'm gonna feel okay about myself, then Carlos: Yeah. Paige: You know, or maybe I think when you realize maybe when you're living that hard of a life, you I think catch on really quick that the system sucks. Right? And I don't have more respect for you just because you have more money because I know that you didn't necessarily do shit to earn that respect that you think you should be getting. You know? I don't know. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Especially all these rich kids that are that are running the government right now, throwing tantrums and doing all kinds of I have zero respect for them. They have been handed all of the control and instead of building they're tearing down. Everything is tearing down. I have zero respect for that. Paige: No. Yeah, yeah. That my husband, what does he keep saying? They were they ⁓ god. They they were born on third base and think they hit thought they hit a triple or something like that. Like that's what he's I don't know. I anyway, same idea, right? Like all these people, they're just entitled and and you know it's it's this is why I talk about representation a lot. Carlos: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Paige: And this is what's really annoying to me. And but there's a lot that annoys me about the Democrats. But the but the thing is, the Democrats will admit that they believe in representation of gender and race and ethnicity and identity and you know these other affinities or isms. And they will fight, yes, equality for all, and we all need to be represented, and we need more women in leadership positions and all that. But it doesn't it but it ends at income. Somehow my life experience, my lived experience as a woman or as a part of the queer community, or as a part of this or that, that's all super important. But somehow my lived experience of being shit broke doesn't matter. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: You know, like, no, that ⁓ well, excuse me, that's because you come from a rich place. Like, that's exactly the point. Like, you don't know. And and so that really bothers me because a lot of times when I say, Well, I don't want to keep having millionaires be our leaders, and they're like, Well, that's not fair, it's not their fault they were born rich. And I'm like, That's like saying it's not his fault he was born a white, straight male Christian, you know, like Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: What kind of an argument is that? It doesn't make sense. And you know, I I I I say this rhetorically to the Dems because the real answer is that they don't actually believe in any of that shit either. They say they do. Be they say they d they do so that they feel better about themselves, but they don't actually want to do the work to dismantle any of the systems. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Paige: Right, they don't wanna dismantle the systems because they benefit from it. So they make themselves feel better by saying, Well, I'm gonna go hold a sign and I'm gonna vote for trans rights. I care about black people, but then all they're gonna do Carlos: They get those same checks, yeah. I'm gonna wrap this Kente cloth around me. Do you Paige: Y Yes, like Okay, but are you gonna like go sell your second vacation home? Are you Carlos: What are you yeah, what are we doing about insider trading? Nice nice cloth, but like Paige: Right. Like ⁓ I ⁓ well you're not the one who's gonna go without healthcare. Like, you know, it's and it's so a and even in the New Hampshire State House, ⁓ I've lost ⁓ I didn't tell you this. I talked to somebody else today. So do you know how many reps we have in the New Hampshire State House? Carlos: No, no clue. Is it a lot? Paige: Okay, so this is the New Hampshire House of Representatives, right? Little baby New Hampshire, right next to Vermont. We have 400 representatives. Carlos: Yeah. I was gonna go high and say a hundred and fifty. Paige: ⁓ no, we are the third largest legislature in the English speaking world. Carlos: Do you know how much what your population is? Paige: That's like one point three million. It's like one rep for every like thirty three hundred people. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: This is New Hampshire. This is why I love New Hampshire. Like why do we do that? I don't know. Cause we're weird and I do love that. Like that's the kind of thing that I can be like, okay, this sucks for a lot of reasons, but also like any system is kinda not great. ⁓ but guess how much we get paid? Carlos: Sounds like I know you guys I know it's ridiculously low. So I think it's like forty seven cents a week or something. Paige: It's It's forty it's two hundred dollars for two years of work. And they take taxes out. That's my favorite part! That's my favorite part! Yeah. Yeah. So okay, but here's what I'm getting at. We right. I am. I have been for three years. ⁓ yeah, so I do, yeah, and that's one of the big reasons. But so, so, and I'll tell this part and then we'll we can get into the story. But the so the New Hampshire house like state house, 400 of us, right? So that's a lot of people to recruit. Carlos: two hundred dollars for two years. But what's that like? Are you a state rep right now? ⁓ cool. So you do have previous experience? All right, cool. Mm-hmm. Paige: To run for office. ⁓ But because you don't get paid, basically the only people who are able to run are retired, wealthy business people, spouses of ⁓ very wealthy people that only need a one household income. Sometimes we do get some college students or some younger people who have tech jobs that know how to work from their computer and can do that, you know? And then Carlos: Yeah. Paige: Me, I was actually a bedside nurse when and I'll tell you the story, but basically I was a night nurse when I got started. So like every now and then you can get like a shift worker, but I'm the only nurse in the whole state house right now. So yeah, so that's so anyway, the point being though, Carlos, is that even in Carlos: Okay. Yeah. Paige: Aside from not being represented with income in the New Hampshire State House, right? Like there are no working people. Like there are no, like almost I mean, not none, but almost none. and I don't my kids are 13, 11, and 7. I cannot think of another house rep who has school-age kids. Some have babies and some have like late high school, college. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Paige: I do not know anybody of the 400 state reps. I'm sure there's some Republicans raising I'm sure they have a lot of families, but ⁓ kids, but but that are raising kids under today's stress with the cost of childcare and the cost of paid leave. And when I sat down and like debt from two decades ago from school that I've paid for 20 years and is still almost the same amount, right? Like Carlos: Yeah. For real. Paige: They don't they don't get this. And I've literally been in meetings where I'm like, we need child care. And they're like, Well, we don't have the majority. So we're gonna make a 10-year plan. An event. I'm like, we don't have 10 years! You wanna wait until the kids are 10 and 12 years old? Like, what what is your problem, man? And like so that's that is so really that is one of the things that like helps me to know that my experience Carlos: Yeah. Paige: is so important in as a leader. So I'm gonna pause because I'll just keep going. So I'm gonna let you like take a breath and let you jump into what's interesting to you. Yeah. Where do you wanna go with this choose your adventure, Carlos? Carlos: Yeah. I'll tell a story or something. No, I wanted it I wanted a play with what you just said a little bit, I'd I like to bring a to attention to people just how easy it would be to make change. There are there are state level positions that rich people are taking because they know that it's going to influence the rules that they make. Paige: Mm. Carlos: Those rules benefit them. When have you ever heard someone who is incredibly rich say, you know what I want to do? I'm gonna build a school and everybody gets to go to school for free. None of them. None of them. Paige: Yeah No no Mm Carlos: Everything is done in the shade. Everything is done for them. Everything is done. They've been planning this while we're out having fun. 70s were fun. The 80s were a joy. 90s were started getting black and people started getting nervous. Paige: I'm like, yes, my whole life, man. I'm like, I was born in seventy-eight, so like by the time I started figuring out what life was about, it was going downhill already. Carlos: Yeah, and folks don't realize just how just how fresh we were out of the caves. We just rolled we were cave people back. I was born in seventy two. Paige: All right, all right, we're close, we're close. Carlos: I'm so old the hospital that I was born in doesn't exist anymore. Paige: Hey, that's that's actually not a big deal these days with the way hospitals are shutting down, I gotta tell you. I could go into that, but Carlos: ⁓ tell me about it. So, and that's the thing. I want to clarify for just normal people. If you continue to go with the name brand, change will never ever happen. You will always struggle because they're the ones who are benefiting and they're the ones that are selling you on bullshit. That is obvious it doesn't work. For fifty-four years I have been seeing you guys struggling. For 54 years I have been fighting and reading and learning and and learning how to speak to computers, only to find out that there are other people that work on computers from another country that work for cheaper. Paige: Yes. Carlos: It's not going to change until we give normal folks a shot. The people that are telling you, I promise, promise, promise not to take extra money. I will work for my salary. They're right here. Paige: It's you know, the crazy, crazy thing. I mean there's so much ⁓ my god, there's so many things. I like I said, I'm kind of a big picture person. And I get it. Like I know how to follow the money. I am eternally optimistic, but I'm streetwise. So like I'll be optimistic, but I'm watching, you know? And and I feel like I'm, you know, back bad like I was a Bernie person. You know what I mean? Like I didn't like Hillary. So I kinda got some of it. I really didn't know a lot about politics. I didn't know about anything like local level. And ⁓ but I so I'm sorry, but I still knew things were messed up, right? I knew things were messed up. But since I've been doing this work even in the last six months, the depth Carlos: Good. Yeah. Right. Paige: An extent to which we have been intentionally duped is unbelievable. Like this isn't an at like most people in government are not good. And I think we thought, like, we all said that. Carlos: Yeah. Yes. Paige: But I don't think we really understood the whole fact that we're like, ooh, the Congress people, who like right? Like Carlos: Right. And it's great that you understand my problem with authority. You and I get it. You're the only person on this planet that I've talked to that has brought it up the exact way that you did because it makes me too. Me too. Paige: Yes Yes. Tell me what which part? Wha tell me more, like what part? Carlos: not that I talked a lot, I'm I'm like you. I lose my pi I my place in the book. I lose my place in the book, yeah. But no, Paige: talk too much and I forget where I was trying to come back around to. ⁓ okay, okay, good. I love it. I love it. We were talking about you were talking about how we feel the same way about authority and that you're glad yeah, go ahead. Carlos: Yeah, yes, yes. For example, for example, when I was when I was in the army, I was in Germany, and there was a situation where I got in trouble. I didn't feel good. I was late for formation and I got in trouble. And then on the progress report, the progress report, the grammar was atrocious. So I said, if we're gonna be doing this, then I'd ⁓ I went through with a red pen and made all the corrections. And I sent it back up. I said, You do this in in proper grammar. If we're gonna be holding each other to certain levels, then let's hold each other to certain levels. Paige: Good for you. Carlos: And then after that happened I got passed up by a promotion for a promotion and that was that convinced me that I didn't need to be in the army anymore. Paige: Yeah, you are not supposed to do that. You are not supposed to do what you did. Carlos: No, no. I don't I don't. How are you gonna tell me how to clean my room if your room is nasty? How are you gonna tell me how to how to do my fitness if your fitness isn't isn't up to par? I'm not saying don't talk to me. I'm not saying don't share your techniques with me. I'm not saying that. I'm saying at the end of the day, I know I'm going to make my own decisions. Paige: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Carlos: All that to say, I don't see that skill in a lot of people on the regular basis. Does that make sense? Paige: You think that's a part of that like that's what they're scared of? Is that what they're scared of? That authority that we're not scared of? Carlos: I think people like to be d people are like water. The least point of resistance they will go. Paige: Yeah, that's not me. Carlos: Right? So if someone tells you, hey, la da da, and then you ⁓ make a left and a right then a left. People are gonna go left, right, and left. I'm like, again, I told you, software brained, I like to look at a problem and fix it. I'm like, can we can we go over this bitch? Can we go through this bitch? Paige: Yeah. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Well, that's what I said to you. I am like the big picture. It's like I'm doing bedside care. And and I'm like, ⁓ well, this is shouldn't happen like this. Okay, I'm gonna go in leadership on the unit. Okay, well, that's not fixing. I'm going to the hospital leadership. And this happened my first year as a nurse. Carlos: You know? Yeah. Yeah. Paige: I was like, well, I don't like how this is happening. So I got on the hospital. And then I got on the whole hospital system as a representative for my hospital. And I'm like, this is bullshit. I'm not working in these places anymore. And I went and worked at a birth center. You know, because it's the it's yeah, yeah, yeah. But the point being, and then I got into public health because I want to help on the systems level. And now I know, well, that's shit, unless you have the funding and the support in the community to do it. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: And and my point being, I I see that I'm a problem solver as well. I keep going the right, let's keep taking the next step. It's kind of like a root cause analysis, right? Like you're just gonna keep digging. Well, why did this happen? And I I I actually get into that with people a lot because and I gotta come up with a frickin' better example of this because people don't like it, but there's this like, you know, ⁓ you know, the little story of of there's a river. Carlos: Right. Right. Right. Paige: In town, and let's just say they're little cats, little kittens keep flowing down the river, and people are jumping in to save the poor little drowning cats, and they just keep jumping in and jumping in and jumping in and jumping in, right? And so somebody's like, somebody's gotta go upriver and see where the hell the cats are coming from, right? Like, yes, right. Well, but you know what I the the analogy is Carlos: Uh-huh. Or get the fucking net. ⁓ No, I know, yeah, yeah, yeah. Paige: The analogy is actually they use the the babies and not kittens, which is just like kind of bad, but it shows you like it's more intense, right? But but but the point being neither of them are better necessarily. We need people to be at both sides. It sounds like you and I are the kind of people who tend to go up the river. We're the up the river people. We gotta figure this out. And and you're right, I don't think most people think that way. Carlos: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. Right. Paige: I I don't think that gov I don't think in most workplaces I most places where they're supposed to be solving problems, I don't necessarily think people think that way. There's a lot of band aids and reactions and not a lot of real strategizing. Carlos: There's there's something that I've noticed going through my memories. ⁓ When you don't have anything or growing up how we did similarly, we're not allowed to explore. We're not allowed to whereas the kids that come from money, everything is a the world is your oyster. You do what you want, the money will follow, all that bullshit, right? And we're taught, don't touch it, it's not yours. I don't have money to fix to pay for it if you break it. Paige: Go go do it. Carlos: Don't don't don't no no no. And that goes from that goes from our parents to the teachers to the police officers, depending on the decisions you make, to the to the ⁓ prison police officers, you know what I mean? Paige: Yeah. Yes, I do. Carlos: So I think that there's n ⁓ I think that W the people that do not have the poor folks of this country are not told how to not be poor. They're told how to think and where to stand and what to watch at what time. So I think that part is ingrained. 'Cause again, when you hang out with rich kids and these rich kids instead of going home to make their own dinners, they have to go to soccer practice, then flag football, then they have this one, and then they have them, and then they have clarinet, then they have they don't they don't have time for TV. Paige: ⁓ yeah. No. No. I love like people were always like 'cause when I go travel, like I you know, different jobs, live different places. They're like, ⁓ you're from New Hampshire. Do you ski? I'm like, No. Skiing is for rich people. Not you don't get a lot you don't get like gear and skis and a mountain pass because you were born here, you know? Like You know, and that's how I know that they're the rich kids. Like, what? Like, no, no. So this is actually interesting, Carlos, because this is something that that I talk about and is super important to me. So ⁓ you know, the way that I became a state rep. So talked about my childhood, you know, and I think that that really Carlos: Right. Right. Paige: Leader. I just have always I was the eighth grade president in kindergarten. I read the graduation speech, even though I couldn't read. You know, I'm you get my vibe and my energy, right? I'm compassionate, and I'll tell you what about the water. For years, my therapist described we described one of my greatest strengths and greatest potential flaws. ⁓ that I'm a forcing current. So I'm not. Carlos: Ha ha Paige: I'm a forcing current. I'm not the one. So anyway, always always been a leader, but we didn't do politics. I'm first gen college. I truly, until somewhere in my 20s, thought I had to be an attorney to be in politics. I did not know that I was able to. I sincerely did not understand the difference between Congress and Senate. I didn't understand the levels or branches of govern. Like I kind of got it. Carlos: Right. Right. Paige: I was confused by the Senate and the House. I think that confuses people. Why are they called Congress people? Aren't they s you know what I mean? I think that's confusing. So so I think I just cut you know, I've always been an advocate, a protester, you know, all these different things. ⁓ I've done health equity and mental health. Like I've been working on black maternal health since two thousand ten. I have been doing a lot of work ⁓ in where in in in Nashua with the Latino community. So these are important things to me. ⁓ Carlos: And folks don't understand that there's a true problem there. Paige: But I didn't yes, so so but that was how I did my work as a leader, right? Trying to change those systems. In 2023, I had a new friend that I I started a new church and I met this person and it turned out she was a state rep. And that blew my mind because of like you said, a state rep. I'm like, Crystal, ⁓ she's a normal person. She just payroll. Like, how is she like I I did not get it. Carlos: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Paige: I didn't get it. And Carlos at the time, I had my 10-year plan. And I I had all these things. You know, what's my 10-year plan and this and that area of my life? Well, one of them was politics. And I had all the podcasts and the master's degree and all the things I needed to do to be qualified to be in politics in 10 years, right? So Crystal's telling me, Well, there's 400 reps, there's all kinds of seats, regular people, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, holy shit. Carlos: Yeah, yeah. Paige: Crystal, stop telling me this because you're gonna make me want to do it. My son was four. And I'm like, I'm not doing this until he's 10. I'm not doing it until he's at least 10. And two months later, she texted me. She goes, Hey, I have a really big favor to ask you. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. ⁓ no, somebody in my ward resigned and they needed somebody to run. And Carlos: Yeah. Show up at the courthouse you won. ⁓ Yeah. Paige: And here are the things, 2023, right? At the time, the the the state house was 199 Republicans and 198 Dems. We were losing votes by one vote. So we needed somebody to get up there. Like we had to fill this seat, right? My ward is the second, is the lowest income ward in the second biggest city in the state. Carlos: Day. Yeah. Paige: It is the smallest geographic ward in the state because we're so packed in in my ward. And this and it is the second highest Spanish-speaking population in the state. So you know how hard it is in my ward. We've got the poor people and the undocumented people that don't speak English. There's nobody that is gonna run for office, right? So I'm like, shit. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: So it's 2023, the summer. I'm a Repro Health nurse while Roe v. Wade is being overturned. Two weeks late, two weeks before this, I had just taken my overnight nursing job. Carlos: ⁓ no. Paige: I'd always wanted to be a politician. And I'm like, man, if I'm ever gonna do it, like, what a way. I'm gonna get the whole party. Nationally, people are gonna help me. I'm gonna get my own campaign manager. Like, you know. But the biggest thing was that when it came down to it, I could not reconcile the that. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Paige: The people in my ward would end up with somebody who had so little lived experience in common with them. I I felt like a responsibility, like a duty to the people that I came from. I've made my life a little bit b I'm still I'm still low income because I've been doing this job for three years. But I've made my way up a little bit and and and I felt I wanted to represent people, you know? Carlos: Yeah. Right. Ha ha ha. Yeah. Paige: So so I did that and and I hugged my husband when we said yes and and I said, you know, when this starts it doesn't end. And he goes, I know who I married. So so Carlos, I'm like I just jumped in and I'm telling you, I'm listening to NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio. Has a show called Civics 101. And I'm literally listening to that on the way there and back from the state house to figure out what the fuck I'm doing. I don't know what I just got into. I just know I'm smart. I know people. I know what people need and I'll figure it out. Right? I worked in corporate America. I'll figure it out. Okay, I am getting to my point. I got there and I said, wow. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: one of the most competent people here. Like w right? So Carlos: Yeah. Like normal people don't know how Paige: No, they are, and here's the thing. What I realized is I'm an adult woman. I'm 47 years old. I've had many jobs. I've built programs. I've been a program manager. I've been a people manager. I've I've built I've built health products with software engineers. Like I said, you know, if you're committed and you are professional and you want to work hard, it is just a job. It is just a job that you learn how to do. I and I and here's where I'm coming back full circle. I do not think it's an accident that people like you and I don't know that we can do this. I don't think there it's an accident that we don't know how to engage in politics. I don't think it's an accident that we don't think we're good enough and that we don't know how to run. That I didn't know that I didn't have to be a lawyer. I don't think any of that is an accident. And so something that I did right away and this is you know, once two 25 hit everybody is showing everybody how to do everything, but nobody was nobody knew there were 400 reps, nobody knew we didn't get paid, nobody knew how any of it worked. And I started teaching because I'm an educator, I'm a health educator. That's I teach c adult classes as well. So ⁓ I started New Hampshire Politics 101 on the most basic level to just go over the branches. And the levels of government, how a bill becomes a law in New Hampshire, every step of the way, and what you can do in New Hampshire in the process. How do you testify? How do you call? You know, all those things. Simple one-hour class. I did it in my community. I offered it to other democratic like city committees. I did it online for free by Zoom once a month. ⁓ but I did that because I want regular people. Carlos: Nice. Paige: To know they can do it. And I was very humble during those classes. And I go in and say, I am a state rep. And before 2023, I did not understand the levels and branches of government. And that's okay. I learned I'm not dumb because I didn't know that. Right? Just like we're not poor because we're lazy. Right? I didn't know that because I'm dumb. Carlos: You didn't know that you needed to know that. Paige: That's right. That's right. Right. And so so it's a huge for me. A big part of what I'm doing is also I really talk about how little I knew and and how I'm still a very good legislator. And that what I do bring is so, so, so important. And that is also a part of where I say your candidates are gonna look different. Carlos: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Paige: You can't just you can't say, holy shit, she didn't know the branches of government X years ago. She's disqualified. No. Ray? I know a lot of other things. Carlos: What folks don't realize is the creativity and the stick to this that you need to be when you come from nothing. Paige: Dude, seriously. Resourceful. Carlos: And you and you refuse. I refuse. I refuse to hear no. No. What do you mean I can't go through that door? I saw them go through that door. Paige: Yeah, yes. We and I think that's why we're problem solvers, because when everything works for you and life is good. Pretty easy to like that system. Yeah, this system makes a lot of sense, right? But when you're working hard, even as a kid, you know, you're like, I'm just a kid. I want to be able to go out with my friends, and I can't, you know? And and when things aren't working and you're working hard, you start to ask, Well, what is wrong here? And I think that makes you inquisitive. That makes you be able to pull things apart and look at systems and really ask questions. ⁓ Carlos: Right. Right. Right. Right. Paige: and so, you know, I mean not everybody i ends up doing that, but I think that that it does there's the opportunity for it to foster that. Carlos: Right. And listen. When your childhood and your life experience is you have plenty, and even those times that you want to reach out a little farther and you spend even more money than you already have, and your resolution to that problem is asking someone else for even more money. I grew up Either you have money for said thing, whether it was art supplies, whether it was bus pass, it was either that or groceries. Paige: I mean, yeah. Yeah. Carlos: Talk about a creative decision you have to make. I was skinny. I had I had a bunch of art projects. I walked and I didn't need a lot when I was younger. ⁓ yeah. Paige: My earbuds just died, so hopefully the sound isn't horrible. Carlos: ⁓ it's fine. Yeah. Paige: It's fine. Okay, cool. ⁓ Yeah. There's a lot but but I mean just to go back, right? Like listen to everything that we've just been talking about. So when I have a bunch of you know, and I'm not even gonna go into it because it's it's it's the identity doesn't necessarily matter because it's a lot, but anybody that hasn't been through what you and I have been through, and when I try to say, Look, representation of income. Carlos: But yeah. Paige: matters and they want to tell me that it doesn't, it really I mean that's a trigger for me. It's like, how do you know? I mean, you know, that's like detail Carlos: Yes, Exactly. Exactly. And we know that your way of doing it doesn't work because for fifty some odd years I have been seeing it not work. Paige: But I mean that's the same thing, right? Women are not are the you know, sexism isn't real, racism isn't real. But the thing is this is coming from Democrats, right? And I think that's where the that's where I get disappointed. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It seems like it's it yeah. 'Cause it seems like everyone is pulling the ladder up behind them. Paige: But that's why I'm running. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Carlos: You know, like all these folks went and they took advantage of a paper system. Paper system meaning our rules were written on paper, the money transfers were sent on paper, like all this stuff was on paper. And now technology is ripping us apart and these sons of bitches are leaving us behind. Paige: Yeah. I mean, I don't wanna get into a like I'm getting on I'm I'm like my brain is going to the place where I start really complaining about a certain generation who has left us shit because they were so selfish and now they're so self indulgent that they don't even wanna listen to the young people when we say that our life is hard, but then they're gonna be mad that we're not having grandkids. Carlos: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Because you refuse to babysit. I gotta go to work. Paige: No, but they don't want to babysit either. Carlos: Hell no they don't. Paige: ⁓ Yeah. Yes, so I don't wanna go in that I'm not gonna go in that 'cause I'll start going off on that. I really will because it's Again, it's i I I don't know, maybe because I've had to face this so much, but like I know what experience I don't have. But apparently that is a very rare ⁓ personality characteristic. I guess that's empathy, right? I don't know. Carlos: Yeah. And I mean and I mean I'm gonna dip into my my poor boy looking at all these rich kids just standing there. They they told people that look like me that we don't work and we're dumb and we're lazy. Meanwhile you have soft hands, sir. Paige: Well wait, don't forget, you're simultaneously draining everything from the system and you've bought all the houses and taken all the jobs. So you're b So you're okay, you've done taken all the opportunities and you're sucking us dry. Carlos: Yeah. We've taken on the job. You know what I've been noticing is now that this is gonna sound terrible, but ⁓ the br ⁓ a brown kid being able to r release some stress, now that they are treating white people the way that they treated the black and brown community, now everybody's like, Hey guys, maybe we should abolish ice like ⁓ Paige: Well that I wanna fucking like I was losing my goddamn mind because last session The beginning of twenty twenty five, the New Hampshire Democratic Caucus sat down to write down all the issues that we thought we should be focused on. What do we think our constituents want us to work on? And we we try to, you know, build up what we're gonna work on. less than five of us wrote immigration. And of course a couple of them were the like three Latinos who are actually representatives. Within six months, everyone suddenly the biggest anti-ICE person you've ever seen and they they ⁓ well did you hear about this immigrant because his family's doing this. I'm like, Yeah, good for you. Did you care like a month ago? No. Y'all told me I was crazy for being on a rapid response team. Carlos: S ⁓ Paige: You know. Anyway, Yeah, it's it yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, let's switch it. Carlos: Since you're a I was gonna switch the subject just a little bit. because now that I've now that I better understand your brain, I wanna I wanna pitch something to you and you yeah. So I've been I've been talking to a few people and a few of them here on the on the channel. Paige: Yeah. ⁓ I'm excited. Yeah. Carlos: You know how The government collects money and then it just kind of gets stuck up on top of this pyramid, right? It doesn't ever and then we say, and then we say, Hey, person that has had the same office for 20 to 30 years, the homelessness is is going nuts. And it and it's terrible because there's people suffering and all the things. And they say, All right, cool. We're gonna send you money, and then it Paige: Yes, I do. Carlos: Never fixes anything. And then they say, Hey, ⁓ rich, powerful people making the rules that only benefits them. There's this large chunk of money. It'd be really cool if we could go to school and learn things. And they say, ⁓ the money just doesn't quite get down there. And even when they do throw money there, it doesn't quite get because we're starting to learn that. Of all these people that do all the planning and all that shit takes a lot of money, right? What if? Well actually let's ⁓ keep that. There's a little sticky note there, right? Next the next part of it is when is the last time Paige was able to write a check for more than what she had in the bank? Paige: Okay. Yep. Yeah. Uh-huh. Carlos: ⁓ right? Never. Okay, so okay, cool. So that's to keep you from being corrupt and spending shit that you don't have, right? Right. Yeah. Paige: Never, right? Yeah. Yeah, great. Yeah. Carlos: So what if and then you know AI is coming to ravage the planet and all this stuff. So fr I what was it last week Bernie introduced a bill that said we all benefit from this? Paige: Yes. And we should get some of the returns. I f fricking love that, yes. Carlos: Yes, yes. So now we know since we have plenty of money for wars, we have plenty of money to bomb people, we have plenty of money to steal from the government, we have all this stuff, we have all this money. And we have Bernie's idea that if it works out we're going to have basically what's a universal basic income. So everyone's gonna get a little bit of money at the end of the month. Paige: Yeah. Carlos: What if we just took everything and did it similar to what California does when you go on unemployment? They give you a bank card and they send you your unemployment benefits to this card. Right? How does that help fraud? Well, well, let me so if we mix AI and a banking system. Paige: Okay. Carlos: Together and your access to it would be whether it's your social security numbers as attached to it, whether it's whether it's ⁓ your passport, what whatever it if it's a driver's license type of thing, whatever, whatever it is, we have it there. So when the taxes are paid, the government has it, but it's all on a direct deposit type of thing. And it's all tracked. That way, that way, when Hakeem Jeffries does some dumb shit, we can track it. Right? Paige: Okay. Carlos: That way they can't write checks higher than the amount they're allotted. We're taking all the all the like everybody with their hand out getting paid under the table and all that stuff. We start cutting down on that too. Paige: Yeah. Because you're using debit cards? Carlos: Yeah, 'cause everything everything is going to d to direct deposit. Paige: But doesn't how is that any different? I guess I don't understand. Why is there more room for fraud if it's paper? 'Cause you're still doing the same transactions. It's just Carlos: Well, 'cause people people can smudge numbers and it's a lot easier to to steal someone's checkbook and forge a signature than it is stealing their card and knowing the PIN number and all that stuff. What I'm trying to get to what I'm trying to get to is almost flipping this dumbass trickle down economic thing that doesn't work. If we give the money to the people. Paige: Yeah. Well I Yeah. Carlos: And then they will then be able to instead of giving the money to the managers and the money doesn't quite get to the people, the people have the control, the people will create their own markets for if there's a dentist that they really like. You know what I mean? Does that make sense? Paige: I'm really not getting it, I'm gonna be honest with you. Yeah. So okay wait, let me see So Carlos: No. So the way that it works now, how d how does it work now? So like when New Hampshire's government has money. if they have money. How do you guys how do you guys manage government? W Paige: Mm. Okay, wait. Whatever people ask me about New Hampshire, dude. You don't even know what can of worms you just opened up. Okay. Have you heard about the free staters? Okay, I'm gonna tell you about this. Okay, first what I'm gonna tell you is we have four federal delegates, two ⁓ house members and two senators, four federal delegates from New Hampshire, all blue. They're all Dems. Carlos: Ha ha. Free staters. No. Paige: We have had almost in state with the House, ⁓ the Senate and the governor, we have had a red trifecta almost the entire last decade. So we have re we're red in state and totally blue on the federal level. And which is very, very strange. So that's that's yeah. I mean, there's a lot of in Carlos: That is strange. Paige: There's definitely theories in terms of the NHDP and the fact that our four federal delegates are all basically Republicans. Like they are in the they're all in the top ten of Democrats that vote with Republicans. ⁓ so anyway. ⁓ okay, so the Free Staters, you could go down another rabbit hole and anybody watching should look up the Free Staters. You're your mind's gonna be blown. So Carlos: Mm-hmm. Paige: Free staters are basically Uber libertarians who in the early 2000s came up with this plot of how to create like a libertarian utopia. So they got a bunch of people together. I mean, this is like major, like this goes all the way back to Peter Thiel, okay? That funded some of this. But they got thousands. Their goal was to get 20,000 people to sign a pledge to move to New Hampshire in the next 20 years. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: To infiltrate the government, shut it down, and secede from the union. They've been systematically working on this since the early 2000s. And right now, in the New Hampshire State House, the they're out of the 220 Republicans, 120 of them are free staters. They are the entire Republican leadership of our state. Carlos: ⁓ Lord. Paige: And are almost achieving their first goal of completely shutting down public education. They are cutting every tax that we because we don't have income we don't have income tax. We don't have sales tax. All we have is property tax. So they've been cutting the interest and dividends, the business taxes, the taxes on the corporations, on the wealthiest people. Some of the wealthiest people in the country come to New Hampshire to hide out because they can buy these huge mansions in the woods. Carlos: ⁓ man. Paige: And barely pay any taxes on them. Carlos: Jesus. Paige: so yeah, so that's how it works in New Hampshire. I know but that was like a f I mean, I know we're like I was going a tangent in that direction, but like it's a pretty good one with the freestaters, right? Like yeah, yeah Carlos: Yeah. It is. Yeah. Like similarly there's a there's a push out here where there's a group that wants to cut California in two. So that way, you know, I think they call it I think they wanna call it Jefferson. Somet I think that's what it is. So they want Paige: But think about New Hampshire. So the other reason is because New Hampshire, we have four hundred representatives. So it's much easier for them to infiltrate. And we lean libertarian, live free or die, man. And and so yeah. So so they're yeah. So that's what's happening. So we don't have a lot of money. But what you're saying is the government spends more than they have. Right. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Focus more on the flow of money more than more than government, right? So we have tried this up till now. We have tried where all these managers go and the money never reaches and solves a problem. However, in Finland, for example, Finland is close to figuring out homelessness and it's basically they're building homes. Paige: Okay, okay. Yeah, okay. Trickle down doesn't work. Trickle down doesn't work. Yeah. No, no. Carlos: They put people in there, the homeless people in there, and they're giving them a social worker. Basically is how it's working. Paige: It's like there's so much evidence. ⁓ there's evidence based program. We know how to solve it. We know how to solve it. Carlos: Right. So now back to this solution. If homeless people had access to the public aid that they should have, we start it there. We give we give everyone their UBI, their public aid, their food assistance, their snap, whatever. You give them the money. Paige: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Carlos: And then they're the ones that are creating the markets that then you need managers for. Make sense? Paige: ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. No, absolutely. Yeah. No, that makes sense. Yeah. Because they're I mean, they are do you mean like they're kind of like stimulating the economy or they have the money to actually st like start businesses? Carlos: Yeah. They have the money instead of having a bunch of rich, smart people telling you what you need. Paige: Yeah. ⁓ I hear. We're talking about capitalism now a little bit. Yeah. Okay. Yep. Carlos: Yeah. It's 'cause what's happening is capitalism has been taken over by a bunch of greedy people. If you want to play capitalism in a responsible way, think about Giving you need to find a way to keep people's fingers off of the money, then that money goes directly to the people that need it. All these people have social workers assigned to them because they need the assistance, they need the scaffolding. Then, you know, if I go to my ⁓ social worker and I really like that social worker, I I get to pay them through this credit card type of thing that you know what I mean. So, and then I tell my friend, hey, my social workers dope. And then we just keep building social workers or ⁓ we keep. Paige: Mm. Yeah. Carlos: That now we know Paige: It is almost like the free market except you're starting it's the free market starting on the other end. Carlos: Imagine a consumer based economy and everyone is a consumer. Instead of wasting money on departments like Doge to a certain extent, if it wasn't being run by a group of greedy dumb fucks, it would the the idea Yeah. The idea is not that bad. Let's limit corruption. All right, cool. Paige: Увор і т. ⁓ absolutely. I mean, I care about that, right? That is one of the reasons yes, sorry. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we all want corruption gone. That's that this is why people like me and the courage candidates in the middle, we're not there saying, ⁓ the Republican corruption, right? We're not Republicans saying the de no, there's corruption at that level. And don't Carlos: Yeah. No, no, no. No need to sorry, you're part of the conversation. Right. There's corruption. APAC is paying both sides. All these places. Yep. Paige: Yes, Doge was awful, but that's not and and this is again and I keep saying it and it's loosely related. Trump isn't the problem. He's a symptom of what we have let happen, right? But we all agree on the problem, right? There there are problems. ⁓ but but we again we have to we have to dig a little bit deeper, which I think can be similar with Doge, like we all agree there's a problem with corruption. But Doge was not the answer. Doge was not But that doesn't mean there wasn't corruption just because we hate Doge. Doesn't mean that there's not something legitimate there for sure. Carlos: Right. Right. Right. And to clarify that whole thing, there was Doge. There was a group of I forget what it's called. I watched a video about it. They were the not attorneys general, but they were inspector generals or something like that. There was a department that was working to limit corruption. And then they sent in Paige: Yeah. Carlos: basically ice financial ice into this place because a lunatic told them to. Paige: Okay, so here is what really concerns me, Carlos. What I am so worried about is that people are gonna be so focused on Trump that they just wanna get any Democrat in there. And that in 2028 we're gonna be so screwed. Because if we get Democrats in for one term. And we get the same old shitty Democrat to do nothing for us. People are gonna be more mad than they are now, more desperate, and they will fall for a cult leader who is maybe smarter than Trump, which is not hard. Carlos: Yep. Yep. Sh yeah. Paige: I mean, here's the thing I keep thinking with the Democrats, like you lost to Trump. You lost to Trump. If that doesn't tell you how ineffective you are and how wrong your theory of winning is, I don't know what will. You lost to Trump. Carlos: Yeah. And if you and if you have been office if you have been in office for twenty years, I think that is enough time for you to show us who you truly are. And if you haven't done anything, it's time to go. You are ineffective. Paige: Twice twice. Yes, yes, yes. But that's I mean One of my biggest things is to pull the curtain back for working people. And that is exactly the kind of thing that I want that I want to do, right? Is expose all those people. Like if people would just look at these people who don't do anything, who vote against their best interests, who are taking so much money. Carlos: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Who are told how to vote. Yeah. Paige: Right. And and it's like if they if they knew how to look at that, they had the skills to be able to understand it, right? Because political literacy, that's like a whole thing. And if they felt confident enough that they could participate. And so I'm really, really I really try to share how uninformed I was so that people know, like if I can do it, like you can do it. Like you're you guys are all smart enough. You know what I mean? Like we like we can do this. We we absolutely can. We absolutely can. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. I and and don't let and don't let people from fancy schools make you feel like the school you went to was isn't fancy enough to do things. I've worked with people, I've worked with people from Harvard, I've hung out with people from Yale. They're cool. They're cool. They're a l may they might be a little more interesting because they get to travel around the world to do all the things. But like I know people that are that are nine to fivers that are just as much fun to talk to. Paige: Do you want ⁓ yeah Yeah. Right. Yes. Carlos: even though they don't get to go to the fancy places. You know? There's it's not they're just people, you guys. They're just people Paige: Yeah, I don't I I mean, I mean ⁓ like ⁓ don't even like, you know, people they're supposed to call me Representative Beachemin and like the advocates will like email me, like the lobbyists and stuff, they'll be like, hey, Representative Beachemin, and I'm like, Call me. ⁓ Like, both sitting here working on legislation. We both do all the same shit on different sides. Like Carlos: Yeah. Paige: There's four hundred of us. Like I barely had to campaign in a democratic ward. Like like why why do I get more respect than you? Like, you know, like I could be Joe Schmoe of any like we have representatives who are felons. You have a master's degree in policy. Why are you giving us respect just because we have the title? It doesn't mean shit. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: It does not mean anything, you know. Carlos: But there's some folks out there that that's what they want. They wanna d I know I know dads that will make their kids call them s call them sir. I'm like, I'm more of a call me dad guy. Like Paige: You know, I don't mind to su I would never do that. Like don't get like I don't mind respect of elders when it's like elders of the community. You know what I mean? Carlos: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Or like in the family, I want you to call me Uncle Carlos. I want you to call her Aunt Whatever, Dio, whatever. Right. That part, yeah. Paige: Yeah. Yeah. That's respect. Right? Yeah. But like I'm I'm real like a lot of people have problem with me, even the progressive people, because I'm very like anti decorum. ⁓ and very in in terms of all of the stupid rules, like you're not supposed to say Representative Beachemin at the well. You're supposed to say my esteemed representative from or like there's all these rules, you know, you have to address the speaker of the house. Carlos: Yeah. Hang on, hang on. Now that you say that, these are the same people that make fun of other people, especially out here in California, when they say, my name is Carlos. I live in the land of the ancestors of la la la la la. You know what I mean? Paige: No, exactly. It's it is it's because it's theirs. And and the thing is, all of these things were put in to uphold structures of hierarchy. To their the found and people will say, no, no, no, decorum is so that we don't, you know, so that we keep the peace and we work well together and all of that. I'm like, bitch, like I saw two Republicans. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: Get into a fist fight on the house floor over a gun law and I know they're both packing. They are allowed to bring guns on the house floor. That is not decorum. Carlos: You nothing. That's bananas. That is not. And wh who's decorum? Like who what are you trying to hide? Are you trying to hide the fact that this country was built off of slavery? Is that what we're doing? Paige: Professional is a construct. Like yes, all of it. Yeah, I I just the decor for me decorum is upholding white patriarchy to the nth degree. Like it is so it is the closest to royalty that you get, right? Where else do you have to call somebody right that you didn't earn? Carlos: Decorum Get outta here. Yeah. They're trying, dude. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe at school, principal blah blah blah, you know. Paige: If you're doctor you might You still have to have a lot of experience to do that. Carlos: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you have to go to through training. Like and I can see doctor such and such. But doctor such and such, like relax. You're not on the clock. Like if if if I'm about to have a heart attack, I'll call you doctor of whatever you want, but like Paige: I mean, yeah, absolutely. Like g come on. But like Yeah! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. But like come on, come on. ⁓ my gosh, Carlos. This is yeah, I could go on with you forever. Like I really could. Like there's so there's so much. ⁓ there is. I wanna tell you who I'm running against now with with all of this. Her name is Maggie Goodlander. She grew up in a very rich family from the town that I live in now. ⁓ Carlos: There's so much to fix. Tell me, tell me. Maggie Goodlander. Paige: Her mom was a Republican senator and her family were very powerful repo ⁓ a very powerful Republican family in the state. She had not lived in the state since 2008 when in 2023 a seat opened up. Now, here's what I will tell you. Her husband was the national security advisor to Biden. His name is Jake Sullivan, and he's one of the architects of the genocide. So, and she was an attorney in the judicial system down in Washington. So they have like a million dollar house there. So, ⁓ wait, so let me go into this more. Carlos: You know what? Yeah. Paige: Her grandfather was part owner of the Red Sox. She's worth 30 to 40 million dollars. She Hillary Clinton is in her wedding photos. Like she Christmases with the Bidens and Clintons. You know what I mean? Like that's what we're talking about. ⁓ so she so she hadn't been here. Carlos: Okay. Here we go. Okay. Paige: But she had a million dollar house in DC, a million dollar house over on the seacoast, which is not this district. So she decided to rent an apartment in my fucking ward, the lowest income ward, and she came out the gate saying we need more renters in Congress. Carlos: Yeah. ⁓ How do you know? She's technically yeah. She's helping her her yeah. She brought up the issue and she helped by renting us place. Yeah. You know what? Paige: She's a renter, she's not lying, and we do need them. Well that so the fun part is that some people around here right, so I am clearly the Bernie candidate, right? And some people around here call her Diet Hillary or Hillary Light. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: It's like my favorite thing. It's so good. So good. Yeah, so that so we really are like when I said you could like the two candidates who really like she's a young woman. She's only she's less than ten years younger than me. She's a young, cute white woman. She like we both are from the same town right now in Ashua. Like the comparison is is Carlos: that's that's Paige: is so similar that it makes the contrast even even more ⁓ obvious, you know. Carlos: Sh Yeah. Even more stark. Yeah. I've n I've I've heard that so many times, like Paige: Yeah, yeah. Carlos: So many times. And and my brain keeps going back to something that you that we were talking about earlier. ⁓ not necessarily term limits or anything like that, but we need to figure out a way to make folks that have worked in the government, they need to be out of the government and live under the rules that they just set. Paige: Yes Yes Carlos: So I don't know if it's term limits, I don't know if I don't know if it's it for me, always educating the population is always gonna be part of the answer. Paige: Well Think that the thing is so many of the problems that we have right now, we're thinking of solutions for them within the frame of the system that we have now. Right? And and and theoretically, it could be that if we do, you know, if we do if we get citizens united and we close some of the billionaire loopholes, and because of this, people are paying more attention, right? Like Carlos: Yeah. Paige: This generation is not is is gonna be way more into politics than I was as a teenager, right? Like people are engaged, so that's made a difference. So sometimes I wonder I do think that again, getting at the root of things is gonna make more impact. Like ⁓ that's actually how I feel about term limits. So I am on the fence about term limits because I Carlos: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: I agree with all the problems, right? Like people are there for too long. They get complacent. Like people just let them at all these things, they're gonna turn to dust if you touch them while they're sitting there voting, right? And like, no, we have them in the New Hampshire State House. Like you're like, ⁓ my God, can I even like touch this person? Are they gonna fall over? But ⁓ I totally lost track of where I was going with that. Like totally, completely. ⁓ term limits. So here's the thing. Carlos: Yeah. Ha ha ha. Yeah. Paige: But but the real the reality is there are some people like Bernie Sanders who I want to stay. You know? Like I have a hard time with age limits and like arbitrary limits. ⁓ and so Carlos: Yeah. And that's the that's the argument that everyone always says. So then I'm gonna leverage your brain. What would it look like? What could it look like? If maybe not term limits, what's the what's the what's the happy medium between term limits and people that are running the country into the ground for fifty years? Paige: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, there's two things there, right? Like so getting corruption out of politics, a few of the things is gonna be ending Citizens United, stopping career politicians from owning stocks and their spouses owning stocks, and putting limits. The bigger thing, the the actual real where the corruption really is, is people who have seats. Leave their seats and become lobbyists and then come back and forth. So we want to also, we want to also ban Congress members from being able to be lobbyists for a certain number of years. So, you know, when you start looking at those things, it's quite possible that though because some people will say, Well, we already have term it term limits. It's called elections, right? And to some extent, Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: That is kind of how I feel. Is like, well, the election, if the electoral system was working the way that we want it to work, that would take care of that. Right? ⁓ so I wonder, are our efforts and resources bent spent on something that might actually be fixed if we work on these other things first? ⁓ Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: My other thought with term limits is that we shouldn't be talking about it in absolutes in terms of yes or no. I actually just think that term limits well, I don't know if I'm a yes, but if I am a yes, I think term limits should be a little longer. I think that the conversation is around how long should they be. I don't think s I don't think under 10 years is too much. And in fact, I think that at 10 years, I am pretty much okay with people going to somewhere, like I want to talk about it with different people, but my thoughts are somewhere around 15 to 20 years. Because if you get a really good person, you want them to be able to do that work. And I'm telling you, just being in the statehouse even three years, I'm still learning so much. I'm learning the historical right. When I was trying to and I submitted a bill for paid leave this year in 2026. The last time we had a bill was in 2018. And I had to go back to the experts who had been here since then to help me understand the history of why do we have that kind of paid leave here in New Hampshire right now? Who are the players? What were the you know, that's just an example, but there's a lot to be said for building the relationships, learning the system and and how long it takes. To be as effective as possible. Because, right, this is what we know about retention and jobs. You don't want high turnover, right? Because there is a lot to gain by having the institutional experiential knowledge. So I think that we're looking at it really in a very oversimplified way, in saying, like, ⁓ it's just the number of years. I just think there's a lot more that goes into that, and maybe term limits are more of a knee-jerk reaction to the current system. Carlos: Yeah. Right. Paige: As opposed to like well, what is the real problem and what is the real solution? Carlos: Yeah, like if you if you think about it, the system itself, the bones are good. It's just jammed up with shit people. Paige: is jammed up with like food coloring and like GMO chemicals that aren't supposed to be in your body, right? Like it's like making stuff like messed up. Carlos: Ha ha ha. That's yeah. That's a really good that's a really good analogy. Paige: So we don't have to clean we don't have to burn the body, but maybe we do some cleanses and get all the shit out before we start building it back up and like flexing the right muscles. I think we have a good analogy we're building here. I think we can keep going. I feel like there's a lot of different all the organ systems, like we got there's a lot of ⁓ con there's a lot of material here, I think. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. We start saging we have to sage Yeah. Yeah. Like if you if you if you look at the United States as a body, I mean there's different parts to it. You know, you have your environment, you have your ⁓ education, you have your labor, you even have your rich class. Like I don't mind you being rich, I mind you being a n asshole. I mind you pulling the ladder up behind you. That's what I mind. That's what I mind. Paige: Yeah. I I mind you thinking that that that my gain is your loss. Carlos: Yeah. Instead of looking at it like, hey, the United States is a badass neighborhood. And if I got my stuff together and my neighbors got his stuff together, that means our collective property values go up. Look at that. Look at that. Paige: Community. You know, I think that's a big piece though is this difference between ⁓ communal and individualism. And and that that is a fundamental difference on how people see things and and and from the the like main like one of the main values from which so many other perspectives like stem from. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: You know, this idea that like you have to be so independent and rugged, is counter to that idea of like we're a community. Carlos: Like I say in a conversation, ⁓ like all these dudes think that we're still like taming the wild. Like all the plot we've found everything. We found everything. So why why are you walking around like why we're you're not gonna discover shit, especially if you're a rich kid. Paige: Yeah, yeah I don't know these people, like come on man. Carlos: It's so weird. It's so weird. I say this a lot too. ⁓ we have a bunch of people voting that want to live in westerns, but there's the majority of us want to live in Star Trek. Yeah. Paige: I like that too. I do. ⁓ I was also reading recently that the whole trope of the like individual cowboy is like totally wrong. And most of the cowboys were on government assistance and could barely scrape by. And like Yeah, yeah. It's like a total lot. Like it literally never existed. Yeah, it didn't exist. Like this reality they think they're trying to get back. Carlos: Yeah. They're moving cattle. Th they st they're still struggling. Yeah. Paige: Does never existed, yeah. Carlos: And it won't it you're not gonna be out in some city like and the and that little rattle thing woo-weo woo shh you know it's not gonna happen. We have to change our perspective, we have to change our focus. That's just that's just it's all it's part of it. It's part of it. The same way The same way that technology is influencing us, we need to take all this cool shit that we keep inventing to make things better. We have the we have the we we can make things better for everyone. Paige: Yes. Yes. We can. That's a thing. We we we can. The decision not to has been choices that people have made. All of our suffering are choices that other people made. And Carlos: And it's because we it's it's there's a gr large chunk of us that like to be managed. Paige: That blows my mind because I have no thread of that in my body. I'm like, I don't know what that is like. Like wait, wait, wait. I when I went, I had to show you. This is like totally an aside, but okay, real quick. Okay. So I get in trouble for yelling at the state house all the time because I'm trailer trash and they all suck. And like Carlos: I don't Yeah. Paige: Fuck you, you guys have never been the ones on the other side of this, you know? So one week there's this lady trying to cut snap benefits, and she says the excuse, ⁓ because you know, so many of the foods are unhealthy and full of sugar. So I scream, so what? And then later they're saying something else awful. And my friend who sits down the row goes, You got. Carlos: Ha ha. Paige: And that made me think of the Bible. And I'm like, yeah, they are going to hell because Jesus fed kids. So I yell, Jesus fed kids. Then a huge a few weeks later, I flipped off the governor. So around the state, this t-shirt. Now I gotta tell you, so I was I got reprimanded. It was a whole thing, but the big deal is that ⁓ I put a video of it and somebody said that bird was the people's bird. So I started making this image of Carlos: Yeah. Paige: of a hand and the bird is the purple finch, which is the state bird of New Hampshire, the people's bird. And I put that out and this is what we ended up with. Carlos: I like it. That's pretty cool. I love it. That is so cool. The people's bird. Paige: So anyway, that's the people's bird. Carlos: So was session was w were you in session when you flipped off the governor or was he just at the gas station and you're like, You suck at your job. Paige: It was like no, no, no. I was sitting in the New Hampshire House chamber, and they hate me so much that I mean I did it quietly. I was just like, I she was saying something. And here's the thing, Carlos. They were trying to bring in a detention center here, is stone's throw from my ward. These are my constituents, my patients from public health. And they were trying to bring in a detention center. And Governor Ayot was lying about knowing about it. And and so she's sitting there lying about immigration and ICE and detention. And she's lying about how good they've totally defunded our schools. And she's like, our education is great. And I just, I was like, thumbs down. And it wasn't enough. So before I knew it, I just flipped it up. Like for a second. And my seat mate is my like she tempers me and she's like, you know, it was a second. They're watching me. The Republican, one of them saw me tracked down the security people to find the grainy image and blow it up to take a s a shot of it. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: And send it to the Democratic leadership to repar to like tell me I was bad. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: So that's that yeah, yeah, that's that's the story. And the democratic leadership was like Carlos: Well well Did you h did you have to go to did you have to go to detention or anything? Like what Paige: Well, no, so this is so here's the okay. There's like so much more to the story. So later, so I flipped somebody off, but didn't know I was in trouble until way at the end of the day. In between Okay, we have four trans legislators. They happen to mostly be on the Progressive Caucus. We're all BFFs. We all went to lunch with a couple other progressive people. We had to rush back because it took so long to get our food. So we had our food in this area that's like a room that's split into outside of the chambers. And one side usually Republicans hang out, other side Dems do. We had to leave our leftovers. Well, one of them comes over and tells us to throw it out because it smells like fish. And I'm like, no. And he's like, Well, go get the other people to throw theirs out. I was like, No, go away. And he's like, Whoa. He was like an old white man that couldn't believe that like this young woman with fun glasses was saying no. Like nobody had ever said no to him in his whole life. And I was like, I'm not doing that. Go away. Go on your own side. Well, anybody can be here. I'm like, you know what I mean? Leave us alone. So we went back in to vote. I even told the guard, they're trying to throw out my lunch. And he told them, Don't touch the lunches. Carlos: He Yeah, yeah. Paige: Within an hour and a half when no one was looking, they fucking threw our lunches away. Carlos: dude. Paige: So then at the end of the day they asked me to come up and make an apology. So I went up and I was like, I apologize for the rude gesture and also I don't think that colleagues should be throwing away our lunches. And that was it. And then I got off the floor. So I went and made three social media. I made the one about how I flipped her off. Then I made another one on how they did the the lunches and then another one about what I said. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: They called the Democratic leadership and said I was making a mockery of the apology. And so they were going to move to officially reprimand me, which is like an official motion. So I so they told me, and I'm like, all right, so they re they move to reprimand me. It's like any other motion. They go up and say, We're re we want to move to reprimand her because of this. Well, I could do nothing, or I get to make an argument about why I shouldn't be reprimanded. And I'm like, Carlos: Yeah. Paige: You fucking morons, I talk too much. So you're giving me a microphone? What did you think was gonna happen? So I had this incredible speech that called out everyone and was like, We are in a crisis and we're arguing about the civility of a gesture instead of the cruelty of a policy. And I just had this whole thing, and everyone was like, Carlos: Ha ha Yeah. Yeah. Paige: They were like I'm like they're never giving me that mic again. So then Carlos: Literally anything to k keep eyes off of what they're doing. Paige: Yes, okay, but here's the kicker. Then the whole body gets to vote on whether or not I should be reprimanded. And out of a hundred and eighty Dems, half of them voted to reprimand me. But that's the party I'm supposed to be loyal to. Decorum. Carlos: Yeah. Explain explain to people why you would ⁓ explain to people why you would run under run under the democratic banner. Paige: Are you really asking me that? Yeah, yes, you are, right? Yeah, because a lot of places. So I will say I absolutely really, really, really, really looked around. in New Hampshire right now, the reality is a democratic socialist is not gonna win as a democratic socialist. ⁓ in New Hampshire, you will not win with a third party. It's just it's not gonna happen right now. ⁓ we do have a gubernatorial ⁓ candidate. Carlos: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: ⁓ he did start a third party. ⁓ I don't know how that's gonna go. I like him a lot. I'm supporting him ⁓ because he's not a warmonger and he's an honest person, but ⁓ and he's a working person. ⁓ but but ⁓ so so the other thing is I'm a sitting democratic representative. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: And I do feel a responsibility to my constituents because I feel like they they elected me as a Democrat. I wouldn't like it if my representatives switched to something. You know, and so I kind of did that as as as as a r a sign of respect. Yeah, as respect to respect them. But the other thing is honestly, I can get access to every democratic meeting. Carlos: Brand consistency. Yeah. Yep. And don't you get access to like a call center and you get access to Paige: Right and and I still No, no, they charge in New Hampshire, they charge seventy five thousand dollars if you want to get access to the voting record. Carlos: Is it unlimited access or or do they have like different different size packages? ⁓ Paige: Listen, I was no I didn't look into the details after the ticker price. I'm like, well that's not an option, is it? Carlos: Holy hell, how much is it? How much can I get if you put ads on that thing? Paige: I mean that this is one of the ways they put their thumbs on the scale. Right? Carlos: Yeah, one hundred percent. And I think that that's what's important for for folks that don't they don't really want to get into politics because it's dirty. Like these are the little parts that they need to understand is not everyone just because you're running under the democratic banner doesn't mean that you believe what every Democrat Paige: Yeah. Carlos: believes and that goes for the Republicans too. At the end of the day, what you're paying for is access to to the tools that it takes to run for office. Paige: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean and and also I think, you know, I have an advantage being a sitting state representative. Like as far as insurgent candidates go, that that is that is a good ⁓ ⁓ you know, part of my resume to say, like, yes, I'm qualified and I'm ready. But a part of what you get from run from being a state rep, I have lots of connections in the Democratic Party. I have lots of people who know me as being a Democrat and are working with me on Democratic legislation. So at this point, my political network is dependent on the Democratic Party. And right now. Carlos: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: In New Hampshire, all of us who are running, except for that one gubernatorial candidate, we are all running as Democrats, even if we are non-establishment. Because it's just, it's just kind of the story. You know, maybe in another election, maybe if we had ranked choice voting, you know, I think a lot of us want to start one, but I think there's still there's still that conversation of is the Democratic Party Can we redeem it? Like can we rebuild it into something that is better? Or do we is it gonna take a third party? And I'm not convinced either way yet, personally. I don't think we know yet. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ I know that there are some people behind the scenes trying to like build their own sort of infrastructure now that they've seen what happens when you guys run for office. It's not me. I'm not building an I'm I'm telling you, like I make movies and I talk to you guys. That's like Paige: You tell the stories. We need that. We need someone to tell the stories. Carlos: Right. Right. but in that collection collecting of information, you know, you can start putting the pieces together and you can start seeing the like you're saying, the overarching story. And and I can I can tell regular people with clear eyes that rich folks have systematically been taking away your access to information and they keep putting up these walls. You don't get the good schools. They tell you to, you know, work at McDonald's and then become a manager. They tell you all those things. They're not doing that. Their kids don't have to do all that stuff. Their kids are going or go to the military. Paige: Or go to the military. That's one of the biggest, like nobody talks about. When we're sending people to war, we are not sending, we're sending the kids in poverty. Right? We're sending not even the middle class kids, right? We are sending the poorest kids. And that's another thing. Middle class people, because the Democrats are warmongers, right? Carlos: Yeah. We're set yep. Yep. Nope. Yeah. 'Cause they get 'cause they get the checks, the same checks that the Republicans do. Paige: What of them are? That's right. And and their kids are not the ones going. Carlos: Exactly. So when they say, ⁓ George Bush Junior, whatever, Knucklehead part two, ⁓ he was in the d no. They get they get the soft kind. They get the ones that that so they get the little badges so when they run for office, they don't they don't do the hard work. Paige: And then the and then the my opponent is a veteran. My opponent is a veteran. She worked she worked in Intel. Carlos: Yeah. Okay. That's that's all that Intel stuff, all the officer stuff, all that stuff, all that stuff is rich kids stuff. They don't allow us there. Paige: In the basement of the Pentagon. Yeah. Right? I mean Yeah. I mean, like look, I don't I'm not gonna about to disparage a veteran, like my dad's a vet. I am not. Like that's just not what I ended up doing. But Like, come on. Like again, it's the fake ⁓ I have the same lived experience as you. I'm a vet. Like, man, that is not you know, it's not the same experience. Carlos: Yeah. And if she's that y well, and again, we're not gonna disparage her for her service. Thank you for your service if you watch this, but ⁓ Paige: Yes. Yes. And I do truly she was one of the seditious six. One of those six people with Mark Kelly who said that if you are being given illegal orders, you do not have to follow them. Yeah. And I Carlos: ⁓ yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah yeah and that's true too. That's true too. Like if you know for a fact as a soldier you have they're basically giving you the license to take someone's life. That's why they these motherfuckers shouldn't be in the regular streets. They teach us how to take life. Yeah. Paige: Yeah. That's right. And I and I have thanked her for that because I can't do that. I'm not a veteran, my opponent, right? I'm not a veteran. And I appreciate that she used that identity for such good. But then he threatened to kill her. And you know, they he said, like, ⁓ those people should be hung. It's treason. That's what he said. Yeah. And so there were papers of impeachment partially based on that threat. Carlos: Right. ⁓ yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Yeah. Paige: And she voted against it. Carlos: See The the thing is it's not the thing, but you know, I have to I have to yeah. Paige: One of the many. Carlos: When you don't when you don't understand struggle, you don't understand the severity of it. You don't understand just how red or what is it? The ⁓ five alarm fire or whatever. Like you got I ⁓ I appreciate that it takes Congress all this much time to make decisions and all that shit, but that's not helping the ⁓ single mom of three, the you know, the single dad of two. Exactly. Like it do I sell my car or do I buy up buy groceries type of shit. Paige: Right now, who can't eat tonight? Right? I mean yes. Carlos: So I appreciate all the veterans and all that stuff, but We don't fix things. We're not fixing things. Rich kids aren't fixing things. Paige: 'Cause it's not broken for them and they don't get Carlos: And they are detached. They this is what it looks like. When people say, ⁓ that politician is detached from reality or they're detached from their from where they come from and all that, that's what it is. Like Why is it not important to more people that there's like dirty water everywhere? Like bit going into people's homes? Paige: Because they don't have to deal with it. Because it's it's not theirs. You know what, Carlos, this makes me wanna something I haven't talked to people about a lot, and I I w I'm so interested in your thoughts. What really, really though, like really baffles me. Like, we've been poor, we get it, you know, we got that. The rich people, they don't wanna change things because they're getting all this stuff. What baffles me are the people in the middle who will disparage us to protect them. And tell me, tell me, I'm divisive, I am ruining the party, I'm gonna be the reason we lose. Carlos: Who think Because they think that they're them. Yeah. Paige: I'm racist because I don't understand the real harm that's gonna come to people if Trump gets re-elected. That's my favorite. That is my favor I was on a podcast where they yelled at me for an hour because I'm not blue no matter who. Carlos: ⁓ don't invite me on that podcast 'cause I'm gonna piss you all off. Paige: And I had some good answers because people one of the people have been asking me all the time, Well, if you lose, are you gonna endorse her? And I'm why are we talking about this now? Why is that your biggest concern? What, you know, but it's part of that. So but going back to that, it is propaganda, but these like the the liberal white educated people. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: Who are okay pretending that none of this is happening. Carlos: It's it's almost like Goodwill hunting syndrome. Paige: Okay, which part? Carlos: Goodwill Hunting read all those books, and he can tell you all the things and all the things. But he's never gone out of Boston. He's never gone and traveled. He's never gone and fallen in love. He's never gone and experienced life. So he's detached. Rich kids are detached from the struggle. They're detached from the importance of helping someone that doesn't have anything. Paige: Right. Right. Carlos: Because rich kids don't understand what it goes to Rich kids, go to your sibling that does drugs and goes to the poor neighborhoods for their fix. Ask them how important shit is. And solve problems with the same passion that they have when they're gonna go get their rock or their meth or whatever, that same passion that they're looking for that drug. I need you to have that when you go and tell us what's good for us. When you go and not fix homelessness, when you go and not fix fucking childcare. These people are trying to be productive. Seductive members of society. For real. Woo saosa. Paige: What is wrong? Okay, here's the thing though. We have the courage candidates. We have people who are so pissed off ⁓ in the community, right? Like the masses are starting to see it. The I am not kidding you. ⁓ so I had this great conversation. I went to this really, really like rural, like working class place. And I just started talking to people. They had this community event. So I went to just talk to people. And I talked to this guy, and he's like, Well, don't talk to me if you're a dem. He's What part are you in? He's Don't talk to if you're a dem. I'm like, ⁓ come on. And I'm like, what's the biggest thing that's important to you right now? You know? And we end up having a 20 minute conversation. So I posted that little story online. And and some people started attacking me. And this one guy comes on and he goes, I'm a seventh generation MAGA, and I've been talking to this lady. We're not gonna agree on everything, but she says more good things than bad. Carlos: I talk to MAGA all the time. We have a lot of things line up. Paige: Yes. And this is what I'm saying is now that people like us are waking up and we're saying we are saying this is corrupt. We have been tricked. It is not left versus right. It is us versus them. And we are so there are so many more of us than them. And it's just like right now, people are waking up. This is the dark before the dawn. Right? Because Carlos: Yeah. Yep. Paige: people know things have to change. Nobody wants to keep going down this path. It's gonna change. And and it's and that's why we have to stay in the fight so that when it changes, it goes in the right direction. Carlos: It's gonna change either and it's gonna change in either way because they broke it. This is what it looks like when they broke it. They broke society. This is what it looks like. It has to. There's no there's n there's no other way. There's no other way. Unless you guys wanna unless you guys wanna move into a a rental economy, which I don't want that. Paige: That's right. It has to change. Yes. Right. And that gives me hope. No. No, but it's it's I I get discouraged and when I mean don't like let me tell you, I have some thick skin from sitting in the New Hampshire house because this year, so many freestaters won and they started making so they made so much progress for their agenda. and it's almost like they didn't know what to do. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: Since they won, they're like sore winners. Like they d they're like they just live in a perpetual state of like ⁓ fear and grumpiness. So that even when they're winning, they like throw out our lunches because they like don't know what else to do to bother us, you know? And Carlos: ⁓ Paige: So y no it's true though Carlos: Do you think it's do you think do you think it's from the lens of the the ⁓ trigger a lib? Do you think it's that or do you th d you know how they say ⁓ trigger a lib or or whatever? What ⁓ when they try to make a liberal person upset, yeah. Trigger a lib or whatever? Paige: Of the what? Well, upset. I mean, yeah. I mean definitely. Yeah, definitely. And but there are people in the state house who have been there over like thirty or forty years, Democrats. Carlos: Are these the same are these the same kind of people that in school they would put their finger in your lunch? Are they bullies like that? Paige: Yes! They're just they're just no no no no. This was more that so they said your s your sandwich your food smells like fish. We were like none of us got fish. And they're like, Yes, it does. It's bothering me, so you're gonna throw it away. It was just like what? Am I joining for dinner? Yeah. I will in a little while. ⁓ god, thanks. I like what I think. He burped and he goes, Ha ha ha, I make my escape, ran out and slammed the door. Carlos: Do I keep that in or do I cut that out? All right. Is it what all right, I wanna make sure. Paige: ⁓ I love it. I am like all about one of my ⁓ one of my mottos is the revolution will have child care. I don't do any event without full-on child care. No, because that is how we bring working families in. It is the dumbest, easiest thing. All these assholes at the top, ⁓ these young people, they don't come out. They won't come to the meetings, they won't engage, they won't do anything. Carlos: Right. Paige: Get some fucking child care. Seriously, child care and food, you'll have a whole new party. It is not that hard. It's not that hard. But what I was saying about the State House people, people who've been there thirty to forty years will say this was the hardest term that they have been in. That this that they have been treated worse in this term than any term in the last thirty to forty years. It's it's it's just it's it's ⁓ Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paige: They are drunk with power. I mean, they had the chair of the New Hampshire Education Policy Committee. Her text messages got leaked. She was sitting in the session, texting other people on the committee, and she said, I can't wait for us to have our segregated schools. Carlos: A fuck. Paige: And the other one laugh emoji did it and it leaked. And she doubled down and said, I never said racially segregated. I was talking about politically segregated, but these dumb Democrats are so sensitive that they're whining about it. And she fundraised off of it. Carlos: ⁓ my god. That's the thing I keep saying that, but one more thing is that it seems like the Republican Party is just a sales tool. Paige: Yeah. Carlos: Right. It's all the business owners that wanna sell you things, whether it's gambling tokens, whether it's tickets to the fight, whether it's whether it's I'm gonna pitch you on giving me money for my campaign. It's a bunch of salespeople. Paige: Mm-hmm. Carlos: And democrats, you know, we have our salespeople, but it seems like Paige: We're bad at marketing though. Carlos: Jesus. And and it's a mix too, right? So like to simplify the dynamics between what I see between the Republican Party and the Democrat Party is Republican Party will take you as long as you're ri willing to sell or start a ⁓ pyramid scheme or whatever. As long as you're trying to as long as you're trying to sell something, they are representing you. The Democrats have to deal with Paige: Yeah Carlos: All the people that don't feel comfortable in their body, all the people that don't that don't fit comfortably into society because they want to love the same the same gender, because they they because they don't want to make up their mind which gender they want to love. You know? So they have to the the the umbrella has to cover a more diverse population. And so it seems like Paige: Yeah. Right. Yeah. ⁓ yes, yes, i yes. Carlos: To oversimplify, you have the people that come off as I'm a business owner and I work, work, work. And the Democrats are like, Money's not that serious. We have problems. We have to like be here and like connect and fix problems and stuff. Paige: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Carlos: And what sucks is like these guys they're making the money and because they have all the money they get to they get to tell you what the Democrats are. Paige: I don't know if I agree. Here I think that I actually think that the Democrats don't want to change anything either because I think a lot of them are business people too. And I think that this goes back to I think they just want to say that they wanna change things so that they feel better about themselves for not actually shutting down systems. Like Carlos: Or Paige: They wanna give you just enough crumbs that you don't revolt. So I get that all the time about Maggie Goodland. Maggie Goodlander takes tons of APAC money and she voted for the Lake and Riley Act, which you know the Lake and Riley Act, right? Yeah. So she voted for that, but which should be a deal breaker for Democrats, right? All these Democrats who are out there at ICE protests. Carlos: Right. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Paige: And then you say, well, she voted for that. And they're like, well, you can't be a purist. And you're like, what? And they're like, well, she got us funding for our federally qualified health center. I'm like, you wouldn't fucking need that if she wasn't sending all our money to Israel, who, by the way, has universal health care. Like you're thanking the fireman for putting out the fire, but he's the arsonist. Like he doesn't get credit for that. Carlos: Mm-hmm. And access to abortion. Yeah. Paige: And that's what the Dems do is they cause big problems behind the scenes. They espouse all this shit and they change just enough to make you keep thinking that they actually care about you. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. I always explain it like the population, all of us normal people are in the back seat of the car. The Republicans are dad and the Democrats are mom. Republicans know exactly what we're doing and he's just pissed because he just wants to get there because all of us are making noise in the back. And mom knows exactly where we're going. She's in on it. But she's telling us to calm down that everything's gonna be fine. They're both doing it. Paige: And they're both doing it because they want us to get tired and go to bed tonight when we get there. They're in cahoots. They're telling us anything they can so that we all do what they want. Carlos: Exactly. Exactly. Yep. And we get snacks and instead of stopping and let's get some dinner and all that stuff, no, we get snacks. We get just enough to shut the hell up and when we get there you're going to bed. Paige: They're making one of us. Well good, we figured out the worlds. Why can't we run everything? ⁓ wait, we might. Carlos: There's that. We might. We're working on it. Paige: We're working on it. ⁓ Carlos, so much, so much. I do think I should it's six thirty here. I think my he might come burp at me again if I He might go to the other end. We should be careful. Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. We can wrap up. I'll I'll have you come back on. The door's always open. Paige: I would love it. I would love No, I will stay on with you forever. That's why I know what my husband will say later. So I'm preventing myself. My kids everywhere. ⁓ they're like, Well, when is it over, mom? And I'm like, ⁓ it's seven seven o'clock. They're like, ⁓ so you mean eight o'clock? 'Cause you never stop talking? I like get over it. Carlos: I get that too. Well, go ahead and take a couple minutes and let the good folks of New Hampshire know who you are, why they should vote for you, and then and then let them know where they can find you. Paige: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, thank you. So again, thank you. ⁓ well, regular people from New Hampshire, I am your regular, everyday person. I'm the outsider on the inside. ⁓ I am a nurse, I'm a mom, I'm a person that cares, I'm a person that gets the job done. And, you know, if this interview's any indication, I truly, truly do just care about everyday people being able to live the life that they deserve. ⁓ I I am not as concerned with party. I'm not concerned with party. I don't think it's left or right. I think this is a class war and it's us fighting against the ultra-elite who have been abandoning us and stealing from us for decades. And they manufacture these wedge issues so that we keep fighting with each other instead of fighting against them. ⁓ because they know there are more of us than them. And as soon as we figure it out, As soon as we figure that out, the jig is up. And the jig is almost up. So I know how to make sure the jig is up. So I want you to join me. I I am running on bringing back ⁓ power, prosperity, and peace to the people. And in New Hampshire, you can find me. I'm running in New Hampshire Congressional District 2. Which is Nashua to the North Country and Everything West. And my website is page4nh.com. So that's P-A-I-G-E-F-O-R-N-H dot com. I'm on ⁓ Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube. I've got the website. So hopefully you can come check that out. One of the biggest things that we need, and we talked about this earlier. Is we need to look at this as all of us working together to get one of us to Washington. And I'm just the volunteer, but we have to do this together. So some of the most important things, ⁓ obviously donating, but if you donate, this is a working person's campaign, you know, instead of a larger donation, if you can make a smaller one that is monthly. That helps. That helps us plan. That helps me show donors that people are donating. ⁓ unfortunately, one of the biggest criteria that is still used to judge how viable a candidate is is how much they're raising. And so, since I won't raise a lot of money, that puts me out at other opportunities to raise money. But what you can do to show support is if I can say, like, ⁓ I've got 10,000 people on my email list, right? So, like, I don't care where you are in the country, if you join my email list. You help me show that there are people that support me, whether or not they're rich, right? They support. ⁓ people can volunteer to phone bank ⁓ across the country. Now we're not doing regular phone banking because that's played out and that's stupid. ⁓ sorry anybody who's doing it. ⁓ but we're gonna do warm calling. So we've got some systems of how we're We're identifying people in the state who have certain topics that are interested that that they're ⁓ interested in and we're calling them. But basically that's that's two in the weeds. The point is volunteers, emails, donations, and the biggest thing is telling other people. ⁓ when people hear what this campaign is about, they are all in and they want it. Maggie Goodlander raised almost four million dollars last time and most of it, ninety percent, was from out of state. ⁓ less than one percent was under two hundred dollars. We can win. I just need to get myself in front of people. It is nothing to do with if people will choose me or not. It's all about will they know they have a choice. So talking to people, sharing me on socials, anything like that. But we can do it together. We really, we really, really can. Carlos: Yes, we can. We can. Paige: We can. Everybody does what they're good at and we'll get it done. Yeah. Carlos: Exactly. We know. We know that we can. We just need the resources. And we know that we know that it's only a matter of having resources because the rich kids have the resources and look at how good they're doing. Paige: Yeah, they don't even try. Imagine if we had their resources. Ooh. I know. Carlos. ⁓ my god, this is the best interview I've done so far. This was so fun. Carlos: Don't even try. You know what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying. I love you for saying that. I appreciate that. Paige: I mean it. I'm not just I don't know how to lie, unfortunately. Like I'm not good at lying. I loved COVID because I could turn off my screen or have my mask on because I can't even keep my face. Like my face can't even lie, you know? So ⁓ no, this is really I appreciate the conversation. It's thought provoking, it's passionate, it's fun. and and I really actually think that I've been thinking. Carlos: Ha ha. Yeah. Paige: Over the you know what I mean? A lot of times it's just like regurgitating, like how like people ask the same questions. It's not a thoughtful conversation. And I think this is the kind of stuff that we do need to be doing more of, ⁓ for a lot of reasons. Carlos: Right. Right. Right. Cause what good is what good is talking to people if they're gonna say the same thing year after year, candidate after candidate. Like, let's get to the point. That's why I was excited to meet you, 'cause like right off the bat we were solving things. And I'm like, Okay, okay, okay. This is an idea person. Let's bounce you know what I mean? And and that to me, that's true democracy. True democracy is where Paige: Yeah. Yeah, I like that. Carlos: We go out and we gather a bunch of information and then we come back and we share notes. And we say, hey, how about this? How about this? Paige: Yes. Yes, yes, yep. Carlos: And together we we leave the world a better place. Paige: I love it. Carlos: Yeah. Paige: Well, I will come back anytime and I won't blow you off next time, I promise. When you wake up early on your east west coast time. Gail, she's like, Well, he was getting up early. I was like, ⁓ come on. Carlos: Awesome. No. Yeah, that's fine. But that's number one, life happens. And number two, it's just this is what I pick to to do as my job. And ⁓ and it doesn't suck. I love talking to you guys. I love talking to guys. Yeah. So Paige: It's so good. I love it. I love it. All right. Well yeah, let us know. We'll I'll be back. Thank you, Carlos. Carlos: Sounds good. And with that, you're very welcome. Thank you for taking time to come and talk to us. ⁓ and with that, everybody, we're out.