Latest / None of Your Business Podcast / The Congressman Who Shows Up

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The Congressman Who Shows Up · None of Your Business Podcast

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  In the history of the country, there's less than 12,000 people
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  who have ever served in the United States House of
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  Representatives. I get attacked constantly, every
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  day, all day, from all sides because of the way that I choose
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  to legislate. And on the Democratic side, that
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  he's not a real moderate. He's he's not really bipartisan.
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  He's MAGA. None of your business, Oshi.
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  None of Your Business, Michael. It's the None of Your Business
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  podcast hosted by Michael Anoshi.
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  Welcome back everybody to another amazing episode of the
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  None of Your Business podcast. I'm your host, Michael
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  Greenfield. Joined with me is our Co host,
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  Oshi Schwartz. We are sponsored by Twillery and
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  produced by the Prime Source production team.
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  And today is a very, very special day because we are here
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  with none other than the 17th District leader, Congressman
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  Mike Lohler. Welcome to the program.
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  Thanks for having me. You know, I always said to my
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  friends, 17 is my favorite number in roulette.
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  And I never really knew what the difference is between different
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  districts, you know, 1718. But when I learned what it was,
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  I was like, wow, I'm living in a lucky town.
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  And we're lucky to have you as one of our leaders of this
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  beautiful, beautiful town as Rockland County.
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  And I know that you're responsible for so many
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  districts within the year. It's more than Rockland, right?
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  Yeah, I have Rockland, Northern Westchester, Putnam County and
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  three towns in Dutchess County, so it's about 780,000 residents.
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  Wow. That's a lot.
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  And I've seen you at many, many different events and every time
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  I see you, I'm like, how, how do you show up from one event to
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  the next? I I literally like, it's almost
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  doesn't make sense to me that you travel so much to someone.
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  How do you keep up? During well, it's definitely not
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  easy, but during my last term we did over 1200 in person events.
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  So it's, you know, it's a lot of a lot of shuffling around and
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  trying to, you know, hit every community and engage with folks
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  all across the district. Well, I have to say thank you.
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  So on behalf of our entire community for always literally
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  showing up, thank you. And we have not.
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  Just showing up, Michael, but showing up big.
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  I think there's a big difference between showing up and showing
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  up the right way, and he's been doing it for a long time.
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  Our reps can learn from him, by the way. 1200 events and then
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  our reps need to do thirteen 1400 events.
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  Like they got to get out there, start networking.
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  I mean, they got to make some more sales.
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  Never enough. Yeah, so it's part of it, just
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  getting to know the community and building the relationships,
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  which is amazing. We have a little thing here we
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  like to call ChatGPT said what? Which is a way to our, you know,
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  our audience to get to know you. I think most of the people
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  already know you, right? But have you ever done this to
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  yourself? I, I, I, somebody actually did
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  it to me a few weeks ago and I, I laughed at the, the, the bio
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  they popped out. But let's, let's hear it.
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  Well you know what, I'm kind of impressed just reading it.
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  So first it starts with represents Rockland and actually
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  lives like a local, not a visit on weekends politician.
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  That's great. That is pretty cool, right?
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  Which which would mean, you know, I guess a lot of
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  politicians just, you know, run around back and forth, but.
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  A lot of my colleagues live in DC and, you know, they go back
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  to their districts, but I, I go back every weekend, every, every
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  time that we're at a session, I'm there.
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  So it's, you know, we're usually in session Monday through
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  Thursday or Tuesday through Friday, so.
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  Well, Speaking of turning down a run for governor, doubling down
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  and serving your district instead of chasing headlines.
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  Whoa. Very.
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  Disappointed, as were lots of people you should know.
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  And we thought now is the time. We thought that we need it now
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  more than ever. And when you basically announced
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  and told everybody that you're not doing it, you're going for
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  re election to, you know, for Congress again, what part of it
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  was like, oh, it's great. You know, we need somebody like
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  you in Congress. That's wonderful.
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  But we probably need a little bit more a little bit of change
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  in, in, in governing in in New York.
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  So that was a disappointment. Well.
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  There's no question we need more change in New York and, and you
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  know, our neighboring state of New Jersey.
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  But you know, look at at this moment, it wasn't the right
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  thing for me and my family. And I very much love what I'm
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  doing. I love serving in Congress.
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  I love representing my district. I love dealing with the issues
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  that we work on, especially foreign affairs and serving as
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  chair of the Middle East and North Africa subcommittee.
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  So it's a lot of work to deal with down in Washington and and
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  I'm excited to continue that. What is the Foreign Affairs
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  command? I know that you chair that
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  right. I chair the the subcommittee.
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  On the Middle East and. North Africa.
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  And I've watched a couple of the lines of questions that you
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  have. You know what exactly do do they
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  do? The focus is primarily on the
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  relationships between the US and other foreign governments.
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  We passed legislation in relation to that, whether it's
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  sanctions, bills or, you know, foreign assistance.
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  We have oversight of foreign assistance.
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  We have oversight of the State Department.
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  So Secretary Rubio and all the under secretaries come before
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  our committee and testify, and we work closely with them on a
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  number of items pertaining, generally speaking, to the the
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  foreign affairs and how it's conducted.
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  Love it. It's so fascinating to me and I
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  watch like people like watch soap operas or reality TV.
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  I like to watch like when the house is in session and and
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  they're bringing on witnesses, you know, they're asking them
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  questions to me that's it's fascinating.
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  I love it. And sometimes you see the way
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  these questions are being posed and the answers are being given
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  and you're like, what did he did?
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  Did they just say that? Like, are they listening to
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  themselves if something is not adding up over here?
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  And I always wonder, like, what comes of this?
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  Like this can't be real. Like this can't really be
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  happening. And sometimes like a it's a
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  circus. It's like a clown show.
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  And you know, me as the casual citizen just listening to this
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  and like this can't really be going on.
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  And like, I, I feel like I want more to happen.
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  Like right there, somebody should get punished.
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  Like on this spot, they should be fired or something.
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  Like, like, if we were an employer and like we were
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  having, you know, our employees being interviewed and we asked
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  those like hard pressed questions and this wasn't a
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  justifiable answer. And it makes them look even
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  worse, like, all right, you got 30 days notice, you're out,
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  that's it. But just seems like it just
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  keeps going on and on. Like, how do we get more action
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  to, to actually happen and more accountability like the private
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  sector has? How do we get that more in in in
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  our government as well? A lot of these hearings
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  obviously are designed to hold accountability and hold those in
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  power accountable or expose information about a specific
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  issue. You know, the last last year, we
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  did a lot of work extensively on the Biden administration's
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  failures when it came to the fall of Kabul and, you know, the
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  bombing at Abbey Gate and the death of 13 US service members
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  and, you know, trying to hold the administration accountable
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  for that. So it just depends on the issue.
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  But we, you know, we produced a pretty extensive report on what
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  happened and why and you know, what the communications were
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  within the administration, etcetera.
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  So, you know, we, we try to bring things to light both from
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  an oversight and accountability standpoint, but also in terms
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  of, you know, our allies and our adversaries and, and what is
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  actually happening around the globe.
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  Yeah, and it's great. It brings awareness.
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  It keeps the public engaged. I feel like, you know, we're
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  somewhat more than just spectators.
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  Like, you know, we're involved and they know that it's being
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  viewed by millions of people. So like you know it means.
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  Some of these hearings really do get good exposure.
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  And you get outcomes. Engaged in it and yeah, you do,
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  yeah. Whether it's legislative or
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  action taken by the administration.
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  Go off script for a second and just ask what what is The moment
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  you realize you're doing this? Can you just take me back to
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  that day or where were you and what was that like?
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  What was your life like then? Like so much of what you're
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  doing, Like, you know, you're watching it and you're like
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  asking yourself questions and like, you know, poking fun at
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  it, perhaps at times looking at it as yeah.
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  And I'm wondering like, what made you get into this?
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  Who are you? I got to put this away and
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  listen A. Little bit.
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  And Michael by the way, at a very young age, our Congressman
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  Mike Lowe here is not a 5060 year old man.
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  I mean, you're, you're very young, if I remember.
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  I just turned 39. There you go, he's under 40.
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  Unlike Jack Benny, I'm actually 39.
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  Did it just happen like you're you're a September baby?
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  Oh yeah, Happy birthday. September 9th.
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  But no, look, it's, you know, I got started in this as an intern
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  for John McCain back in 2008 on his presidential race.
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  That's how I got kind of hooked on politics and government and,
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  you know, went on to work for the state Republican Party and
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  Ed Cox, who served as chair. I became executive director of
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  the state Republican Party in New York and then went on to,
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  you know, start my own consulting firm.
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  I ran Rob Astrino's campaign for governor back in 2014, worked in
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  local government, you know, became a lobbyist, etcetera, and
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  then and then went on to run for state Assembly in New York in
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  the 97th District in 2020 during COVID.
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  Was that? Your first official public
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  office. That was the first official
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  office that I ran for. I was appointed to deputy town
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  supervisor in the town of Orange Town where I live.
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  But the, you know, Assembly race, you know, I was the only
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  Republican pickup in the whole state.
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  We flipped a 2 to one Democratic district, defeated a 14 year
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  incumbent and then, you know, ultimately ran for Congress in
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  in 22 when the the maps were thrown out and you got a fair
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  congressional map drawn by by a court appointed special master
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  and decided to take the the risk and defeated the chair of the D
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  triple C. The first time that's happened
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  in over 40 years. And you know, it was a big a big
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  win, but I'd say the the moment I was like, oh, all right, we're
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  doing this was really on day one, you know, January 3rd when
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  we had to go through 15 rounds trying to elect Kevin McCarthy
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  as speaker of the house. I remember that I was right in
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  the, in the middle of it, you know, throwing, throwing
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  haymakers and, and, you know, right in the middle of the fray
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  supporting Kevin and, and, you know, really just, it's been
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  non-stop ever since. That was chaos on the floor.
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  I mean, people, it was, it was the first time in.
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  Over. Almost.
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  It was the first time in over 100 years that, you know, there
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  was a contested speakers race and it really obviously with TV
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  and social media, it was made for TV drama.
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  And Matt Gaetz was in the middle of like, the thick of things,
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  you know? He was the he was the
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  ringleader. He was the ringleader and look
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  where he is now. Yep.
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  No longer in Congress. In Congress, you know, I was, I
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  used to be a huge fan of Matt Gaetz.
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  I thought he was very well spoken.
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  I thought especially by the impeachment hearing, he was a
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  storm supporter, a defender for Donald Trump.
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  And that whole thing obviously was just a witch hunt and a scam
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  and a waste of our taxpayer dollars.
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  But he was right there and he, and he made a lot of eloquent
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  points and he really did a great job up there.
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  And I thought he had a really nice future in the Republican
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  Party. And then it just went off the he
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  he I don't know what what happened to him.
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  Now. He's also very like anti Israel
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  and all of that him and Marjorie Green Taylor and a bunch of like
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  what you think you know somebody and you're following them.
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  And I was a fan. He had a lots of people and now,
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  just like he went off the rails. Yeah, as, as my dad used to tell
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  me, you know, use your talents and skills for good.
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  And, you know, I think Matt is exceptionally talented.
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  He's very smart. He's very articulate, sure, but
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  I think often times would not use his skills and talents for
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  good and was, you know, somewhat destructive within the
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  conference and, you know, really impeded the ability to get a lot
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  of different things done. Yeah, you know who I was upset
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  that we lost? I think a lot of us are Tucker
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  Carlson. What a shame.
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  That guy was gold for so many years.
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  He was always on the right side of all the issues.
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  But again, another person who was very well spoken, had a big
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  fan base, a big foul, big platform, and again, just fell
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  off the rails. It's just unbelievable.
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  There's, you know, certainly within an element of the far
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  right, there's, you know, this isolationist strain that is
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  coming through and, and, you know, some of the points they
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  make I agree with. And obviously, when you look at
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  how we spend money domestically, the things we focus on
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  domestically, we have a lot of challenges that require our
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  attention and, and really require, you know, an execution
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  on the policies. But that doesn't mean that you
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  retreat from our role in the world or, you know, really
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  abandoned our allies. And I think when you look at the
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  focus, the focus should be on getting our allies to do more.
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  It shouldn't only be on, on, you know, the backs of Americans.
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  I agree with that. And I think the president
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  certainly has pushed for our NATO allies to do more.
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  Or no one did a better job than. His in the Middle East to do
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  more and that's right, but that doesn't mean that you completely
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  absolve yourself of a leadership role.
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  And I think that's where there's been a a challenge within, you
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  know a small element to the party.
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  I think most of my colleagues still believe very strongly in
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  in America's role in. Yeah, I think it's bipartisan
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  for the most part. I think that 70% of Congress,
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  you know, stands behind Israel for the for the most part.
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  At the end of the day, Michael, if something, God forbid happens
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  in the world and America needs help, who's who's the number one
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  person American can count on? I mean, that alone is worth its
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  weight in gold to support Israel in the time and need is knowing
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  that they'll reciprocate when when it should never come.
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  But if the time does come, they will be their first front lines.
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  And I think that is what a lot of these people are missing.
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  Why are we, you know, foreign aid and we can use the money at
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  home. America First, Isn't that the
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  movement? Again, the some of the things,
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  the points that are raised are not wrong.
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  You look at foreign aid, some of the abuses of our foreign aid
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  were egregious and the misappropriation of funds and
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  frankly, the lack of oversight of USAID.
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  And they were operating in a silo separate apart from the
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  State Department, doing things that frankly undermined
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  America's interests and frankly undermined our allies in terms
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  of some of the things that they do or don't want within their
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  country. And so part of this is, is, you
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  know, reforming the system, reforming the process, those
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  points are, are valid and they're and it's a legitimate
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  discussion. But the idea that you're going
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  to cut off all foreign aid is idiotic.
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  Yeah. And that's where I, I think, you
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  know, it's recognizing the need for reform, but recognizing the
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  need for strong American leadership.
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  Yeah. Yeah.
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  I'm curious, you know, we're talking about people that change
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  their minds about certain things, like cold.
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  Exactly. Has there ever been a situation
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  that you've spoken to a constituent or even an opponent
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  and suddenly you said, you know what?
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  Wow, good point I think. Generally speaking, if you do
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  this right, you engage in constructive dialogue.
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  You're going to listen to what somebody else has to say.
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  You may not entirely change your point of view, but you certainly
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  will become way more articulate on the subject matter or way
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  more articulate in making your case by learning from somebody
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  else's perspective or experience.
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  And I think too often in in politics, everybody has this
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  view of I'm right, you're wrong, and there's nothing really else
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  to discuss rather than actually saying, OK, well, look, yeah,
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  this is my perspective, This is your perspective #1 Where do we
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  agree? Where is their commonality and
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  #2 what can I learn from what you're saying?
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  Maybe I didn't know something. Maybe I didn't experience that.
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  I mean, so much of our perspectives are shaped by our
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  own life experiences. And so that to me is something
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  that, you know, I just think it's important to engage in
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  constructive dialogue. There's plenty of issues where,
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  you know, as I go through, whether it's on the committees
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  that I serve on financial services and foreign affairs or
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  whether it's, you know, a general issue where, you know,
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  somebody walks me through their perspective or viewpoint on
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  something. And I say, you know what, that
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  makes a lot of sense. And none of us are experts in
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  everything. You can't possibly be.
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  And so the question is how do you, are you willing to engage
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  for the purpose of legislating and providing solutions or do
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  you just want to be right? And, and I think there's a big
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  difference between between the two.
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  Well. You're showing up to a lot of
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  events, so people are must be bombarding you with ideas and.
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  Challenge. And by the way, that's one of
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  the great things about legislating.
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  You'll have constituents come up to you about issues that are not
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  on your radar or things that you know you're not experiencing
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  day-to-day because you don't work in that industry.
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  And they come to you with a problem or an example or, you
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  know, an idea. Can you think of an example, an
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  idea that someone came to you or someone said something you're
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  like interesting, that's. Oh, sure.
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  I mean this, I deal with that all the time on foreign affairs,
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  you know, because somebody is is from a country, you know, right
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  now we're dealing with a case in point, Haiti and some of the
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  challenges there. And, you know, folks coming to
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  us about economic support through Hope Helps.
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  You know, it's, it's expiring and we're trying to extend it.
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  And so there's, there's issues all the time where you know, you
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  get involved or you focus on because people come up to you
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  and and engage and you some so much of you know, the Middle
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  East legislation. There's people who do a lot of
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  work in the Middle East to have a lot of experience and they,
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  and they're, you know, come and explain a challenge or a
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  situation that they're dealing with.
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  And you just, you have to be very willing from a legislative
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  standpoint. My view is we're there to be
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  legislatively active. We're there to come up with
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  legislation now, not just to pass legislation for
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  legislation's sake, but to actually solve a problem.
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  And so the question is, you know, do you do you proactively
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  try to find ways to legislate or or not?
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  I'm a very aggressive legislator.
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  I passed 11 bills, six of which were signed into law by
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  President Biden during my first term.
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  You know, SALT obviously was a big issue in the tax bill and I
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  and I was proud to get that done.
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  You know, that was a big priority for me.
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  I fought like heck along with some of my New York and and New
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  Jersey colleagues and we got it done.
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  But you have to be willing to exert, you know, your leverage
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  and and understand how to actually legislate, but how to
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  negotiate to yes, you know, if you want to pass legislation,
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  you can't just be no, no, no, no, no.
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  There's going to be compromises along the way and you got to be
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  willing to make them. For all those married people
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  listening, could you tell us how to do that?
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  That's, that's, I always, I always say that line like
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  anybody who's ever been married knows you're not going to get
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  everything you want. And that's just the reality.
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  And if you do think that. You're not going to be married
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  very long. I mean, that's just, you know,
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  so legislating is no different in reality.
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  I. Like that line, how to negotiate
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  to a yes, which is, you know, under what circumstance will we
• 20:13
  say yes? And can you tell me a little bit
• 20:15
  about that salt thing you mentioned because it said it
• 20:17
  here in ChatGPT and I was wondering a little bit about it,
• 20:20
  but. What does it say on there?
• 20:22
  You're very salty. The salty is a new term that the
• 20:27
  kids are using these days. Yeah, I I found out from my 8
• 20:30
  year old one day, Daddy, you're so salty.
• 20:33
  And I'm like, wow, what did you say?
• 20:35
  That's where that's when I knew I'm getting older when I ready
• 20:37
  to ask. There's lingo that I don't know
• 20:38
  about anymore and he explained it to me and.
• 20:40
  I'd love to hear about these accomplishments of you guys, how
• 20:42
  you went this. Was this was the biggest issue I
• 20:45
  ran on when I ran for Congress back in 2022.
• 20:48
  And I said I would never support a tax bill that doesn't lift the
• 20:51
  cap on SALT. And so we were very clear that
• 20:56
  if we did not come to an agreement, like I would vote no
• 21:00
  on the bill. And we were, you know, very
• 21:03
  upfront about that. I didn't hide that.
• 21:05
  I didn't try to be coy. I was very blunt and direct
• 21:09
  because the reality is if you know where where you know one of
• 21:13
  the the red lines are, then you can deal with it.
• 21:15
  And so I wanted to be able to deal with leadership, to deal
• 21:17
  with the White House, to deal with the president and get to a
• 21:20
  yes, because it mattered to my district.
• 21:23
  You know, I represent one of the highest tax districts in the
• 21:27
  country, Rockland, Westchester, Putnam counties, 3 of the top 16
• 21:31
  highest property tax counties in America.
• 21:33
  And so when you look at state and local taxes and your ability
• 21:37
  to deduct that on your federal income tax return, that $10,000
• 21:41
  cap severely impacted our district.
• 21:43
  People got hurt. They had to pay more in federal
• 21:48
  income taxes than they otherwise would have been.
• 21:50
  So, you know, we, we negotiated. It was hard fought.
• 21:56
  Not many of our colleagues were on board and nobody in the
• 21:58
  Senate wanted to do this. You know, the president wanted
• 22:03
  to do something, but, you know, he was, he, he left it to us,
• 22:06
  really didn't negotiate. But ultimately, you know, we had
• 22:09
  to negotiate with the Treasury Secretary to get the deal across
• 22:12
  the finish line. And you know, we were able to to
• 22:15
  get a big win for New York, for my district, for high tax
• 22:19
  districts all across the country of $40,000 SALT cap with
• 22:23
  $500,000 income limit, 1% growth over five years.
• 22:29
  And we fixed within the tax bill a provision with respect to pass
• 22:33
  through entities so that they could deduct their state and
• 22:36
  local taxes as well, which is huge for small businesses.
• 22:39
  So this was a hard fought win. It was the single biggest tax
• 22:44
  cut in the whole bill. And 90% of my constituents will
• 22:48
  be able to fully deduct their state and local taxes, whether
• 22:51
  they itemize or, you know, use the standard deduction.
• 22:55
  If that covers, you know, the, the, the state and local tax
• 22:59
  burden, among other, other tax benefits, they're going to be
• 23:03
  able to fully deduct. And that's a big win.
• 23:06
  Thank you for that huge win. Yes, thank you very much.
• 23:09
  I'm very curious how it works when Someone Like You wants to
• 23:13
  propose a certain bill and now you got to get your colleagues
• 23:16
  to come on board to sign off on it.
• 23:19
  I imagine you have to have a certain majority that votes on
• 23:21
  it in order for it to pass. So I watch House of Cards,
• 23:25
  right? Great show, great show, they
• 23:28
  say. Supposedly, it's one of the more
• 23:30
  accurate depictions of what goes on behind the scenes in
• 23:33
  Washington, let's say. Minus the the.
• 23:36
  Murdering. Yes, exactly.
• 23:38
  I'm curious, is there a show that you enjoy that you think
• 23:40
  that? Oh, actually I like Tesla cards.
• 23:42
  I liked Homeland, I love The Sopranos, but but no I.
• 23:46
  Don't do think depicts very like, you know, the most
• 23:49
  accurate to what goes on in Washington.
• 23:50
  Well, he said. The surprise?
• 23:51
  In Washington, I would. I would.
• 23:53
  I mean, House of Cards, certainly, yeah.
• 23:57
  Along with Veep, I think there's some, you know, there's some.
• 24:00
  There's elements of truth in all.
• 24:01
  Of them. In all of them, yeah.
• 24:03
  You know, West Wing obviously was one that I think was very
• 24:08
  good about being able to to accurately depict what goes on
• 24:14
  between the executive and the legislature and some of the the
• 24:17
  internal fights and. So I remember in House of Cards
• 24:20
  they. Were all good shows, they would.
• 24:21
  Basically, trade favors with each other.
• 24:23
  You support my bill, I'll support your bill.
• 24:26
  And you know, you'd pick up the phone, you'd call people, you
• 24:29
  would have to whip up the votes. You know, you want to get able
• 24:31
  to support you. Like what?
• 24:33
  How does things get done? That happens a little bit, but
• 24:36
  not it is much more focused on the issue specific and you got
• 24:42
  to work it, you got to you got to build consensus.
• 24:45
  I mean, obviously, you may have a bill that is timely.
• 24:49
  So, for instance, after the second assassination attempt on
• 24:52
  President Trump's life last year, I had I had already
• 24:57
  introduced a bill to enhance Secret Service protection for
• 25:01
  candidates running for president.
• 25:03
  But after the second one, I was able to get my bill on the floor
• 25:07
  a week later and it passed unanimously and it passed the
• 25:10
  Senate unanimously and it was signed into law all within a
• 25:13
  week. Wow.
• 25:14
  That happened because of a current event that helped drive
• 25:18
  the, the, the legislation. Sometimes it takes years to move
• 25:23
  a bill. You know, you got to build
• 25:24
  consensus and and. Relationships.
• 25:26
  It's slow, slow, but sure, you know.
• 25:29
  And so, you know, there's a lot of bills that I have that I
• 25:32
  think would be great pieces of legislation.
• 25:34
  But, you know, not every bill I introduce is going to move
• 25:38
  immediately. You know, so you got to you got
• 25:40
  to build consensus. You got to talk to your
• 25:42
  Democratic colleagues, get bipartisan support, which always
• 25:45
  helps move a bill on suspension, which is the fastest way to to
• 25:50
  move legislation, you know, And if you can build bipartisan
• 25:54
  cooperation, you know, it has a much better chance of becoming
• 25:58
  law than if it's a entirely partisan bill.
• 26:02
  And so that's where I, I really spend my time focused on
• 26:05
  introducing legislation that is bipartisan in nature, that's
• 26:09
  more likely to get broad support, that's focused on
• 26:13
  substantive serious issues, not partisan, you know, political
• 26:20
  issues that are really just more of a political statement than a
• 26:23
  legislative exercise. So that's where I spend a lot of
• 26:25
  my time focused on actually trying to legislate.
• 26:27
  You know, maybe we can help you speed things up.
• 26:29
  Is there anything you're working on now that our listeners, you
• 26:31
  know, we've had some politicians on our program before.
• 26:34
  What's something that you're working on now that you might
• 26:36
  think, oh, it might take me a long time, but we can help?
• 26:38
  I have, I've already introduced this year, I think over 50
• 26:43
  bills. You know, we're working on
• 26:45
  getting Wells Crowder, the man in the red bandana, the
• 26:49
  Congressional Gold Medal. I have legislation on housing.
• 26:53
  I have a lot of foreign policy legislation.
• 26:55
  We're working through the NDAA and I have a bunch of amendments
• 26:59
  that I've added in there that are bills that I've introduced.
• 27:03
  So we're working through a lot of a lot of different angles.
• 27:07
  You know, I think a big part of it, again, it's just it's
• 27:10
  building consensus among colleagues and support going to
• 27:13
  leadership, advocating for them to bring the bill to the floor.
• 27:18
  You know, and you got to remember there's 435 members.
• 27:21
  Everybody's, you know, believes their bills are the most
• 27:24
  important and the and the best legislation.
• 27:26
  So, you know, you in some respects you're competing
• 27:29
  against colleagues to get legislation moved.
• 27:33
  But I think a big part of it again, is can you build
• 27:35
  consensus? Are you building bipartisan
• 27:38
  support? Are you building public
• 27:39
  awareness and support? And so I, you know, I do a lot
• 27:42
  of press around legislation that we introduce because building
• 27:46
  that awareness matters. Yeah.
• 27:48
  Who has the record for introducing the most bills that
• 27:51
  got passed? Is there somebody that I'm?
• 27:54
  Sure, there's a record somewhere.
• 27:55
  I don't I. Don't.
• 27:56
  That's what Stefan is here off the top of my head.
• 28:00
  Because that's got to be an accomplishment.
• 28:02
  I'd be I'd be curious. That's a big accomplishment.
• 28:05
  It is easy to get some past and he must be a very well liked
• 28:09
  person. I imagine that had a lot of, you
• 28:11
  know. It's also I'm thinking.
• 28:12
  Both sides of the aisle I'm. Thinking the job consists of
• 28:14
  sales, marketing, negotiating? Look.
• 28:17
  And that's part of the reason why I I try to talk to
• 28:19
  everybody. I go talk to colleagues all
• 28:22
  across the aisle. You know, we don't, we don't all
• 28:25
  agree on everything. And that's a good thing.
• 28:27
  That's not a bad thing. That's why we have a
• 28:28
  constitutional Republic. If we all agreed on everything,
• 28:31
  then we wouldn't need a Congress.
• 28:32
  And that's like, so I think there's we've lost perspective
• 28:37
  on this. You know, I think as a country,
• 28:40
  like robust debate is a good thing.
• 28:42
  And and we should engage in constructive dialogue and
• 28:45
  debate. Stop using names to attack, you
• 28:48
  know, people we disagree with, attack the idea, go after the
• 28:53
  idea. Yeah, substance.
• 28:55
  You know, disagree on the substance of it as opposed to
• 28:57
  just demonizing the person who's you know who.
• 29:00
  Doesn't show you your opinion, Yeah.
• 29:02
  Senator Ted Kennedy 300 makes sense.
• 29:06
  More. Than 300 laws.
• 29:07
  A Democrat. Yeah, I mean, both of them
• 29:10
  served, you know. 47 years. John Dingell, you know, 5059
• 29:14
  years. Ted Kennedy, 47 years.
• 29:17
  I mean, yeah, to to pass a lot of legislation you obviously
• 29:20
  need. They have longevity.
• 29:21
  Yeah. You know, I look, I mean, you
• 29:23
  mentioned 435 congressmen. They're in Congress, very small
• 29:28
  number in comparison to the country.
• 29:30
  You guys are the 1% of the 1%. It's it's a big deal to make it
• 29:35
  all the way. You know, that far up.
• 29:37
  And I could see why. Like you could see that the, the
• 29:39
  individuals like, I don't even know you for like 15 minutes now
• 29:43
  just seeing, I've seen you all over TV.
• 29:45
  I've heard you speak many times, but I can tell you're a very
• 29:48
  even tempered, like, you know, you're speaking, you don't, you
• 29:52
  don't have highs and lows. You're worked on person and
• 29:55
  people in this position. That's what I expect somebody
• 29:58
  who makes it to that position, you know, came through hard
• 30:00
  work. And then sometimes you meet and
• 30:03
  I'm not going to say names because out of respect.
• 30:04
  What you just said is look at the the arguments and the
• 30:07
  substance, not the name calling, you know, but sometimes you see
• 30:10
  people and like what how is this?
• 30:12
  How did they get here? We have 435 people that
• 30:15
  represent our country and there this is the best America has,
• 30:19
  this is the best we could have done.
• 30:20
  How does that happen? When I, when I first decided to
• 30:23
  run for public office, one, one of the things that kind of was
• 30:26
  driving me was, you know, if that person can get elected, I
• 30:30
  can, I can get elected. And, and part of it was because
• 30:34
  unfortunately, I think there are a number of people both in
• 30:38
  Congress and in state legislature, legislatures who
• 30:42
  are not serious about the legislating part.
• 30:46
  They're not serious about the importance of actually engaging
• 30:52
  in constructive dialogue to actually advance long term
• 30:57
  legislation that's going to last.
• 31:00
  It is easy in this hyper partisan error to jam through a
• 31:07
  partisan bill, especially if you control everything.
• 31:13
  But the problem is the moment that the pendulum swings, the
• 31:18
  other side tries to repeal it or demagogues it.
• 31:23
  If we actually spent the time focused on where we agree and
• 31:26
  focused on how to advance critical legislation to that
• 31:30
  end, we'd be able to more substantially and more
• 31:34
  positively impact the country, the economy, national security,
• 31:39
  etcetera. So I I try very hard at that
• 31:43
  because I just think long term that is a much better way to
• 31:47
  legislate then pontificating about things that are unlikely
• 31:52
  to become law because you don't have consensus behind it.
• 31:56
  And even if you do pass a law on it, it's going to be very
• 31:58
  controversial, it's going to be hyper partisan and it's not
• 32:01
  going to solve the problem long term.
• 32:03
  And so that's where I try to look at this from the standpoint
• 32:06
  of what type of legislator do I want to be?
• 32:10
  What type of representative do I want to be?
• 32:13
  I get attacked constantly every day, all day, from all sides
• 32:19
  because of the way that I choose to, to legislate.
• 32:21
  And you know, on the Democratic side that he's not a real
• 32:24
  moderate. He's, he's not really
• 32:26
  bipartisan. He's MAGA, You know, they, they
• 32:29
  just, they throw everything they can at you because they, they
• 32:31
  don't, it's political. It's not about actually doing
• 32:36
  the work, whereas my colleagues that I deal with on the
• 32:40
  Democratic side would never say that because I understand.
• 32:43
  I really do make that effort and I'm serious about it.
• 32:46
  So it's doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything.
• 32:51
  You know, I am a Republican. I ran as a Republican for a
• 32:54
  reason. But you know, I do try to find
• 32:57
  area of commonality. Who's the one individual on
• 33:00
  Democratic side that you really, really respect and that you say,
• 33:04
  well, he's he or she, great, great person, somebody who's
• 33:08
  doing it right is there? Do you have that?
• 33:11
  Oh, I have. I have a number of people that I
• 33:13
  work closely with that I respect.
• 33:15
  Somebody in this Senate but my. My, well in the House, my
• 33:20
  closest colleague and friend is, is Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat
• 33:24
  from New Jersey. We we have neighboring
• 33:26
  districts, but we're very similar, similar sense of humor.
• 33:29
  I see that I see it. You know, we, we like working
• 33:34
  together and finding area of agreement.
• 33:36
  We don't agree on everything, but we don't demagogue each
• 33:39
  other and we don't, we don't take it personal that we have a
• 33:41
  difference of opinion on something and frankly, don't
• 33:45
  waste time focusing on that. We try to find where we agree
• 33:49
  and let's let's advance that legislation.
• 33:53
  But there are, you know, I mean, in the Senate side, you know,
• 33:57
  I've, I've done some stuff with Chris Coons from Delaware, you
• 34:02
  know, a Democratic senator, especially on on foreign
• 34:06
  affairs. You know, we've spent some time
• 34:10
  there. I mean, John Fetterman and I
• 34:12
  agree on a lot when it comes to Israel and.
• 34:16
  Don Frederman as a Republican, we're in Democrat clothing, but
• 34:19
  he's he's pretty much come over to the other side.
• 34:21
  He he's, he has certainly shifted rightward on on a number
• 34:24
  of fronts, but and. We were against him at the
• 34:26
  beginning. But I think it's also, you know,
• 34:28
  within the base of the Democratic Party, they have gone
• 34:30
  so far to the left crazy. You know, I try to find area of
• 34:34
  commonality with Kirsten Gillibrand, one of my senators
• 34:37
  from New York. You know, there's issues
• 34:40
  pertaining to childcare, Women's Health or, you know, other areas
• 34:46
  that we we've tried to work together on, you know, and you
• 34:51
  really, again, you try to find people who are serious about
• 34:56
  doing the work and advancing legislation because that's why
• 35:00
  we're there. What else are you there for?
• 35:03
  You know, I mean, if you're not going to try to legislate, I
• 35:05
  don't really understand why you would serve in Congress.
• 35:08
  Well, I understand it because I'm a shallow person, so I get
• 35:11
  it. There's a lot of glamour that
• 35:13
  comes along with this role. It's a lot less glamorous than
• 35:15
  people realize, especially if you're in a district like mine
• 35:18
  and you're working seven days a week.
• 35:20
  But there is a little bit of notoriety that comes along with
• 35:22
  this, and that's probably one of the reasons that some people
• 35:25
  have ulterior motives to get into this position of power.
• 35:28
  You know, look, you're doing things for the right reasons,
• 35:30
  and there are others like you out there that are representing
• 35:32
  us well. A lot of my colleagues are very
• 35:35
  serious about this. They want to legislate, they
• 35:37
  want to find area of commonality.
• 35:39
  They're they're not interested in the the daily back and forth.
• 35:43
  Yeah, there's going to be some sharp differences.
• 35:45
  Yes, there's going to be sharp words used at times.
• 35:47
  Yes, there's going to be real, you know, political
• 35:51
  disagreements and legislative fights.
• 35:54
  But it's not personal. Too many of my colleagues take
• 35:57
  it way too personal and they drive other people, Americans,
• 36:03
  voters, to take it so personal. And when you see what just
• 36:07
  happened with Charlie Kirk, when you see, you know, the 2
• 36:10
  Minnesota lawmakers getting shot, this is not how our
• 36:14
  politics should be conducted, is not how we should be
• 36:18
  legislating. It's not how we should be
• 36:20
  engaging in discourse. And certainly, violence is not
• 36:24
  an answer to a political or legislative disagreement.
• 36:29
  Duke it out at the ballot box. Let the voters decide and
• 36:33
  respect what the voters decide. I think a majority of Americans
• 36:38
  really have all agreed at this point that what happened in the
• 36:41
  wake of Charlie Kirk's tragedy is tragic, that they think that
• 36:44
  we all can agree that we need to tone down the rhetoric and
• 36:46
  political violence is never even remotely close to being the
• 36:49
  answer. But you know what?
• 36:50
  I was very disappointed about that happened last night.
• 36:53
  Really disappointed. I'm not surprised, but I'm
• 36:55
  disappointed. So last night was the Emmy
• 36:57
  Awards. I don't know if you watch any of
• 36:59
  these shows. Most people tuned out of
• 37:00
  Hollywood a long time ago, but I'm still watching it.
• 37:03
  I like watching the Oscars, you know, and the Grammys and MTV
• 37:06
  and all of that. So I didn't even know last night
• 37:08
  was the Emmy Awards. I had no idea.
• 37:10
  Because you know what? I'm actually kind of distracted.
• 37:12
  Like there's real things going on in the world right now that I
• 37:14
  literally did not know. And I'm scrolling through my
• 37:16
  phone and what the the Emmys was last night.
• 37:18
  Interesting. I'll watch some highlights.
• 37:20
  Let me see who won. And I'm going through it.
• 37:23
  And not a mention, not a word of what just happened that just
• 37:27
  rocked the entire country. I mean, this is the biggest news
• 37:31
  going on in the world, not just in our country, all over.
• 37:34
  Everybody's talking about it. And Hollywood, which has a major
• 37:38
  platform and where a lot of other people unfortunately get
• 37:41
  their news from, that's who they emulate, you know, and those are
• 37:44
  their heroes. And, and they're listening very
• 37:46
  carefully to what those people are saying.
• 37:48
  So they have a responsibility to say the right thing, which
• 37:51
  unfortunately, we know most of Hollywood is gutless and
• 37:54
  spineless and very self-serving. And that's the worst of what the
• 37:58
  liberalism has to offer, the progressive has to offer.
• 38:01
  I'm not saying that all of liberalism is bad.
• 38:03
  They're, they're probably the worst parts of it.
• 38:05
  Not all of Hollywood, a big chunk of Hollywood, not one
• 38:08
  mention. It really pained me because that
• 38:11
  was a great opportunity to stand up and to tell people what just
• 38:15
  happened was not OK. Am I being silent?
• 38:17
  Is almost being complicit. I think every, everyone, elected
• 38:21
  officials, the media, celebrities, everybody has to
• 38:26
  reflect on how they are conducting their own behaviour.
• 38:31
  It's very easy to point the finger at somebody else.
• 38:33
  But the old adage goes, when you're pointing the finger,
• 38:35
  there's three pointing right back at you.
• 38:38
  And, and I think that's, that's the, there's got to be a
• 38:42
  recognition that we all have a responsibility.
• 38:47
  And I think what's unfortunate about is that could have been an
• 38:50
  opportunity. They could say how most of them
• 38:55
  there, I'm sure, disagree with the things he fought for, the
• 38:58
  beliefs that he had, and that's fine.
• 39:01
  But the importance of the dialogue because as as Charlie
• 39:04
  Kirk said many times, when we stop dialoguing, that's when
• 39:07
  violence happens. And I think the objective should
• 39:10
  be to have a much more honest and thoughtful and constructive
• 39:15
  dialogue between Americans because at the end of the day,
• 39:19
  we're all Americans. And too many people have put on
• 39:23
  their red or blue jersey and, and failed to recognize that
• 39:27
  we're actually all in a red, white and blue jersey.
• 39:30
  And that's, and that is really where our politics has gotten so
• 39:34
  coarse, so corrosive, the, the, the vitriol that is spewed, the
• 39:41
  dehumanization of those we disagree with, you know,
• 39:45
  fascist, racist, bigoted, xenophobic, homophobic, all the
• 39:50
  terms that just constantly get thrown out no matter what the
• 39:54
  conversation is, rather than actually drilling down on the
• 39:58
  substance of the disagreement or again, trying to find an area of
• 40:03
  agreement, which I think is way more important.
• 40:06
  We spend way too much time focused on where we disagree and
• 40:11
  that that is the basis of the conversation as opposed to hey.
• 40:16
  This is what we're focused on. This is where we can actually
• 40:18
  get stuff done. Yeah, but do you agree that
• 40:21
  Hollywood should have said? Something they missed.
• 40:24
  And it's just, it is emblematic, obviously, of the of of the
• 40:30
  viewpoint that is often pushed out of out of Hollywood or on
• 40:35
  television without recognizing, you know what, we have a role to
• 40:40
  play in this too. And, and we should, we should
• 40:43
  try to uplift, they should try to uplift the dialogue.
• 40:46
  They should try to uplift a lot. Exactly.
• 40:47
  The NFL did a pretty good job at it.
• 40:49
  Most of the teams, not all the teams.
• 40:52
  But you know what, I think that's a positive thing.
• 40:55
  And again, I'd rather focus on the fact that many of the teams
• 40:58
  did and that was great, yes, versus the ones that didn't.
• 41:01
  That's why I didn't point out the NFL, because there were a
• 41:03
  lot of teams that did. I'm not going to focus on the
• 41:05
  couple teams that didn't. Doesn't matter.
• 41:07
  But you know, for the most part they got it right.
• 41:10
  But Hollywood spitefully didn't do it.
• 41:13
  Yeah, but I think. What was most interesting was
• 41:16
  the reaction by the American public.
• 41:19
  Most Americans took this as an opportunity to pray, to be
• 41:23
  together, to join in peaceful solidarity.
• 41:26
  They weren't burning down the streets.
• 41:29
  They weren't looting businesses. They weren't committing violence
• 41:33
  against other Americans in response.
• 41:36
  That is a positive step forward and I think we need to continue
• 41:40
  that. Charlie Crook would be proud.
• 41:41
  He would be very proud. Seeing how you know, we're
• 41:43
  coming together and and his message is actually being
• 41:46
  magnified right now, I think he would be very very proud.
• 41:50
  I'm very curious about Mike. I'm sorry, go I I tend sometimes
• 41:53
  to no. No, I'm loving it.
• 41:54
  Are you kidding me? By the way, this is a this is
• 41:56
  my, this is my Emmys. This.
• 41:57
  Is a big deal. I don't get to sit with AUS
• 41:59
  congressman every single day like.
• 42:01
  I'm actually just curious I'm. Following you wherever you're
• 42:03
  going from here. Where's it going next?
• 42:05
  We got to talk to meetings and then I got to fly to DC.
• 42:08
  You're going back to Washington. What's that like?
• 42:11
  What? What is it like going to
• 42:12
  Washington into the White House? Your first time going into the
• 42:15
  White House? What was that experience like?
• 42:17
  Actually, I swear that was my. Question.
• 42:18
  That was the next. Question.
• 42:19
  Yeah, yeah. But I was curious like, you
• 42:20
  know, when. Most of us never, ever
• 42:21
  expecting. It you know it's coming, but
• 42:23
  then you get there, you close the doors and you're like, hey
• 42:26
  guys, I made. It so.
• 42:27
  So I've been to the white the White House itself.
• 42:29
  Not as an employee. Of the White House multiple.
• 42:32
  Times Well, I've, I've not been an employee of the White House,
• 42:35
  but I've gone to the White House, you know, a number of
• 42:38
  times for events and, and, and prior administration.
• 42:43
  But obviously going into the Oval Office the first time is
• 42:49
  pretty awe inspiring. It's you're, you're pretty
• 42:52
  amazed by the, you know, the fact that you have the
• 42:57
  opportunity to walk in there and, and talk to the president
• 43:00
  of the United States. And obviously so many important
• 43:03
  decisions are made behind the Resolute Desk.
• 43:06
  And just the, the awesome responsibility that comes with
• 43:13
  this job comes with being a member of Congress.
• 43:17
  As you pointed out, you're only one of 435 in the history of the
• 43:21
  country. There's less than 12,000 people
• 43:23
  who have ever served in the United States House of
• 43:25
  Representatives. So it's an interesting way to
• 43:26
  look. It really is.
• 43:28
  You know, you, you have a lot of weight on your shoulders when
• 43:31
  you're dealing with these issues, but to be able to, to
• 43:35
  walk into the White House, to be able to serve in the Capitol
• 43:38
  where so much history has happened, it really is an
• 43:42
  awesome responsibility. I love it every day.
• 43:47
  I, I, I don't get tired of it. I'm not jaded by it.
• 43:50
  It's, you know, if you don't, if you don't look at the, the
• 43:55
  beauty, the majesty of, of where you work or the fact that you
• 44:00
  get to engage on, on these issues that you get to vote on
• 44:04
  them. You know, it really, it really
• 44:07
  is inspiring. I have to say, sitting here
• 44:09
  speaking to you, what's there's so much that it's clear to us.
• 44:12
  You know your, your demeanor, your, your values and it speaks
• 44:17
  volumes of who you are as a person.
• 44:19
  I'm curious to go back to where where that was, What camps did
• 44:22
  you go to? What schools did you go to?
• 44:24
  Did you have a job? What did you work?
• 44:25
  As that that stems from my my parents.
• 44:28
  So what's what was? Where were they from?
• 44:30
  Like. Where were you born?
• 44:32
  Rockland County, born and raised my family, you know, and one
• 44:35
  form of fashion has been in Rockland over 100 years.
• 44:39
  You know, my mom's Italian, my dad was Irish.
• 44:44
  You know, my parents taught us good values and work ethic at a
• 44:49
  very young age, you know, and always impressed upon me, you
• 44:54
  know, the, the belief that to whom much is given, much is
• 44:57
  required and that I've been given a lot of skills and
• 45:00
  talents from God and, and to use them to do God's work and, and
• 45:05
  keep my moral compass about me. Doesn't mean I'm perfect,
• 45:09
  doesn't mean I don't make mistakes.
• 45:10
  I do, but I, I carried that with me.
• 45:14
  Those, those are the last words my dad said to me when he died
• 45:17
  back in 2013, you know, and it's, it's something that they
• 45:22
  impressed upon me throughout my childhood.
• 45:24
  And, you know, I obviously, you know, there's so many things in
• 45:30
  my life that have kind of shaped my world view or, or who I am.
• 45:34
  But, you know, obviously 911 was was a big inflection point, you
• 45:40
  know, living in New York and being a freshman in high school,
• 45:45
  that that day and obviously, you know, shape shape my high school
• 45:50
  years and my college years, you know, became an intern for
• 45:54
  McCain while I was in college. That another inflection point
• 45:59
  in, in my life and certainly kind of change my trajectory of
• 46:05
  where I was going. I, I went to school for
• 46:07
  accounting and finance and I was planning on going to law school
• 46:10
  and kind of totally shifted course and, you know, I was, was
• 46:15
  extremely passionate about it. And, you know, and then, you
• 46:20
  know, when my dad died, I was 26.
• 46:21
  And so, you know, that certainly had an impact on my life and,
• 46:26
  and my view of things and, and what's important, what's not.
• 46:32
  And, you know, obviously, as I've worked my way up in, in
• 46:36
  politics and government, you know, I've generally been of the
• 46:40
  mindset, you know, you have to be willing to take risk and you
• 46:44
  have to put yourself out there. And ultimately the, the people
• 46:47
  will decide. And, you know, I, I think, you
• 46:54
  know, it's, you know, the old Wayne Gretzky adage, you know,
• 47:00
  you never miss any of the shots you don't take.
• 47:03
  You know, so you got to be willing to take the shot and you
• 47:06
  may miss or you may, you may score.
• 47:08
  But to me, it's not about winning and losing.
• 47:13
  It's very much about the ability to serve.
• 47:16
  And I've loved every minute of it and, and doing the job and
• 47:20
  you know, the team that we have that that works tirelessly on my
• 47:24
  behalf and on behalf of the constituents.
• 47:27
  That's what matters. Doing, doing the work.
• 47:29
  And ultimately you leave it to God, it'll, it'll be what it'll
• 47:33
  be. And if, if I continue to serve
• 47:37
  in this capacity, great. And if in the future somebody
• 47:41
  else does and, and I'm no longer in office, that's great too.
• 47:45
  I mean that to me, it's, it's not about me.
• 47:49
  It's about the people that were elected to serve.
• 47:52
  And I'll keep doing the job for as long as people have me.
• 47:58
  Wow. For the record, Michael, him and
• 47:59
  I are the same age. And do you see a difference?
• 48:01
  Like it's crazy. It's just you're very young.
• 48:03
  Got a little bit more Gray. Got a lot more Gray.
• 48:05
  Yeah, Yeah. And you just, you seem to have
• 48:07
  it together in the way you talk. I mean, you're a true
• 48:09
  politician. You you're worked on.
• 48:13
  You're a professional. That's why I say politicians
• 48:15
  encompass a lot of different traits and a lot of different.
• 48:18
  They'd make great businessmen. They really would because they,
• 48:21
  they have the, they're just, they're people.
• 48:25
  They're like, they're sales people, those marketers,
• 48:27
  everything all infused into one and it's, it's, it's really
• 48:30
  amazing. What's the next shot you're
• 48:32
  going to be taking like Wayne Gretzky?
• 48:34
  What's the next big shot that you're going to be taking one
• 48:36
  day? Right, right now I'm running for
• 48:38
  for re election and you know, it's as I said, this is
• 48:42
  something that I love doing. I I think it's a, a tremendous
• 48:46
  opportunity to serve. I love the issues that we deal
• 48:50
  with on a on a daily basis and I know how important my district
• 48:53
  is to control of Congress and, and advancing forward, you know,
• 48:59
  key priorities. So right now that's the focus.
• 49:03
  Whatever the future holds, whether it's governor, whether
• 49:06
  it's Senate, something else, we'll see.
• 49:09
  I'm not I don't get too caught up in that.
• 49:14
  My general view is, you know, certainly God has a plan, but
• 49:20
  moreover, you look at the opportunities as they come and
• 49:26
  you make a determination. And whatever the determination
• 49:29
  is, I'm fine with. I love the attitude.
• 49:32
  I love those for the concept of just looking at all the positive
• 49:34
  and talking about that. It's so many great messages we
• 49:37
  can take out of this discussion. And, you know, there's a few
• 49:41
  things that we like to wrap up with before we we finish up.
• 49:44
  One of those things are, and I think this this time it, it will
• 49:47
  make a bigger difference than usual because we're voters,
• 49:50
  constituents. Do you have any questions for
• 49:53
  us? I would say what is your, you
• 49:57
  know, what is your biggest concern right now?
• 50:00
  What is what is the issue or issues That's kind of keeping
• 50:05
  you guys up at night, whether it's the economy, whether it's
• 50:08
  obviously the situation in the Middle East, anti-Semitism, what
• 50:12
  you know, what's driving your concerns?
• 50:15
  I would say my concern is the, the hate, the, the, the, I'm
• 50:19
  scared sometimes of, of thinking about what's going on.
• 50:22
  And I think Someone Like You and your position can do a lot in
• 50:25
  terms of bringing them all together.
• 50:27
  When I say them, I mean all races, all religions, all
• 50:30
  people. And living in Rockland County,
• 50:32
  growing up in Brooklyn, I'm very aware of the idea of getting
• 50:35
  along together with all different, you know, people.
• 50:38
  And you know, that's what I would be curious about.
• 50:40
  Like how can we do more to bridge that gap between all of
• 50:45
  us living together? You know, you have so many
• 50:48
  people that want more housing, yet you know, I'm living in a
• 50:51
  neighborhood where you want sidewalks because you want
• 50:53
  safety for children, but then you don't want sidewalks because
• 50:55
  then you turn it into a Brooklyn, NY.
• 50:57
  So I'm curious, how does someone in your position go about
• 51:03
  bringing that all together? I think the number one thing for
• 51:07
  me is that I talk to everybody. I engage everybody.
• 51:09
  I don't, you know, I don't leave any community out.
• 51:13
  I, I continue to dialogue even with people who don't like me or
• 51:20
  attack me on a daily basis because I think it's important,
• 51:26
  you know, obviously we're not going to agree on everything.
• 51:28
  And, and there are some real differences and even in local
• 51:31
  politics about land use decisions, you know, and, and,
• 51:35
  and development and, and there's some legitimate concerns and
• 51:40
  discussions to be had. But I think the moment it turns
• 51:43
  to attacks on people because of who they are or what they
• 51:47
  believe or how they practice their faith, I think that's
• 51:49
  where it goes off kilter. And, and so I, you know, I've
• 51:54
  made a very conscious effort, especially, you know, within
• 51:58
  Rockland and in the Orthodox and Hasidic communities of being
• 52:03
  present, of showing up, of, of engaging and posting about it
• 52:09
  and letting people see. Like, yeah, I do engage there
• 52:12
  because you know what, We're all in one community.
• 52:14
  And yeah, there may be, there may be areas of disagreement or
• 52:17
  difference, but you know what, rather than just attack each
• 52:19
  other on social media or, or say things, go engage.
• 52:23
  Go have a dialogue, Go have a conversation.
• 52:25
  Let people know. You know what, look, we
• 52:28
  understand you need more housing.
• 52:29
  But here's why we have concern. Have an actual discussion as
• 52:32
  opposed to, you know, the, the vitriol that just gets spewed.
• 52:36
  And that's, that's been my objective.
• 52:39
  My modus operandi is to show up, to engage, to have conversation.
• 52:44
  Doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything, but I'm
• 52:47
  always willing to say where I stand and why I feel.
• 52:50
  Like I should have asked the question differently.
• 52:52
  What can I do? What can we do as a community to
• 52:55
  really, because other than showing up to court, you know,
• 52:58
  when someone's applying for a zoning.
• 53:00
  I think a big part of it honestly, is there's got to be
• 53:03
  greater dialogue. There's got to be greater
• 53:05
  dialogue between people in the community and not in the
• 53:10
  community. And, and you know, especially,
• 53:14
  you know, showing up at at community events, public events
• 53:19
  throughout the whole county and really engaging in a more
• 53:21
  constructive dialogue. I think it's good for everybody.
• 53:24
  And it shows people like, yeah, we all want to live together.
• 53:28
  We all want to live amongst each other.
• 53:29
  We're not looking to be in our own little bubble.
• 53:32
  But like, yeah, there's going to be some differences, but let's
• 53:35
  let's try to find commonality. A lot of the legacy media Stokes
• 53:41
  a lot of this fear because they're spreading a lot of this
• 53:43
  information and you think the worst of the worst is out there
• 53:46
  and someone's coming to get you and you're looking over your
• 53:48
  shoulder because of what they're putting out there.
• 53:50
  We don't hear enough the good things.
• 53:52
  I've said this last time also, Michael, we don't hear enough
• 53:55
  that the beautiful parts of each of our cultures, of Christians,
• 53:59
  of Jewish people love Muslims. We don't hear enough about that.
• 54:02
  We're not educated enough. We're not teaching the children
• 54:05
  of all the beautiful good things about it.
• 54:06
  And they're just seeing all the hate.
• 54:07
  They're seeing all the bad stuff.
• 54:09
  They're seeing the bad apples. They're seeing the people that
• 54:11
  are doing violent things, terrible things.
• 54:13
  And you know what, Michael? It's very unfortunate, but I'm
• 54:16
  not kidding you. I went to Dunkin' Donuts this
• 54:18
  morning. I promised.
• 54:19
  This happened to me. I went to Dunkin' Donuts this
• 54:20
  morning and somebody walked in and I don't know, to me it
• 54:25
  looked a little suspect. And I was like, well, I'm
• 54:27
  talking to the person. Next thing.
• 54:28
  I'm just like keeping on the court.
• 54:30
  I'm like, I'm working. I'm working Yamaka and I'm
• 54:32
  nervous. Is this person like I, I never
• 54:35
  used to live that way, but because of what's going on, what
• 54:37
  I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, I might be delusional.
• 54:39
  You know what, it was silly what I was doing.
• 54:41
  I really shouldn't think that way.
• 54:43
  But because of what's around me, we got to spread more
• 54:45
  positivity. We got to put more resources.
• 54:49
  Just like for every bad story we post on Fox News or on CNN or
• 54:52
  whatever, let's do a good story. Also let's show some helping
• 54:56
  hand that somebody did some inter community event that's
• 54:59
  going let's why can't we do more of that?
• 55:01
  I would agree. You know, look, I think
• 55:03
  unfortunately you're not, you're not being delusional.
• 55:07
  It's you got to be cognizant. I mean, unfortunately we've seen
• 55:11
  obviously an uptick in anti-Semitic hate crimes, but
• 55:15
  more overlook it's something that I'm way more cognizant
• 55:18
  about this Congress than I was last Congress.
• 55:20
  I wasn't as concerned about my safety or my family safety or my
• 55:25
  staff safe safety last Congress. I am this because the vitriol,
• 55:30
  the hatred, the anger, the, the, the just leveled up rhetoric
• 55:35
  that has been spewed and, and the violence that we're seeing.
• 55:38
  It's just, it's unconscionable. And obviously it's, it creates
• 55:42
  such strain within society and and in our country.
• 55:46
  And again, it's easy to point the finger.
• 55:49
  I think everybody's got to take a little bit of a introspective
• 55:52
  look here and say, what can I do better?
• 55:54
  How can I uplift the dialogue? How can we, as you're saying,
• 55:58
  you know, in the media, how do we highlight positive stories?
• 56:01
  You know, yes, we got to show the negative in terms of what's
• 56:05
  going on or somebody, you know, hurt or, or an incident.
• 56:09
  But how do we uplift? Because there's so much more
• 56:12
  positive in our community and our society and our country.
• 56:16
  We live in the greatest country in the world, and the American
• 56:19
  people are the most generous people in the world.
• 56:21
  And there's so much good going on.
• 56:23
  And the question is, where do we focus our effort and our time
• 56:27
  and our energy? Do we focus on the negative and
• 56:29
  the area of disagreement or difference, or do we focus on
• 56:32
  the positive and the area of commonality and agreement?
• 56:35
  Yeah, we definitely like bringing people on that talk
• 56:38
  about positivity and growth and both personally and
• 56:41
  professionally, and it was an honor having you here today.
• 56:43
  We really, really appreciate it. Is there anyone that you can
• 56:45
  recommend that would fill that seat as a guest on our podcast
• 56:48
  that can help in our mission? I think you'd love to talk to
• 56:52
  Josh, got Heimer. He'd be a good.
• 56:54
  Awesome. A good representative to talk to
• 56:56
  Richie Torres would be would be another.
• 56:59
  Richard Best storm supporter of Israel.
• 57:01
  Also, you know, he posts about it unabashedly and he gets a
• 57:04
  little bit of hate from his. So why are you always so busy
• 57:07
  with Israel? You know, what about over here
• 57:09
  at home? And he doesn't care.
• 57:10
  And he's still he's. Got a great story, you know, So
• 57:14
  yeah, those would be too. Amazing.
• 57:15
  Too. Good.
• 57:16
  You don't mind asking them for? We're not going to be Richard.
• 57:18
  We're not going to put you on the spot like we normally do
• 57:20
  because we respect your time and privacy.
• 57:23
  But yeah, if you can ask them to join us, that would be great.
• 57:26
  Thank you to all of our listeners, our subscribers, the
• 57:28
  Prime Source production team to Twillery, our sponsor.
• 57:31
  You ever heard of Twillery, by the way?
• 57:33
  OK, good. Because, well, how popular.
• 57:35
  They're becoming the congressman.
• 57:36
  Knows what twillery is. What is this?
• 57:38
  Do you have anything from Twillery?
• 57:40
  No, I do. We're going to ask Twillery to
• 57:41
  share about something. You know what?
• 57:42
  Yeah. I think we're going to get you a
• 57:43
  shirt. Just got it.
• 57:44
  And their stuff is really, really nice.
• 57:46
  And it saves you on dry cleaning.
• 57:47
  Yeah, which apparently is, you know, the bills that keep going
• 57:50
  up. So we appreciate you being
• 57:52
  there. Really.
• 57:52
  Thank you so much and Happy New Year to all of our listeners and
• 57:56
  thank you very much for being. Happy and blessed Russia, Shana.
• 57:59
  Thank you, thank you, thank you. Be well, it's a wrap.
• 58:01
  And that's a wrap.