Latest / Breaking The Meta / "They're Pedophiles in Power" — 4 Women Running for Congress on Epstein, Swalwell & What's Next
Transcript
- Breaking The Meta: Hello everyone and welcome to Breaking the Meta. My name is Mike Winson. In the last three weeks, two sitting congressmen have resigned. ⁓ An adult site has been ⁓ shown to have taught men how to do some horrible things to women and ⁓ we also have had to deal with the realities of nothing happening in relation to the Epstein files released. It has been a very ⁓ difficult period of time, especially for women in the United States, especially for women in leadership. I thought as someone who has been spending a lot of time interviewing some amazing people that are running for office, I would bring some of those amazing women on and talk about not just their experience in life, but also their experience running for office and how they hope to do things different when they win. We'll go with when they win. We're going to think positive all the way around. So we've got four amazing women with us. We've got Alani Bankhead, who's running for Senate in the state of Montana. We've got Elizabeth Dempsey-Beggs, who's running for Congress in Virginia's eighth district, possibly first district, depending on how things go. But right now, it's the eighth district. We've got Jess Murphy, who's running for the second district in New York. And we've got Britt Robinson, who's running for the fourth district in Florida. Hello, ladies. How are you doing today? Alani Bankhead, D-MT: So good to be here. Breaking The Meta: Great to have. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: That's a good way say it. Happy to be here. Not feeling great after knowing what we're going to be talking about. Breaking The Meta: Yeah, I know. I know. Well, Jess Murphy: Happy to be with women doing the same work that's, you know, inspiring at the end of the day. Breaking The Meta: Yes. Yes. ⁓ So first off, want if you each wouldn't mind, and we'll start with Alani, could you just give us a quick one or two sentences about you and like your background that you're going to bring to this? Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah, sure. Milani Bankhead from Montana. I'm a retired Lieutenant Colonel and Special Agent. I've hunted terror spies and child sex traffickers all over the world, and I was a senior Pentagon bodyguard. ⁓ I've never been involved with politics, but I'm here because I hate bullies. I always have. The idea of someone using their power against someone weaker is absolutely disgusting to me. Jess Murphy: Thank ⁓ Alani Bankhead, D-MT: And honestly, it's just an honor to be here with everybody today. And Mike, thank you for hosting this. It is so encouraging to have a man stand up and just speak truth and create these forums. And I know you're very humble and you feel like you're not really doing anything, but I swear that you are. So thank you. Breaking The Meta: thank you. Britt, if you could. Brit Robinson: Sure, hi. So I'm Britt Robinson running for Florida four. I was an interior designer or hired by the VA to be an interior designer ⁓ outside of Chicago for a couple of clinics and then Trump took office and I was one of the thousands that had their offers rescinded. ⁓ Like I said, I'm or maybe I haven't said I'm military spouse and my family is all military. I'm the first generation to not be military. So I'm coming at this from a working class background with a deep respect for service. And this administration has totally just shit on everyone in this country, especially our service members. ⁓ And so I'm, trying to fight for this district. have a military base here also. You know, we just, need to hold these people accountable. And that, that starts with having better representatives. Breaking The Meta: Jess, if you wouldn't mind next. Jess Murphy: Yeah, hi everyone. My name is Jess Murphy. running for Congress in New York too, an area that I grew up in. My family is from, I work in ⁓ housing. So I'm a housing expert. I work in real estate and I also affordable housing and I also bartend on the weekend just to be able to afford to live on Long Island. Long Island is The cost of living here is insane and it's going up every single day. Young people and young families cannot afford to stay on Long Island. Our housing is being bought up by millionaires and billionaires. And if not that, then corporations are coming in and creating these luxury apartment buildings that also nobody can afford because it costs more than a mortgage. And so... My specific party in my town is also run by ⁓ some political bosses and some ⁓ people that don't want to let go of their power. And so we're trying to really engage voters and Democrats on Long Island who feel like their voices have been left unheard. Our current congressperson is literally falling asleep at the wheel. He fell asleep during the big, beautiful bill vote. So he didn't even vote because he fell asleep. So we can do much better than that and we deserve leaders that are much better than that. And so I'm running to change that. Breaking The Meta: And you used to work on Capitol Hill, correct? Jess Murphy: Yes, so I ⁓ have worked in Senator Gillibrand's office and I ⁓ lived in DC for almost 12 years. I worked for a nonprofit called Running Start and we actually trained over 30,000 young women to run for office as well. Breaking The Meta: and Elizabeth. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: Absolutely. ⁓ So I am an Army veteran. I was one of first women to integrate into combat arms when Congress did lift that ban. And after that, I came back home to Virginia where I am now running for office to stand up for everybody who can't afford a lobbyist. The reality is the system works really well if you have a lot of money. And I don't. The people in my district don't. And the system is supposed to work for everybody. After coming home, my husband was an Army veteran, also let go by DogeKats. the same time we became foster parents. So I am raising four kids under five who were just slashed their services, their care, anything that allows families to thrive. And this space was destroyed under the big, beautiful bill. The representative who will be out of office one way or another, whether it's me taking him in the first district, if these maps don't uphold in court, and if they do uphold in court, then he's out anyway, and I'll be in the eighth district. ⁓ But he didn't care. He loves to stand next to people, next to service members and take pictures of them even though he's never worn the uniform and is happy to cut their services. He likes to talk about he was adopted but is happy to slash foster services and doesn't even listen to foster parents. So I told him, F you, and I'm going to take your seat. So here we Breaking The Meta: There you go. All right. ⁓ First, I want to start off talking with Alani, if you wouldn't mind. So most people that ⁓ are listening or watching here have never had to deal with building a case against child sex traffickers. That's not something most of us normally do. ⁓ If you wouldn't mind just letting us know kind of what does that look like? What's the first, especially at the beginning, what does it look like when you're trying to Jess Murphy: So, I'm to presentation. Breaking The Meta: ⁓ when you're interacting with something that could be Epstein-like, Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah, that's a really great question. So first, I think it's easier to divide it into proactive versus reactive cases. So you'll get calls for things and it might not be outright trafficking. It might be something else. And then as you're pulling on that investigative thread, you find other things. ⁓ I specialize more on the proactive side. So I like to use data to go to where the preponderance of the crime is happening ⁓ and investigate in that way. So we do a lot of ⁓ undercover proactive operations, kind of like to catch a predator stuff. ⁓ But you know, I'm going to talk about the realities of what that looks like in this space because this crime is offensive to the soul. So actually the vast majority of Americans and justice system professionals don't really want to deal with it. I get it. Unfortunately, Epstein's in our face. So we're having this moment of reckoning with that. ⁓ And so because it's offensive to the soul, you rarely get folks who have any experience. And if I can keep an investigator or prosecutor, an aftercare professional for two years, it's magic. But anybody who's worked for five minutes or longer knows that two years is not enough time to get the experience that you need. And these are complex cases. So a lot of times I'll get these really enthusiastic investigators on the team that want to save the kids or save women. but they forget the psychology that they're groomed to not trust anybody, especially not the justice system. And in a lot of cases, the justice system are the ones that are doing the exploitation. ⁓ My biggest barrier was never the traffickers or the pedophiles themselves. It was people within the system that tried to stop us from doing the work that we were doing. And so all this is coming to a head right now. And I think we're seeing this ⁓ real moment of the country waking up and saying this is not who we are. We've gone too far and we need to do something about it. And of course, we're seeing the people in power trying to suppress the people's voice on this topic. ⁓ So my favorite thing is I'm all the things that ultra conservatives tout. I'm military, I'm law enforcement, I'm a Christian, I had pedophiles and I have all the receipts. you ⁓ know, I've On six continents, I've arrested zero transgender people, but the biggest demographic of people I arrest anywhere is straight Christian men. It's between 30 and 40 % of all the rest. I literally have spreadsheets of it. And so I'm just really thankful for this space to talk about these things because people need to know the truth. And it's not that there aren't good justice system professionals trying, but they're under-resourced. They're being stopped or blocked. They don't know what they're doing understandably and not to mention The stakes are so high that there are a lot of great agents that won't try because if I fail at this Investigation then someone continues to be exploited the trafficker continues to exploit and that's you know, unfortunately it does stop people because they don't want to mess it up, right so thank you for letting me speak my truth of decades of learned experience and super excited to talk to all of you about this today. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: Alani, can I just highlight something when you were talking? There's so much side by side with that in the foster care system, right? mean, burnt out, it's, I mean, damages your soul, right? And you see the system failing. see this, there's bad on every side of it. And the question that made me think for you is, do you think it's paid a fair wage? the roles and aspects that you do, because I can tell you firsthand, foster care workers or social workers, the gals, like they're not even paid livable wages. And then we're expecting them to do something that's dangerous and that is going to carry with them for the rest of their lives. It is incredibly high stakes. And we're like, you don't even get a livable wage and you don't have the resources you need. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah. Yeah, no, Elizabeth, that's such a great question. And I mean, you're spot on. They don't. And you know, the really hard part to say out loud is on the foster side, it's everybody gets paid garbage. ⁓ And then, you same thing. I get a lot of enthusiastic social workers or aspiring social workers who are like, I want to save the kids. And I'm like, that's really beautiful. Can we have a financial plan in place for you for when you burn out? Because it's going to happen, you know? ⁓ Jess Murphy: I think I can add a lot of things here. So social media is a huge part of the issue. So my presentation is about social But when you talk about social it's about the fact that it's huge part of And I think it's a huge part issue. a issue. And I think it's a huge part And I think it's a part And a part of the issue. And think it's a of issue. And part of issue. And a part of the issue. And Alani Bankhead, D-MT: And it goes hand in hand to your point with justice system outcomes. So at the federal level, I get really great sentences. So it's usually minimum 10 years for a case. At the state and local level, maybe probation tops a year is what we're getting for those cases. And when people ask me why, and I think this goes to your question, people say they value children's lives. They actually don't. And that's a societal fact because Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: the market pays what it values and it doesn't value our social workers. So thank you for. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: They value white babies, newborn white babies. And when you see that in adoption, you see that where we put our funding, our resources. But as soon as that child has a disability, as soon as they were born into an underprivileged family, they don't care anymore. And that's something that's frustrated me with so much of this movement, even the trad wife movement and the pro-life movements. Like you don't actually care. You just want to feel morally superior. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. I think it's interesting. There's also issues on the foster care side of things. ⁓ If you could speak on that a little bit, ⁓ Elizabeth, because, you know, when it comes to the foster care, foster care is is rough for kids, especially when they don't get loving homes like like yours. ⁓ And there's been many stories of people that have been hurt in the foster care. What kind of things do happen to kids in foster care? And what kind of things do you think that we can do differently and better with that for them? Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: So it's two parts to that answer really, because the reality is there's never going to be a perfect situation. ⁓ Now looking at what I can do from the position I'm running for most foster care, it's really ran by your state and down to localities. And we have to have a balance of the last thing we need to do is tie social workers hands for federal mandates for any of this, right? Like they have to be able to do their job and execute quickly, but we do have a system that prioritizes reunification, which is good to some extent. The goal should always be to reunify, not when it comes to the expense of the child. And so often that's what you hear is there's such a rush to reunify that it does come at the expense of the children who are in care. The flip side of that though is like you would never want to be like, okay, no more than six months in care. We have to ride the resources, make them accessible for families to use when they need it. ⁓ Just you talk about affordable housing. So removals and foster care, 70 % nationwide are due to this overarching term called neglect. Now sometimes neglects overarching, so it's easier to put. Sometimes that is abuse. Sometimes that's sexual abuse, which is much harder to prove and put a label on, but you can put abuse on it. But about 50 % of those, that overarching 70, about 50 % of that is financial neglect. And that comes down to someone got evicted. They lost their job, they were doged, they got evicted. Now they're going to a shelter, but they have kids with them. If there's not a shelter that can take kids, they're staying in their car. Now your kids are removed and you can't find any place because you have this eviction on your record or your water bill. Let's say like your energy bill here in Virginia, huge issue with our energy bills just skyrocketing. Now those children are removed from loving homes where it really is just exploitation of the system and the removal itself. Stipend to care for the kids paying social workers that cost more than it would have just to give the resources that we need in the first place ⁓ but the other flip side of that though is You talk about burnout social worker burnout, right? So we don't pay enough we pay where we value and that is something we have to put way more investment into we need to put investment into early childhood education and affordable childcare and on the foster parent side It's really hard to retain foster parents because A, you know, have so much social work return over. So your case manager is always learning more about your case. So things just get dropped and then you're expected, you know, you are a professional parent. So there's that side of it, but the time commitment outside of just raising kids, you talk to foster parents and the number one thing they say is like, left because of the lack of support. You know, no one's getting rich being a foster parent. No one, like you have to go through a lot of financial audits. That's the change that happened. in fairly recent history, talking in a little over a decade. And we should have that. You absolutely should have to go through a financial audit to become a foster parent. But there needs to be more support all around for these kids because it almost comes down to I've had multiple social workers tell me it comes down to everything matters except the kids in this. And they're kind of the last priority because you you There's just so many other factors. So the number one thing for me is we have to have federal oversight and federal funds that are always allocated. And with that allocation though, it can't be these insane grants or it can't be, we've had to this many kids adopted out because it does, it's a double edged circuit, right? Then you're not working for unification. And it ties the hands of social workers. So I don't want to say a blank check. Money doesn't fix everything, but money provided by locality without. strings attached to it to actually support and removals. The other thing to this that I would federally mandate right away for storm office. If the social workers going into do removal, they must have a police officer with them. areas, most streets don't require it. Most counties don't require it. It's supposed to be one on call, but any moments worked in law enforcement will tell you one of the most dangerous situations with domestic dispute. You're going in to take someone's space and take care of it. Breaking The Meta: Mm. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: That is the domestic dispute. And right now we send social workers who are not allowed to be armed, can't even have a taste or anything. We send them in most of the time alone. So you're looking at like young women for the most part who are doing this going in by themselves to remove children from somebody's home. That is an incredibly dangerous situation. And again, it just comes down to resources and how we allocate them based off of what we value. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: And can I piggyback on that? Because I really appreciate Elizabeth bringing light to this topic. ⁓ With trafficking, so many people think it's the Liam Neeson taken situation, but the biggest preponderance of trafficking in America is actually familial trafficking. And one of the bigger things that we see, especially with foster kids, ⁓ is survival sex. So the situations where a parent can't pay rent and the landlord's like, well, if you give me 30 minutes with your kid. we'll call rent this month good, which I know is abhorrent to think about, but that happens so much. And we don't have data right now under the current economic conditions to see how much worse familial trafficking has gotten, but I know it has. ⁓ And so it's really scary just on a lot of levels. And I think to Elizabeth's point, it's a multi-layered issue, but the funding would go a long way, especially when we're talking about paying those social workers properly, making sure those units are adequately resourced to do the work. because they're not right now, unfortunately. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: And I know we're talking about very niche things in detail right now. So unless someone's in this space, you might not find this interesting or understand how dynamic it is. But I think it speaks to a bigger picture onto why we need new leaders, why we need leaders from working class backgrounds who have a multitude of experience. And I'm just gonna say it, why we need female leaders too that prioritize a matriarchy where families and kids are the priority. not self-centered because it's good of intentions as someone like even Don Beyer who's done great at his job but it's worth a hundred million dollars right? No matter how good your intentions are we are people who don't just enter but we live in the spaces that people don't want to even admit exist. These are day-to-day experiences that we know and we understand so we do know the nuances and the second and third hand effects. Jess you can talk about the housing effects of that. It's different to just know on paper housing's unaffordable. Breaking The Meta: Right. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: than it is to understand children are being pimped by their parents so they don't get evicted and you've lived that. That is, that's why we need a new generation who doesn't just read about it or listen to it but can actually make change. Jess Murphy: Yeah, I was going to say, you know, I don't understand a lot of the nitty gritty that you guys were talking about, but there's a few things that really, I think just even having women at the table and talking about these things where we can talk about it. And then, like, for example, my experience in New York and in affordable housing, you brought up a great point in New York, we have a rule where you cannot evict someone for not paying their utility bill because they're hot water. heating during the winter is considered a right for us in New York. And we are so lucky to have that. But how we can talk about that, and that could be something that we can bring at a federal level, how that's actually working in New York and how it could make such a difference for what's going on for you in Virginia or in other places. And just having this conversation, I was like, wow, that's such an easy thing that we could, if we were in Congress, we could all collaborate and bring to the table. And Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: And it's easy and it would affect everybody's life, but it won't happen unless we have grassroots candidates. Because, what about the landlords? What about the kids and the family? Jess Murphy: Yeah. And I work for landlords too. And so I understand that it has to go both ways. So I see firsthand with families and domestic abuse and affordable housing and how the utility relief helps people from being evicted. But then I also see when those rents don't get paid, landlords end up in debt because they're paying a normally high insurance costs because there's no caps on insurance for. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: think that should be a right. Jess Murphy: landlords or stuff like that. So there is this middle ground, but you need people who are actually doing the work and can actually understand both sides. I have never worked for a landlord that is trying to actively take these people out of housing, but they are trying to figure out solutions that can help them break even. So they're not losing millions of dollars every year because they want to help these people. And so this is where government can step in and we can have tax incentives. and different regulations that can actually help. And Congress can be doing this, but again, it's something that we don't want to talk about even though we have bipartisan support as we've seen, you know, in the Senate recently where a housing bill was passed and these regulations were taken away and we got 90 % of the vote. So these are things that can easily be fixed when we have people in power that want to talk about it and actually want to create action and not just hide behind, you know, smoke and mirrors. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: And actually, action is key. So when you say like there is a middle ground and I've talked to that with some of my friends, like I said, I have one rental property, my husband and I were military, it wasn't the right time to sell it, but like we PCS somewhere else. So we rented it out and we're able to do it at a fair rate. We never want to penalize people like that or trying to build generational wealth that way. And something that me and a coworker came up with was a... pretty much a shelter for landlords, right? If you have less than three rental properties, they're all within your name or your spouse's name, right? They're not in an LLC, they're not any of this, and it's less than three. and you don't evict for these things, it's what would be hand in hand with this bill, then okay, you can file for relief. That's when the government can step in and can help you and we have insurance caps on it. But the biggest thing there is BlackRock, those things, they aren't protected. So when we say, what about the landlords? When we say like F of landlords, we're talking about like BlackRock. We're talking about these corporations. mean, we're not talking about your mom and pop. You own two, three, maybe even four rental homes that actually help the economy. That's what... Jess Murphy: Yes. Yeah. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: helps the economy to allow people to rent to save up for the down payment. ⁓ Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Well, and I think to your point, too, we can work across the board to get relief for everybody in America. And taking venture capital out of housing is one thing that we can all come together on. think it's like 90, everybody but those companies are in violent agreement that this needs to happen. Right. ⁓ And the beauty is that we have precedence of this. We have busted. big corporations and monopolies in the past, the Carnegie's, the Rockefellers. So as a country, we have a blueprint for this and we can implement that in 2027 to be able to get some of that relief in. But absolutely government's job is literally from an international relations theory, first to continue existing, that's what national security is. But second is the social contract to ensure it's providing the best possible quality of life for its constituents. And we are the richest country in the world. There's no reason why we should not be providing this level of relief to folks ⁓ with taxpayer dollars that are abundant. Brit Robinson: And I can talk about it from like the personal experience being a child going through a lot of this. I didn't end up in foster care, but when I was going into high school, my mom got sick and that was like 2008. And so before the ACA passed, she had preexisting conditions. She was an independent contractor and couldn't afford health insurance. So when she got sick, we lost everything over the next two years. And we tried to rely on systems like food assistance and tried to get her on like state health insurance. But what's so hard is that there's this massive gap. It's called the Alice, I think is what it's called. Alice is like the gap of where between where you have stability to where you qualify for state or government programs. And that's a massive gap. that often takes years to fall to like enough to where you qualify because you have to go through all of your assets. A lot of times you can only have at maximum a few thousand dollars to your name and that includes a vehicle and you're you're stuck ⁓ suffering for years for not just yourself but your entire family unit and all of that in my case could have been dealt with. if my mom just had health insurance. Like we didn't have to go through this entire process resulting, like at the end we got evicted and I had to leave home. I had to leave my mom and live, like fly across the country, live with family and friends and bounce around homes for the next two years to be able to graduate high school. And that's not, that's not a good system. It's, I mean, it's not sustainable. It's expensive overall. It's cruel. And like we were talking about, the government, like there is a role of government and it's to make sure that you are not getting exploited, that you have safety and stability. None of what my mom and I went through is any of that. And it's just, it's so frustrating that like that's what I had to go through. And then now with, especially with this administration, but you know, over the last two decades watching Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: And it's not just good for you. Brit Robinson: every like so many more people, millions and millions of people by the year, ⁓ getting trapped in the same system. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: And what is their break? no one's going to hear that story and not feel for you, right? And not say that yours is one of millions, like you said. But the reality is, if that system had been in place, that wouldn't just benefit you and your mom. Brit Robinson: Yes. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: It benefits all of society. And that Alice Gap is where we have lost as a Democratic party, so many voters. Because we talk about, the government should work for you. You should have these fail-safes. You should have this. And you have people who, they're not really stable. They're stable, but they are a disaster away from not being stable. They are now looking at their grocery bill. They're now really looking at their gas bill. They're saying, I don't want to pay more in taxes. I'm never going to qualify for those benefits. Brit Robinson: Barely, yeah. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: Like we lose them in the working class or we say we need to tax the rich without, was like when I was at the pre-chart millionaire symposium, like great people. like, guys, you have to understand when you're in New York City or you're in San Francisco and you say tax the rich, we all know we're talking $20 million. When you say that in the rural parts of my district, they're thinking a million dollars tops. Like. Brit Robinson: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: They are thinking like, wow, if you've saved up and you have a network and you're tired of a million dollars, like you worked hard for that, we shouldn't tax it more so that someone that like refuses to get a job and is just using drugs can have insurance. And like you have to understand like, we have to really think about this from a working class perspective. And we completely lost that as a party. And that's how MAGA was able to come in and exploit it. They were able to convince them, hey, we'll take care of you. You do work hard. You should be able to have a good life in the American dream. It's this person's fault. You're actually just being lazy. It's the single mom with two kids who's on food stamps. You're paying their grocery bill because they're lazy instead of looking at the billionaires and the corporations who are exploiting this and who are making life unaffordable. But we have to understand we have had such a gap, even minimum wage. Here in Virginia, Governor Spanberger, he wants something done. Ask a mom. Girlie is hard. We're knocking things out. But we raised the minimum wage that will be implemented to $15 an hour. That still is not even close to being enough. The last time we raised the minimum wage in 2009 federally, if we matched that just for inflation today, we'd be at $26 an hour. It's like, yeah, great, we raised it. Not to a livable wage, though. It's still not a livable wage. We have to be done saying, hey, You know, it's enough. We've been able to sell the American people on this message of like independence and it's the American way. Bullshit, no it's not. Look at the New Deal. No it's not. The American way is helping your neighbor and that's our government's job. Breaking The Meta: This. Jess Murphy: Thanks. Breaking The Meta: When I decided to do this and bring you four ladies together, this is why I did it. I did not think I would pretty much have to ask one question and 30 minutes would already be done, but I kind of thought it would be close. This is awesome though. I love this. This is great. I want to go back just a little bit though, because you were talking about this idea of, I think Jess, you were talking about bipartisanship and how we all agree on something. I want to... veer it back a little bit on the Epstein files because when the when the law came through that was bipartisan. I know it had to be forced through by by Democrats and a few Republicans to get it even to the vote. But supposedly it was a unanimous vote to pass it. I know the answer and I'm sure all the ladies you all know the answer as well. But I want I need to, we need to put it out there because that's why we're having this conversation. even though a law has been passed, it was supposedly bipartisan, everyone was supposedly behind it, why has nothing gotten done? Alani Bankhead, D-MT: because they're pedophiles and traffickers in power. Jess Murphy: Because everyone else in Congress is doing the same thing. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: Even if it's not everyone else too, and they might not be like the worst of the worst, they know that there's something that they can get more. Right? They're saying, all right, well, no, I'm just one person that if I really make noise and hold this accountable, like it really isn't going to change or I can't go toe to toe, but I can use this for the idea of the greater good. Right? I can use this to get this pass through. And look, I mean, I'm not in that situation. Cool. But The reality is I don't think we've had a lot of members of Congress who have had morals tested, who have been in it. Cause anyone can say, well like here's good, here's bad, make the right choice. It's never that simple though. Your ethics and your morals are never that simple. I used to joke when I was a basic training commander, we're like, yeah, if you want like one place to go to like really test your morals, ethics, like being a drill sergeant or being commander in that situation. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Thank Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: Because there is so many gray areas. Now let's be clear, Neptune files are not a gray area. Neptune files, like, that is a black and white bad. But it's easy to talk yourself into saying, okay, I can't, as one person, hold all accountability to this. So what can I get from my people in exchange? And I would get... Alani Bankhead, D-MT: So. Jess Murphy: I would challenge that though. I think that there are, I've worked on Capitol Hill, I used to live in DC. I think there is, and I've personally seen a lot of funny business going on, a lot. I helped young women, be fellows Capitol Hill. And I've been to those ⁓ after hour and I've had young women. ⁓ go to those after hour parties. And I've actually worked with a woman who was sexually assaulted while she was an intern on Capitol Hill. She actually told her story and there was media about it when I was working with her at the time. But I think that it is something that is constantly going on and people are very comfortable in their positions. They like their lifestyle that they have. They like the office. They think that they are doing other good things for their district. And they don't want to be the whistleblower in this situation because it's scary. And if you're a woman and you're the whistleblower, you're at risk as well. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah. And so they're going to give a couple stories. So first, as a senior Pentagon bodyguard, I was in all the rooms on Capitol Hill. And I agree with Jess. I've seen that kind of funny business. And you hear things when you're talking to Capitol police officers and all the things. And yeah, they do get comfortable with the power. But there's also that element of. You know, it's estimated it's about 10 percent of men engaged in trafficking ⁓ and. sexual abuses, especially towards women. I had a case once, it was the most perfect trafficking case, like silver platter. I mean, this thing was like tied with a bow. And the second chair, assistant US attorney calls me one day crying. Now the case was the guy was trying to buy three kids to traffic them. I had all the evidence, I had video footage, all the things. And she's like the first chair. doesn't think that this case is good enough. He thinks we should drop it. And she's like, did we do something wrong? Right? Because she's a good person trying to find the blind spots. And I shared with her that at the Academy, one of the first techniques that we're taught is if you're not sure if a suspect did a crime, you sit across from them, you hand them a piece paper and a pen and you say, hey, write down the five things that should happen to a person who's accused of this crime. And if they say things like cut his penis off, he should be killed. He probably didn't do it. But if he says things like, well, give him a second chance, like he's a good guy, I'm sure it was an honest mistake, probably didn't know her age, whatever, then you know he did it, right? And so having to have these conversations where you're bursting people's bubble about what the justice system and leadership should look like is really hard and it's really painful. And yeah, there are some. really great individuals that wanna be part of the difference and they feel like it's too big, because it is massive right now, right? But what I tell people everywhere we go, I'm like, you wanna be part of the solution at Epstein? At the lowest level, if someone says something inappropriate, you tell them, hey, why'd you say that? That's inappropriate. That is combating Epstein, all the way up to holding the President of the United States accountable for how he's collaborated with those folks and engaged in those crimes himself. Jess Murphy: I'm like, ⁓ wow. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: So it's an all hands on deck situation, but at the same time, I'm gonna be real, look at how Pambandi treated the Epstein survivors in Congress. Even with numbers, even showing up and testifying in the highest legislative body on the land, they couldn't even turn and show the respect that those survivors deserved. She couldn't look them in the eye. And to Justice's point, that's what everyone is confronting. this is gonna cost me, what am I willing to give up? Because the cost could be your life. And I mean, my husband and I have had to have conversations about there's this corrupt cop or like a corrupt police unit and we don't have security on the house. What are we gonna do to protect the family? Like this is real. Like House of Cards, not that far from the truth, right? But I think to Elizabeth's point too is this is why we need grassroots leaders that are rising up right now. And America is, I call it the theory phase, right? Everybody's fed up with all of it. And there are all these candidates coming up saying, we can do this. And the country's saying, can we? Can we really? And hope is scary, right? And so everywhere we go, we're telling them, like, I just need you to hang on to your little mustard seed. Your responsibility is to your vote and how you behave. Don't worry about anybody else. Don't worry about electability. Just stick to your convictions, do your research, support whatever candidate, give them money, tell your friends about them. Because I do believe we are going to Brit Robinson: Mm-hmm. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: bring the tsunami in November. And I'm gonna toot Montana's horn for a second because nobody does grassroots better than Montana. ⁓ We were the first state to send a woman to Congress years before women could even vote in this country. They sent a female Congresswoman. And ⁓ so it's a very purple state and... If you look at the literal history, it's you had to help your neighbor. It didn't matter what you believe politically. That's what you did to survive on the ranch. Right. So so anybody listening, I just want to encourage them. And I'm hugely encouraged by everybody here today because this is the crew that's going to get it done. You just have to decide you're not going to be scared and you're going to fight like hell for democracy and get us into office so that we can create these changes. Because I already have like three bills that I'm thinking of now that I'm hearing you guys talk. And I'm like, OK. Let's get to work, right? Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: That's such a good point that you have to not be scared. You know, we stepped into this arena. We're fighting like we're just the face of this. It takes everyone behind us who's not scared and to enter and say, no, we're fed up. I'm going to do my part. I'm going to phone bank. I'm going to donate. I'm going to pick my fighter and I'm going to put my weight behind it. You don't have to be able to run for office. You don't have to be the loudest voice on social media. You don't have to do it publicly. Talk to your friends. Talk to your family. Don't let it go under. And we talk about Epstein. Alani, I want to bring back to what you said. I think so many people are willing to let it go in the way to because it is so gruesome that our brains almost don't let us process it, that it's real. So it's almost this ability to step away and say, if I just want to forget about it, because you do want to forget about it. We don't want this to be reality. But like we said, it is what we tolerate. And yeah, I'm sure a lot of people, if you're listening to this, have a military background or even just anyone that's been in a male dominated field. Jess Murphy: Mm. Brit Robinson: Mm-hmm. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: You know that there are group chats and conversations where, it's just a joke. It's just this. I can say something and I do say something, right? But it is the men who need to step up and say something and not just not engage in it. Say that's not okay. And my litmus test, I always tell my husband, if someone said that in front of your daughter and they were old enough to understand it, right? Because their daughters are young, but they're enough to understand it. Is that a safe person for your child to be around? And it doesn't because... just because they're only saying it to a group of guys or saying it in locker room or a group chat and women are guilty of this too and tolerating it and wanting to be the cool girl and tolerate it. We believe and we've seen it in this administration and the patriarchy that if you play the game, you'll be hurt the least by the patriarchy, but it's not true. We've seen it. We've fired all the women, not the men, but we fired all the women already. And there is an element that the same way that all of us on this call, Yet we benefit from racism. Men benefit from violent men. Nonviolent men benefit from nonviolent men. There's that element of it too, that wow, like, well, this came out, like, I look incredible now because I just made like those two sexist jokes in a group chat, but like, I didn't harm anybody. So we do have to, every parent, you have to raise your kids better. We have to keep talking about it. We have to say, as a country, we don't tolerate this and we are going to stand up and fight against it. But that does mean clearing house completely. Brit Robinson: Yeah, it's about changing the culture everywhere. And any little bit that everyone does in standing up to ⁓ like sexism, racism, any of it, standing up to the people in power, like what we're trying to do with running for office, that's kind of a more, we're taking a more extreme step than most people have ⁓ the ability to, but. The thing I say to people, because a lot of people talk to me about being scared, especially here in Florida, people are very scared about getting targeted. And I just, you know, at a certain point you have to say, yeah, it is scary. Like, let's not beat around the bush. Like it is scary and we are taking risks, but it's worth it. And we can do hard things. We can do things while we're scared. And other people are scared because they are on the receiving end of it. And for those of us who are white and are benefiting from these systems, I think it's our responsibility to step up and do our part in holding our people accountable for the system that they created and we have benefited from. And so, yeah, I just, tell people, you know, it's okay to be scared, do it anyway. And I tell myself that when I go into, you know, something in the campaign that seems a little extra scary, a really big group of like room of people to talk to or, or making a call to somebody who has power or, or like yesterday in Tallahassee making a public comment to the Florida house in the special session on redistricting is like call it out. And, and, you know, just kind of maybe in your mind, you kind of have to just say like, fuck it. Like, I'm just going to just send it. ⁓ Do whatever you can. Yeah. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: Here's the thing, when we say it's okay to be scared, first of all, your kid could get shot when you drop and walk at school. That's terrifying. That's nothing right here every single day. You could get in a car crash. The reality is nothing here is safe. We could be scared all the time and we could say, well, it's worth it to be scared or to put our money and our voice and everything on the line right now if we win. Well, A, we only win if we do it, but B, even if we don't win, it still was worth it because here's the thing. I could have an aneurysm tomorrow and at least I did something. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah, you I love that you brought that up so much because so I have a leadership development company and real effective leadership is completely counterintuitive to what our current Western society likes to portray, right? So everybody here that's like, but who am I? I'm scared, right? That just goes to show how much you care and that you are actually a really effective leader because you wouldn't be scared if you didn't care, right? The difference between us and the guys in power that are exploiting that power is they think they deserve to be there and they're not scared of the consequences ever. Right? And so talking about that, you know, I hope the listener is feeling empowered that if you've ever had the thought that I'm not qualified, I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, right? These are normal things that effective leaders ⁓ discuss. I was telling another local candidate the other day, I'm like, I cry like every other day, just from like stress, you know, like, And it doesn't mean that I don't feel fear or that I don't struggle with it. It's just I have the training and the muscle memory to be able to push through it anyway, because this is hard stuff that we're doing. Now, I think one of the other, and I'm going to call my beautiful country out for a second, because I think we're also talking about courage. And a lot of folks haven't cultivated that muscle because they maybe have gotten a little bit comfortable. so it is really frustrating when, you know, I'm going to use Dave Goggins, the motivational speaker, he has this great quote, says, for every hundred guys on the battlefield, 10 are worthless, they shouldn't be there, they're dragging the mission down. There's 80, they're doing okay, they're showing up, but there's only the top 10 that actually get the mission done, right? And so us in the field that are willing to fight are dealing with the bottom 90 that are struggling with just showing up half the time. And that can be really hard and really exhausting. And I think the point is for you to decide for yourself. What are you willing to give up in terms of consequences and in the military we get a lot of training on that, right? ⁓ I I did a podcast a couple podcasts with jeff struker who he was in black hawk down like the real black hawk down ⁓ he's an incredible motivational speaker and he talked about you know, he's like The time to wrestle with your spirituality or what you're willing to sacrifice is not on the battlefield You have to do it before you get there because you're dangerous when you've decided I'm willing to die for this. Like, what are you going to do to me? Right? And unfortunately, I think we're all talking about actual life and death situations because that's what's happening. Look at Alex Pretti, look at Renee Good and other instances, right? Unfortunately, when you look at our country's history, really things only moved when people died, right? Look at the civil rights movement, all that history that we have. Unfortunately, like there were people that lived by their convictions and died by them. And it's awful. ⁓ but and there's nothing wrong actually with with deciding like I don't want to die for this right there There's nothing wrong with that But I think what's important is make that decision and then just draw your line and say i'm willing to go up to this And that's what i'm willing to contribute right and I have respect for that ⁓ but I think for the rest of us here like we're all in because they're going to take democracy from our cold dead hands, right? ⁓ but I think there's a lot more of us than there are of of the cowards, frankly, and of those in power. That's why they spend billions of dollars buying elections. ⁓ And I tell that to people in Montana all the time. We had one of the most expensive congressional races in history with Tester and Sheehy. And they're like, my vote doesn't matter. I'm like, one candidate spent $280 million. Your vote matters. They don't spend money on foster kids, but they'll spend it on your vote. Right? So, yeah. mean, I think the point is having leaders like you all come up and say, this is the standard and this is what I expect. This is how I'm going to lead and you're either with me or you're not. Jess Murphy: Over. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: I want to talk about that courage, what you said, because I think a lot of people are like, yeah, I'm willing to die for this. Okay, but are you willing to live for it? Right? Like everyone is willing to die for their kids. Great. Are you willing to live for them? Are you willing to show up at the school board meeting and raise hell if nothing's wrong? Are you willing to go knock doors and tell your neighbors what's going on? That's what matters. That's where we see a difference. And it doesn't have to be all encompassing in every part of your life. Guys, I get it being politically involved is a privilege and it is intentionally meant to be that way. But for anyone listening, so much of how MAGA was able to rise was this empowerment and courage idea of like, ⁓ I don't give a fuck who I piss off. Where a lot of us on the side were like, we want to keep the peace and we want to have stability in our communities. And we can find this middle ground, right? We can respect everybody. So a lot of times when we talk about the fear, it's like, well, you know, like my brother has a really different political opinion and I want to keep peace at Thanksgiving. Your brother doesn't give a shit about keeping peace at Thanksgiving. It's time for you not to too. That's what's scary when we come to our interpersonal relationships, when we come to having a voice online or any of that. And it's not, yes, we are talking about like, you know, there could be another January 6th when we try and take our seats, right? We understand that we get that we've made everyone on this call has made that decision. Awesome. But it's Hey, are you willing to have that conversation with your parents? Are you willing to go turn off Fox News and sit down and talk to them? ⁓ That's what we really have to decide. Great. Are we willing to actually live for this and fight for it? Breaking The Meta: So one of the other things that has been that has gone that the revelations have come. ⁓ We talked about the fact that they're not really revelations, but I think to a lot of people, unfortunately, they were, which is the news of people like Tony Gonzalez and Eric Swalwell. ⁓ Jess Murphy: I'm ⁓ Breaking The Meta: I'm gonna, Britt, I think I wanna ask you first. The news of all of this did not come from the ethics committee in Congress. didn't come from any official government body. came through social media and TikTok. What went through your mind when you heard the news about this happening and the fact that there is, you know, there's an ethics committee that's supposed to work on these things, but that's not where this information had to actually come from. Brit Robinson: Unfortunately, it was not at all shocking. And at all. I mean, I think all of us kind of most women have gone through some sort of sexual assault or harassment. So we all have our own stories of things similar to this, ⁓ obviously ranging in severity. But yeah, this wasn't shocking to me. What I was very excited about, and it sucks that it's like in this context, but the fact that women were able to come together And although it was a big uphill battle over a very long time, years, ⁓ of women trying to speak up about him, women were able to take that power and hold him accountable, to the point that he actually steps down. I think that that is a perfect indication of how powerful all of us are when we work together and how we can make change, like significant change to our system when we trust each other and we move in unity and we go towards a common goal. And a lot of that goes along with what we've been talking about of having the courage to say, like I'm gonna stand up for this and I'm gonna stand with my people and what I believe is right. And a lot of those, a lot of the ⁓ social media influencers and educators ⁓ and all of the women that were a part of this and lawyers, it was a ⁓ lot of people were involved in this. ⁓ in this process, but yeah, I don't know. mean, it was, I was just so proud of all of the women having the strength to come forward. And yeah, I don't, it's conflicting, because it's obviously such a horrible situation that these women are in, that these victims are in, but it is exciting to see that, that, you know, we, we can be successful in bringing these people in power down. And it will continue. We will still, right? We will still hold them accountable going forward. A lot of representatives or I should just say officials in governments step down to try and avoid accountability through whatever legislative body they're a part of, but they're not getting away. We are coming after you. So they're not safe. ⁓ And so we got to make sure that they know that, that's not the way to accountability. it's coming to them one way or another. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: And I will say, do have to jump off, ⁓ since I'm about that, but yeah, Britt, what you said proud, like, and it is conflicting to say proud, but the reality is it came to light and accountability was hot. wasn't, but like, we need to save the party. We can't turn it over to Republicans. If you, you did this, you were held accountable. It wasn't a compromise. hear, because we water, like, that is something we are good at as a party is watering it down. And the Republicans do not do that. We water down. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah, and. Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs: universal health care. watered down all of these things to try and center us and we said, nope, here is a line. We don't give a shit about anything else. Here is the line. You are held accountable for it. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah, and to your point, Britt, I like just want to hug you so much because what you're saying is so on point and I've been screaming it for years, right? If you look at it's one in four girls and one in six to 10 boys are abused. That doesn't even include the adults, right? And I've run the numbers. So it's between 68 and 75 million Americans are survivors of this crime, just as children, right? And you know, we have, it's called being trauma informed where Jess Murphy: I think that the program is a program that is not just students, it's about I that the program is a program that And think that the program that is but about the students' lives. And think program a program that just about the students, Alani Bankhead, D-MT: The whole justice process, the healing process is centered on the individual, right? So the priority for me is not my investigation. It's giving control back to the individual because when you engage in these criminal activities, what you're doing is you are taking agency and power and dignity and humanity away from the individual when you exploit them in that way. ⁓ so selfishly, I'm always like, ⁓ This is the biggest army that's ever existed and if people just understood how powerful they really were ⁓ my gosh, but that's why they are quaking in their boots when you look at what's happening with Epstein all these congressional folks that are being held accountable and to your point, know, it's vulnerable to do it alone, but in numbers You can get so much more done, right? And it's not something I would ever push on survivors, but you know, I'm just like, ⁓ please like I'm like They are so just scared of survivors. And I think they're starting to really see that and feel that power. But at the same time, it does cost survivors a lot, right? Your anonymity is gone in a lot of cases. Your privacy, you're going to get attacked. after whatever trauma was experienced, it's just so unfair to ask for that. But I think, unfortunately, when you look at history, it's always the wronged party that has to step up and get loud to create the change. And so I'm just so thankful that you said that, Britt, because I do think it is the start of that shift and that reckoning that is here. And I think the point is, again, for the listener, vote for Britt, vote for Jess, vote for your folks that are... pro survivor because we're going to be the ones that get in there and hold the Epstein class accountable and change the laws to make sure that there are better support systems and make sure that folks aren't put in these situations where they can be exploited and let people in power know that you will be held accountable. Brit Robinson: Mm-hmm. Across party lines. Jess Murphy: And I want ⁓ Breaking The Meta: Yeah, go. Jess Murphy: I wanted to share a quick story actually the day the news broke. ⁓ I agree with everything both of you guys said and I think the reckoning is coming. So I went into work at the bar. I work at a bar and I actually have a lot of customers that are full fledged come in, make America great again, Trump 2028 gear. ⁓ You know there are very red parts of my district. ⁓ I served them, we're friends, they love me because we actually agree on a lot of things, right? And so I get to talk to them on a lot of issues and we meet in the middle and I keep repeating that message, but I represent my district that has everybody. And I was talking to one of my customers who loves Trump, voter for Trump, continues to love Trump. And I said, ⁓ did you hear about the Eric Swalwell? We started talking about it. He's like, it is disgusting. I can't believe that there was these sexual harassment and ⁓ assault against these women. Like these men in power like have to go. And I'm like, exactly. And I was like, so you agree and you agree that more of the Epstein files should come out and that we should learn more about it, right? And I kind of left out the Trump part because again, we're working on it. ⁓ But he was like, yes, I fully believe that. he should have left Congress. I fully believe that we should release the obscene files. And I'm like, okay, see, the reckoning is coming when you can get these people to agree with you and understand because they have daughters, because they have granddaughters, because they have a wife who may be has experiences in the workplace. You again can find that middle ground and we just need leaders that are really willing to push and have those difficult conversations. Breaking The Meta: do have other question and anyone can answer, I think I wanna start with Jess, if you wouldn't mind. ⁓ So think one of the things that a lot of people that look like me, ⁓ men especially, ⁓ don't understand is what it's like being a woman in a place like Capitol Hill. ⁓ And I'm going to bring this up, but I want I want to preface this by saying I personally as a man have no judgment on her. I'm interested in your perspective as a woman. What might be going through her head? And so I'm going to ask. So when the whole thing about Eric Swalwell came out, Nancy Pelosi was asked about it. And she said she had no idea about Swalwell, despite rumors that have supposedly been going through Congress the whole time. Now, again. I have my own opinions on Nancy Pelosi as a whole, but I also hear women when they say what it's like being a woman in Capitol Hill and she has been in Capitol Hill for a while. So when you hear something like that, what do you think? What do you think about her? What do you think about the potential perspective that she's come, having been a woman who has fought for a lot of things in Capitol Hill throughout her career? Jess Murphy: Yeah, I mean, I think that's the reality. I was talking about it before. ⁓ It is very hard to be the one when you feel like you're making change and you're in power. It's very hard to what are you willing to risk and Is she willing to risk her reputation? Is she willing to risk to say that she knew about it all along? Is she willing to risk and say that it's happened to her? Is she willing to risk to say that it's happened to her staffers because, you know, that's going to go down in her legacy, you know, and I just don't think that there are many establishment Democrats that are currently in power that are willing to risk that they would like to stay where they are. and have no consequences. And if you worked on Capitol Hill or you've ever been on Capitol Hill, you know that these things go on. There's been stories, there's always chatter. You hear it in the elevator. When I was first an intern, when I was like 18 or 20, my progress report was not about my work, but about how I dressed. That was my feedback, was about my clothing. So, Again, I will brush that off. That never bothers me. But that does bother young women. That is a problem that has goes on with everybody. And I think the people that are in power are just they're scared. They're getting their money from other people. They're they have they have a lot to lose and they're not willing to speak up, unfortunately. because when you have a lot to lose, it's ⁓ a harder fall, unfortunately. And that's why we need new, fresh energy, new candidates, grassroots candidates that aren't tied to corporations, that aren't tied to millions of donor dollars from high donors, that aren't tied to previous backdoor deals. That's why we need to vote for Brit, vote for Jess, vote for Elizabeth. But for Alani, like you guys were the change, you know, like we're the ones that are going to step up this conversation for me. I'm going through a lot right now on my campaign and you guys have inspired me because I'm going to a dinner tonight and I am so scared that I'm going to have to face people. And I was like, you're like, Britt, you were like, it's OK to be scared. And I'm like, yes, it's OK. And it's really hard. And you got it. But you have to be able to kind of continue on. And, ⁓ you know, I think Nancy Pelosi is a great example of. Ever we need term limits. Brit Robinson: I think it's a generational shift. this is, I've had a lot of conversations with older women who, know, their belief, it was a little bit of self preservation, or well, I should probably say a lot of bit of self preservation, right? It is like they, when they were younger and, you know, maybe starting to have kids or got married or whatever, you know, on the the younger half of life is they couldn't, know, like they had no independence. They couldn't go, you know, maybe couldn't get a job, maybe couldn't get, ⁓ have their own bank account or get a credit card or buy a house. All of those things were limited. And so if you are stuck in that system where you don't have the financial mobility to get away from someone who is hurting you, then you have to just suffer ⁓ and deal with whatever is coming at you. And now that more people, more women have that financial ⁓ liberty and can get away ⁓ or more can get away now that we can have no fault divorces. ⁓ all of those things that we can, women can provide for their kids on their own, that more and more women have a support network for believing victims specifically, that we have more family victim support programs and for getting out, the actual transition of getting out of those abusive situations. There's just, there's so much change between the Nancy Pelosi's and you know, the younger people that we have in office, like AOC, those are very different. you know, it's the culture, I think, and I'm glad to be on that second half that are fighting for change. But I think there's a lot, there have to be a lot of these conversations with some of those women who are. resistant to pushing forward and being outrightly, outright vocal ⁓ about supporting victims and calling out abusers. We have to encourage them that that's a possibility. I, you know, it's also helped. I think a lot of those women, too, they have been through a lot of those ⁓ abusive situations that they maybe either didn't know were abusive or, like I said, were ⁓ ⁓ just suffering through it for self-preservation. They don't want to address that because then they have to label themselves as a victim, maybe when they didn't previously. And that's a big deal. ⁓ so I think that there's, there's so much at play. ⁓ but I think that that's why it's so important that, ⁓ like Jess was saying, we have younger representatives, ⁓ but just younger representatives, but really like just a new mindset of how we want to go forward in this country, how we want our, what we want our society to value and where we're going to prioritize our resources for supporting victims and families and children, you know, just anybody that has a need, what are we going to do to support them? Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yeah, and you know, I'm gonna actually say something a little bit different because I'm an investigator, so I like facts, right? So I don't want to comment on what Nancy Pelosi did or didn't know because I don't actually know that information. ⁓ But I think what we're kind of getting at too is the country's deciding how it wants to be represented moving forward. Brit Robinson: Yeah. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: And being new to politics, it is a fascinating space to be in, a very dramatic space. And I don't really do drama. And being military and law enforcement, I've been trained in very direct communication because if you don't directly communicate, people die or get injured. So I really value transparency and just speaking truth to power. And it's funny, I was on a call with a leader in the state party here earlier today about, we heard this rumor that a guy who he's running for office as an independent, maybe in Montana, ⁓ settled a sex discrimination lawsuit, might be going to a big state party event. And I'm like, why are we allowing this? Like our party bylaws are very clear. There's just all this maneuvering and talking. I'm like, I just need to know directly if he shows up, what are you guys going to do? These are very simple questions. And people are like, well, he can't put materials out. He's not going to have a speaking. And I'm like, it is a private event. It is not a public space. You can kick anybody out that you want. But I think all that goes to this bigger point of people want direct leadership that is transparent, that stands for the vulnerable person. And I think we're all fed up with the party nonsense, I think is really what you're getting at, Mike, right? And again, it is about self preservation to a certain degree. I get like, even the little bit of time I've been in politics, you have to be diplomatic about things. Cause to your point, Jess, when I'm talking to a MAGA person, I wanna... find that common ground, right? And me not saying, I think Donald Trump is a pedophile, isn't me being like, you know, fake, it's me just trying to build a relationship so that we can figure out where we can build together, right? But I think what people don't like is the hiding of things intentionally for self-preservation purposes. ⁓ And again, it all comes back to, we can sit here and talk about this until we're blue in the face. but the people get to decide who they want to represent them. And they get to decide if they're gonna allow the big money machine to dictate who they vote for. I'm not gonna lie. It's so funny. ⁓ I overheard a call yesterday, one of my teammates with someone in the community and they're like, man, Alani, like everybody I talked to, they're like. I've never heard of her, I don't know who she is. But every time they hear her speak, they're like, whoa, like that was amazing, it was inspiring. Like they have this really gracious feedback to give. And I'm like, what the fuck is it with y'all and name recognition? Like, ⁓ I just, you know, I'm like, it's a government of the people, by the people, for the people. And you know, people are like, I've never heard of you. I'm like, why don't you run for office? Like I'm out here doing the thing. If you haven't heard of me, Google me and learn about me. Brit Robinson: Mm-hmm. Yes. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Right? But it's this very like, well, I want to be judgmental and I want to like, kind of keep an arm's length about it. And I don't actually want to hold anybody accountable because that would cost me something. And I don't actually want it. Right? And I think the point is like, it's rallying those mighty 10 to create the change. Because unfortunately, what I have found is every jurisdiction I work in, it's the tiniest group. It's less than five people that Brit Robinson: Mm-hmm. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: are like, don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I wanna help kids. And we figure it out and it's messy. it's, mean, I have ugly snot bubble tear moments, it's awful. But as soon as you get that first win, everybody's bandwagoning. ⁓ my gosh, the number, I had a very powerful three letter agency try to sabotage one of my ops. And then the first person we arrested was a police officer. All of a sudden they're like, ⁓ hey Alani. And I'm like, ⁓ yeah, no, I'm gonna let you win, but I'm gonna remember this, right? And so I just, know, especially for the other candidates running, like this is the pattern I've seen in government and they're going to naysay and nitpick and judge you for what you're wearing and all the things. But you guys keep beating your drums and we're going to get through these primaries. We're going to get through November and we're going to create the change on day one in January that the people are asking for. Jess Murphy: Thank you. Thank Breaking The Meta: Yeah. Well, I want to start. want to end off by saying. I've done a lot of interviews. I've done interviews with all four of you. only know three of you are here now, but all four of you and ⁓ you earlier talked about the idea of hope Alani people like you running for office. Give me a kind of hope that I did not have before. It's one of the reasons I'm so thankful that I I'm doing what I'm doing is ⁓ hearing just some amazing women that want to actually, that are willing to go through the kind of shit I know running for office causes you to go through, but then you guys have to bring it up a level because not only are you running for office, but you're running for office as a woman in this country. You guys give me hope you guys are amazing. And I am so thankful to have met every single one of you. And I'm so thankful that you all were willing to come on here and talk about not easy things. And I was serious when I said we could probably talk about this for an hour. We did the same thing that we always do with all of these women. With all of you guys is we talk we pick one topic, and I have five of them picked out, but we spend half the time we're here on one of them because there's that much to talk about. So it's not a bad thing. Yeah. Alani Bankhead, D-MT: I'm sorry to interrupt. I'm sorry to interrupt Mike and I just want to say especially for the men listening Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for creating the space for bringing us together This is where the change happens and I just want the listener to know for me having a man like Mike I mean any man create a space like that it creates like warmth in my body. It's like a relief that I'm like, ⁓ we're not alone, like fighting, right? Because as much as I want to sit here and be like, rah rah women, I'm a badass and all these things, it takes both sexes to create the community that we want. And so like, I can't adequately. Describe what I feel when I get to talk to you and other men who get it and I'm just really thankful for your advocacy because I know you guys are all like well But what can I do and I'm telling you like it is moving mountains the work that you're doing. So thank you so much Jess Murphy: Mm-hmm. Thanks. Breaking The Meta: you. So to end it all off, I want each one of you and I will do Elizabeth's for her because she's not here. We'll start with Alani. Can you let everyone know where they can find you if they want to learn more about you and support your run for Senate? Alani Bankhead, D-MT: Yes, I'm at Alani for MT so ALANIFORMT.com. Same thing with Facebook, Instagram, I'm on Blue Sky and LinkedIn as well. Yes, please donate. We are totally grassroots. No APAC money, no Dart corporate money, nothing. And every dollar counts to prove this theory that grassroots does still work in America. ⁓ And yeah, follow us, tell your friends about it. Thank you so much. Breaking The Meta: And Jess, how about you next? Jess Murphy: Yeah, you can find me at Jess Murphy for Congress, jessmurphyforcongress.com or jessmurphyforcongress on Instagram or jessmurphyforcongress on TikTok. Those are my big platforms. And then I'm also on threads, which has been a wonderful community. Gives me hope every day. And yes, please, please donate. I'm actually currently in a legal battle. So every dollar is extremely, extremely important to make sure that we get on the ballot because they do not want the little people like us on the ballot. And so we have to fight, fight, fight. And I am ready to fight in Congress. I'm ready to fight now and I will fight for you every single day. Breaking The Meta: and Brit. Brit Robinson: ⁓ you can find me at Brit4Congress.com. So B-R-I-T, one T, the number four, Congress.com. ⁓ and then I'm Brit, same thing, Brit4Congress on all of the social medias. ⁓ yeah, it's, this is, this is such an important race and a time, like for all of us, this is such an important time that we show that, you know, we want something different, that the status quo isn't working. and that working class people, regular people are fighting back and, you know, in trying to uphold, like we've been talking about today, uphold our values and what we want to see for our communities and our families. And this this step one is getting candidates, good candidates through their primaries and then into Congress in November. So yeah, thank you so much for having me too. Breaking The Meta: Yeah. And for anyone that wants to follow Elizabeth and learn more about her, she is Elizabeth for Virginia, for Virginia everywhere. ⁓ TikTok, Instagram, dot com, all that stuff. And just in case anyone doesn't know anything about this podcast, just so you know, this podcast is about having hard conversations when necessary, fighting to break the status quo and the idea that all people, no matter your race, religion, gender or identity, get rights, respect, dignity, and safety. ⁓ Ladies, thank you so much again for being here. And for everyone else, make sure you get out and vote. Vote in the primaries, vote in the general election. Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, because that's the only way we're going to fix anything. Have a great day. We'll see you next time on Breaking the Meta. Bye, guys. Jess Murphy: Thank you.