Latest / Real Patriotism / Scott Colom’s Trying to Turn Mississippi into a Blue State

Transcript

Scott Colom’s Trying to Turn Mississippi into a Blue State · Real Patriotism

0:00
It's primary season and the midterm
0:02
elections are so crucial. There's one
0:04
race I'm looking at that might surprise
0:06
you. Mississippi Senate. That's right.
0:09
Mississippi, as deep red a state as you
0:11
can imagine, is going to have a Senate
0:13
race that'll be close and may surprise
0:16
the country. Scott Cologne, who's a
0:18
black Mississippian from Loun County and
0:21
a district attorney there, is taking on
0:23
the incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde Smith.
0:25
And this is a race to watch because the
0:29
polls show it's kind of close. And Scott
0:31
Colom is a comer. He is a fastmoving
0:34
young man and he believes that he can
0:37
break 150 years since black man served
0:40
in the Senate representing the state of
0:43
Mississippi. He thinks that the key to
0:46
everything is delivering for the people.
0:48
And he points out that Cindy Hyde Smith
0:50
is not seen very often in Mississippi.
0:52
He has never held a town hall in six
0:55
years. He's an incumbent senator and has
0:57
never held a town hall. Well, he's quite
1:00
a candidate. A lot of Democrats are
1:01
looking at him hoping that he can shock
1:05
the world and send a message not just
1:07
about Mississippi, but about America as
1:10
well. It's a great conversation. If you
1:12
like it, hit that like button,
1:14
subscribe. That'll help us as well. And
1:16
now, here's my conversation with Scott
1:18
Cologne, Senate candidate in
1:20
Mississippi.
1:26
Scott Colom, it's great to see you.
1:28
Thanks for doing this.
1:29
>> Thank you so much for having me, Terry.
1:30
I'm looking forward to it.
1:32
>> Yeah. And you are a busy man right now
1:34
running for the Senate, the Democratic
1:36
nomination for the Senate in
1:38
Mississippi. And before we get to
1:40
politics, I want to talk to you about
1:42
the news and and what our country is now
1:45
involved in. this war, to use President
1:48
Trump's own words, the war that he has
1:51
launched against Iran. And so, let me
1:55
ask you, in Mississippi, what are you
1:57
hearing from people? How are
1:58
Mississippians reacting?
1:59
>> Well, in these early days to what Donald
2:02
Trump has done? I I'll tell you, you
2:03
know, as a Mississippian, and I'm a
2:05
Christian, the first thing that I always
2:08
like to do is pray for our service
2:10
members. You know, particularly the
2:11
three that have been killed as a result
2:13
of this of this war. And the ones that
2:16
are at risk and the families that are at
2:18
risk, Mississippi, we disproportionately
2:20
have people that serve in the armed
2:21
services and it's a proud tradition of
2:24
our state to serve our country. And so,
2:26
our prayers are with those people and
2:28
their families. Um, the other thing that
2:30
I think I what I've been hearing is it's
2:33
very important that the people have a
2:36
voice when it comes to a decision like
2:38
war. And that's why Article One requires
2:42
um Congress to give approval for war.
2:45
And that's not just process, that's
2:48
about representation. You know, a
2:51
senator like myself, when I'm elected to
2:53
United States Senate, I'll be close to
2:54
the people of Mississippi. I'll hear
2:56
what their concerns are, how it's
2:58
impacting them, what they want to know
3:00
about a decision as big as this. If
3:02
they're going to put their sons and
3:04
daughters at risk, if they're going to
3:05
put their livelihoods at risk, if we're
3:06
going to put our tax dollars at risk,
3:08
what are we doing it for? And what's the
3:10
endgame? And so, that's what I've been
3:12
hearing. And I do have to say this final
3:14
point, Terry, because I am a millennial.
3:16
Uh, and I came about during the the Iraq
3:20
war. That was kind of a big event for me
3:22
as a young adult. And it informed a lot
3:27
of my thinking when it comes to
3:30
Middle East wars and not having clear
3:33
object objectives, not clear
3:34
intelligence, not um accurate
3:38
intelligence as to what the why we're
3:40
going, what the endgame is, and you
3:42
know, not clear information as to what
3:44
the risk of life is, what the risk of
3:46
treasure is. And so I am informed by
3:49
that and and and my experience would,
3:53
you know, want me to be very clear for
3:55
the people of Mississippi. What are the
3:57
objectives? How is it in our interest?
4:00
And what is the endg game? That's very
4:02
important.
4:04
>> Well, all of that I think is spot on for
4:07
people around the country, not just
4:08
Democrats, not Republicans.
4:11
Donald Trump has taken this country to
4:13
war without a proper conversation
4:15
beforehand about it. He was there in the
4:17
State of the Union, right, in the House
4:19
chamber where you hope to be for the
4:21
next State of the Union as a United
4:23
States senator. And he had one kind of
4:27
paragraph about Iran. He didn't say
4:29
we're about to go to war. He didn't say
4:30
why. He didn't say this is what our
4:32
goals are. He didn't say anything. And I
4:35
think that that gives people the willies
4:37
a little bit because, as you say,
4:39
Americans want to know. This is one
4:41
thing that crosses party lines. We've
4:43
got a right to know. And now we're in
4:45
it.
4:46
>> And we've had some bad experiences in
4:49
Middle East wars that have impacted
4:51
people in Mississippi. I have friends
4:52
who served who, you know, they suffer
4:55
PTSD to this day. As a district
4:58
attorney, I've had to, you know, try to
5:01
help people that are veterans that got
5:04
into drug addiction as a result of their
5:06
service to our country. And I've had
5:08
judges who've really been helpful to try
5:10
to help those veterans get back on
5:12
track. So these are really serious
5:14
decisions and our founders were they
5:18
were smart enough to know that that type
5:20
of decision needed to be informed by
5:22
people that are close to the ground and
5:24
represent different parts of the
5:26
country. And so as a senator, as the
5:29
next senator for for the great state of
5:30
Mississippi, I will always make sure I'm
5:33
close to the ground, understanding the
5:34
concerns of the people and take their
5:36
their voices to this DC and take the
5:38
rationale back to them so they can be
5:41
informed as to uh what their sons and
5:44
daughters are risking.
5:46
>> Exactly. I think that that's so well put
5:49
but but people close to the ground right
5:51
who are who are living the lives who are
5:52
going to be doing the service or whose
5:55
neighbors their their kids they're going
5:57
to be doing the service and that is
5:59
something we've lacked but now we're in
6:00
it. You're right. You know we got to
6:01
pray for the safety of our of our
6:03
troops. We got to pray it comes out all
6:05
right for us and for the people of Iran.
6:07
But I think we're a long way from the
6:09
end of this right now. Um, but let me
6:12
talk to you about what you are doing
6:13
right now. Running for the United States
6:16
Senate in the state of Mississippi. You
6:18
are a Democrat. You're a black man. That
6:21
sounds like a long shot to most people.
6:25
>> Well, you know, I think that
6:27
I'll tell you this. When I graduated
6:29
from law school at the University of
6:31
Wisconsin, I did very well. I I did well
6:33
enough where I had opportunities to do a
6:35
lot of different things. But I was proud
6:37
to move back to Mississippi and to offer
6:40
my talents and my abilities to the state
6:41
that I thought needed them the most in
6:43
the state that had a lot of potential.
6:45
That's what I think people don't
6:47
recognize. Mississippi has so much
6:48
potential and Mississippi has
6:50
>> how so just we have a lot of great
6:52
people that work hard that you know over
6:56
overperform. They care about their
6:58
country. They're willing to serve. We're
7:00
the one of the highest people when it
7:02
comes to charitable contribution. And
7:04
I'll tell you, Terry, the state of
7:06
Mississippi and the people have been
7:07
great to me. They've given me positions
7:08
that nobody thought I would ever get. I
7:10
was the youngest justice court judge in
7:12
my area. I was elected district attorney
7:14
2015, being a 27 year incumbent, and
7:17
that was because I was close to the
7:19
people. I talked about my values. I
7:21
earned their trust. And that's how we're
7:23
going to win this election is being
7:25
close to the people, campaigning, and
7:27
listening to their concerns and being
7:29
present and working hard to make sure
7:31
they understand that they and me are
7:34
going to get a leader that's going to
7:35
put them first. And the other thing I
7:37
would tell people out there is the
7:39
people of Mississippi,
7:41
we've been putting cracks in the glass
7:44
of the domination you getting from
7:47
Republicans, the perception that we're a
7:49
super red state. We've been cracking
7:50
that glass. You know, 2023,
7:55
we got within three points, 27,000 votes
7:57
of electing a Democratic governor. That
7:59
was the closest in the South that that
8:02
any Democrat got. And that was because
8:04
we had a candidate that was running on
8:06
cutting the grocery tax, something that
8:07
working people care about. Expanding
8:09
Medicaid, something that working people
8:11
care about. And last year, you know, it
8:14
didn't get a lot of attention, but we
8:15
broke the supermajority in the state
8:16
senate with candidates that talked about
8:18
raising wages, cost of living,
8:20
affordability, things that hit people's
8:23
pocketbooks. And the thing that's going
8:25
to really break that glass ceiling for
8:27
me and we're going to win in November is
8:30
health care costs. Cindy high I call her
8:33
high cost, high price milk. Cindy high
8:35
price milk because she really she's
8:38
truly betrayed the voters of
8:39
Mississippi. She cut health care for
8:43
140,000 Mississippians.
8:45
And those are people that I see at the
8:47
grocery store. There are people that I
8:49
see at church. There are hardworking
8:51
Mississippians who are not going to have
8:52
healthcare. They're still going to get
8:53
sick, but they're not going to have
8:55
health care because city high betrayed
8:56
them. And then Terry, it doesn't even
8:58
stop there. then another 200,000
9:02
Mississippian are going to lose health
9:04
care because she didn't vote to keep the
9:06
subsidies for people on the exchange act
9:08
disproportionately benefiting
9:09
Mississippian. I had a woman, she's in
9:12
the sandwich generation, uh Terry, she's
9:14
taking care of her parents, but she's
9:16
also taking care of her kids and she has
9:18
a job. Well, she has to have
9:19
flexibility, so she's an independent
9:21
contractor. She's been getting federal
9:23
support for insurance on the exchange
9:25
for a couple years now. And that's the
9:28
difference between her having insurance
9:29
and not having health insurance. And
9:31
she's not going to have it anymore, but
9:33
she's gonna or she's gonna have subpar
9:35
care, catastrophic care. And that's
9:37
going to have terrible outcomes for her.
9:39
And then it's going to put our rural
9:40
hospitals at risk of closing. You know,
9:42
this study show at least eight rural
9:44
hospitals are at risk of closing. So
9:46
even the people who do have healthcare,
9:48
Terry, they won't have a hospital to go
9:50
to. And you know, it's really really a a
9:54
moment where hardworking Mississippians
9:56
are going to come together and recognize
9:58
that we're not the type of state that
10:00
can afford superartisan representation.
10:04
We've got to have representation that
10:06
always always puts Mississippi first.
10:08
And that's what I'm offering the people
10:10
of Mississippi.
10:12
>> You know, Scott, what you're describing
10:14
there is really a problem once again
10:15
across the country. the sense that
10:17
people are just strung out by the cost,
10:20
strung out by the the burdens of trying
10:23
to have the basics, right? Take taking
10:26
care of your loved ones, health care in
10:28
particular. And that that does cut
10:31
across party lines. And you're feeling
10:33
you're telling me that you think
10:35
Mississippi is ready to take this state
10:37
this step away from a one party state
10:40
pretty much, right? Republicans for a
10:42
long long time and elected Democratic
10:44
senator. You
10:45
>> Yeah. Yeah. And you know, and it hasn't
10:47
been that long. I mean, 2010, we had two
10:50
we had three Democratic congressmen out
10:52
of four. I mean, and and and and people
10:56
often tell me, okay, well, you had two
10:58
Republican senators for a very, very
11:00
long time, and we did. We had Trent,
11:01
Lot, Thad Cochran. But I'll tell you,
11:04
those senators delivered for
11:06
Mississippi. You can't go to a college
11:09
or university that doesn't have a
11:11
footprint of what Thad Cochran brought
11:13
back to Mississippi. Trent Lock was the
11:15
majority leader at one point and
11:17
delivered for the Gulf Coast, kept bases
11:20
in our state, kept brought jobs to our
11:22
state. We actually typically have
11:25
senators that deliver for Mississippi.
11:27
And that's what makes Cindy High Smith
11:30
uh uh uniquely disqualified. She's
11:33
betrayed that principle. She's voted
11:35
against voted against infrastructure
11:37
money even though Senator Roger Wicker
11:39
did vote for it. voted against
11:40
infrastructure money that went to roads
11:42
and bridges that disproportionately
11:44
helped working people in Mississippi.
11:47
She voted against job money, excuse me.
11:49
She voted against the chip act that
11:50
brought jobs to Mississippi. You know
11:53
the we're about to lose some clean
11:56
energy money that came.
11:59
Senator High Price is totally absent in
12:01
that we're not used to such ineffective
12:03
leadership in Mississippi when it comes
12:05
to our senators. And that's another
12:07
thing that's special and and that's why
12:09
we're gonna beat her.
12:11
>> You know, it's interesting. You're
12:12
talking about two different generations
12:13
of Republicans there, right? Republicans
12:15
who were conservatives and believe in a
12:18
lot of Republican stuff, but were close
12:20
to the people enough so that they could
12:22
deliver the goods. And now we have
12:25
Republicans who really respond to the
12:27
orders of one guy. He lives at 1600
12:29
Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington once
12:32
again. And it's the movement, Trump
12:34
movement. conservatives or I I should
12:36
say Republicans who are out there. And
12:39
that brings me to my own sense of
12:42
American politics, which is I I like to
12:45
say that the bestkept secret in American
12:48
politics is that most people are
12:50
actually still normal.
12:51
>> They had a movement over here. They had
12:53
a movement over here. They want
12:55
pragmatic solutions to the real problems
12:57
in their lives. They want to make their
12:59
lives, the lives of their children,
13:00
lives of their communities better. And
13:03
you think that's got traction there in
13:04
Mississippi? It should.
13:05
>> Absolutely. That's true in Mississippi
13:07
as it's true all across our country. And
13:09
you know, they also want leaders that
13:11
show up. That's the other thing that's
13:13
unique about uh the failures that we're
13:16
getting from our our current junior
13:18
senator. She hasn't done a town hall in
13:20
six years, Terry. Not one time has she
13:22
opened herself up to have voters come
13:25
in, ask her a question, listen to their
13:28
concerns, make sure you're open and
13:31
understand what's going on on the
13:33
ground. She is totally MIA in our state.
13:36
Nobody ever sees her. They don't know
13:38
what she's doing. And I have already
13:41
done two town halls and I've open it up
13:44
to the public. Tell me your concerns.
13:46
You might not I might not 100% agree
13:48
with you. Everybody's invited, but you
13:50
at least know what I believe in, what
13:53
I'm fighting for. And
13:55
>> you know, that's typically what we get.
13:57
I remember when I was a child, you know,
13:58
my dad was a Republican for a long time,
14:00
Terry. Uh, and he would, you know, take
14:04
me to different events and I remember
14:05
going to a Jackson State football game,
14:07
right? And you can imagine a Jackson
14:09
State football game. And you got a bunch
14:10
of Jackson State alum there at the at
14:13
halftime. Than Cochran, Senator Cochran
14:15
showed up. Big check for for the for the
14:18
Jackson State University.
14:21
And I said, "Listen, he understands
14:25
his number one job." Sydney Highmith
14:27
can't tell you where Jackson State
14:29
Stadium is located. She's so so absent
14:32
in our state. And you know, I'm going to
14:34
campaign all across the state. I'll talk
14:36
to anybody anywhere. I will listen to
14:39
anybody anywhere and I will make sure
14:41
I'm not promising them a senator that's
14:43
gonna 100% agree with them, but I'm
14:45
promising them that them somebody that's
14:47
going to put Mississippi first. I
14:49
>> I love that story about delivering the
14:52
check to Jackson State. Uh which as a uh
14:54
as a Chicago Bears fan, isn't it? That
14:56
that's Walter Peyton.
14:57
>> It is. It is. It is.
14:59
>> That is that's what I thought. So, we
15:00
thank you for for Walter Payton. Uh and
15:03
you've touched on a couple of parts of
15:05
your life. Tell me a little bit about
15:07
about yourself. Tell people a little bit
15:09
about yourself. Uh where you come from.
15:12
Your dad, you said, was was a Republican
15:15
and really why you came home to
15:18
Mississippi, right? When you had the
15:20
opportunity, you were in Wisconsin. I
15:21
went to college up the road in Apple. A
15:23
lot of opportunities up there for, you
15:25
know, a guy who graduates from law
15:26
school, but you decided to come home to
15:28
Mississippi. Talk about
15:29
>> Well, thank you for that question. Uh,
15:31
you know, my mom ran for judge um in my
15:35
hometown area and uh she ran twice and
15:39
lost. She won on her third her third
15:41
time and I remember writing letters for
15:43
the voters and knocking on doors and I
15:46
got a bug for public service uh from
15:49
that experience and seeing how people
15:51
respected my mom and that people would
15:53
come up to me and say, "Your mom helped
15:55
me adopt my my child. Tell her thank you
15:57
for me." And when I graduated from law
15:59
school, I I wanted to serve and I wanted
16:01
to go back to a state that I felt like
16:03
needed my uh my abilities. And so in
16:06
2015 when I was deciding to run for
16:08
district attorney, I thought I could do
16:10
better than my predecessor who had been
16:12
there a long time. Uh you know, there
16:14
was a Netflix documentary about how bad
16:17
he was called The Innocent Man. He had a
16:19
record of sending people to prison using
16:21
bitemark evidence that was bogus and,
16:23
you know, putting punishment above
16:26
anything else. And so I thought, listen,
16:28
I'm gonna lead with my values. I'm gonna
16:30
run a campaign that talks about we need
16:32
to prioritize violent crime because
16:34
violence destroys families, destroys
16:36
communities, but we need to be smart on
16:38
nonviolent crime. We need to give young
16:40
people an opportunity if they made a a
16:42
one time mistake knowing that a lot of
16:44
people didn't grow up like I did. They
16:45
didn't have the opportunities that I
16:46
had. And that didn't mean they didn't
16:48
have value, that they didn't have
16:50
potential and trying to find ways to
16:52
help them get back on track. And so I
16:53
ran on that. People thought I was crazy.
16:55
They said district attorney run on
16:56
criminal justice reform. That makes no
16:58
sense. 27 year incumbent. But I just
17:00
believed in Mississippi. I just did. And
17:02
because I just know him. I went to
17:03
church with them. I went I play YMCA
17:06
basketball with them. I coach their
17:07
kids. Now the vast majority of
17:09
Mississippians love Mississippi more
17:12
than they hate the Democratic party. I
17:14
love the Republican party. And that
17:15
simple bet, that simple deep down in my
17:18
soul believing that, that's why I'm
17:19
running. That's why I know I'm gonna
17:20
win.
17:23
>> That's a great line. I I think every
17:25
candidate should should steal that about
17:27
their states, although Mississippi does
17:28
have that distinctive personality,
17:31
right? It it gets a lot of of ragging uh
17:35
you know about its struggles over the
17:37
years, but one thing that I've read
17:39
recently, this is a little bit off your
17:41
campaign, but maybe it's one of your
17:42
issues, that Mississippi has improved
17:44
education in that state to where it's
17:46
one of the national leaders, right,
17:48
>> in reading and other things. That's
17:50
amazing.
17:50
>> It is. And you first you got to give
17:52
credit to the teachers. uh the ones that
17:54
you know I got two daughters, Lucy and
17:56
Maddie. Shout out to Lucy and Maddie.
17:58
Seven and nine. So I remember taking to
18:01
to Lucy to her first uh class uh in
18:04
public school and seeing 25 students in
18:07
the class and seeing one teacher and
18:10
saying to myself, "Holy moly, I can't
18:12
handle two for a weekend.
18:16
How she gonna handle 25 for a whole
18:18
day?" and they just she the teachers are
18:22
just magical. They just figure it out.
18:23
They they love the students. They figure
18:25
out ways to learn and teach and do all
18:28
the things that are required. And you
18:30
know, we did some smart reforms. We made
18:32
sure that before you got to fourth
18:34
grade, you you know how to read well.
18:36
And if you're struggling, there's
18:38
opportunities throughout the year where
18:41
you can get help from reading coaches.
18:43
And we've got a a great champion who
18:45
doesn't get a lot of national news, but
18:47
Jim Barksdale, the founder of uh
18:49
Netscape. He put a lot of money, a lot
18:52
of his own money, a lot of his time into
18:56
the Mississippi miracle. He deserved a
18:58
lot of credit for it because he believed
18:59
in teachers, he believed in reading, and
19:01
he put his money where his mouth was.
19:04
>> Yeah, it has. It has worked. And so,
19:06
let's get back to politics for for a
19:09
moment. We're we're talking about this
19:11
this your sen your primary is coming up.
19:13
You're running against uh I guess one a
19:15
distant cousin of Emtt Till of an
19:18
important name in American history.
19:21
>> How does that look for you?
19:22
>> I feel very confident that we're going
19:24
to win. Uh I've been working very hard
19:26
campaigning all across the state uh
19:29
talking to voters and listening and
19:31
doing creative ways to get people's
19:32
attention because you got to do that in
19:34
modern politics. And uh I'm excited
19:37
about where I am and it's based on what
19:39
people are telling me. I respect anybody
19:41
that runs for office, but I also have
19:43
the the advantage of being a current
19:45
elected official and having a base of
19:47
support that I think is going to uh be
19:49
helpful.
19:51
>> And then you've got the big race, right?
19:52
Then again, Senator Cindy Hidith, she is
19:55
the incumbent. She's well funded. I've
19:57
heard you're you're doing really well on
19:59
the fundraising circuit, but I just want
20:01
to cast your mind forward. You probably
20:03
don't want to do this. What if you win?
20:06
A Democrat wins in Mississippi in the
20:08
Senate. Now, I mean, I don't I don't
20:10
know what that would do. Democrats are
20:12
so used to being pessimistic about the
20:14
world that I'm not sure they'd be able
20:15
to handle it. But it would also send a
20:17
message to Republicans and maybe to all
20:20
of us about we're locked in this
20:23
terrible political place right now.
20:25
Maybe Mississippi show could show us a
20:27
way out.
20:27
>> I think absolutely. And what the people
20:30
of Mississippi can guarantee is that
20:33
when we win, my focus is going to be on
20:36
going to DC and delivering for
20:38
Mississippi. I'm not going to go there
20:40
to try to get into the partisan fights
20:42
that we often see. Mississippi, we just
20:45
can't afford to be a state like that.
20:46
I've got to be solely focused on how do
20:49
I help Mississippi reach its potential.
20:51
And that's going to require that's gonna
20:52
require and I have no issue with it
20:54
working with Republicans when necessary
20:56
to do what's best for Mississippi. Make
20:59
sure that we can lead because there's no
21:01
reason Mississippi can't be a leader in
21:03
our country. We've got all the
21:05
potential. We've got great people. We
21:07
just need proper leadership. Uh and
21:10
we're going to get it. I believe I truly
21:12
believe deep down in my heart we're
21:13
going to get it in November.
21:15
>> Well, it is a race to watch and uh and
21:18
we'll all be watching. Maybe I'll come
21:20
down, spend a day with you on the
21:21
campaign trail,
21:22
>> Terry. You'll love it.
21:23
>> Get a feel for that. I've been to
21:24
Mississippi a couple times and I have
21:26
always had a great time. I really
21:27
>> Thank you so much for having me, Terry.
21:29
I really appreciate you taking good luck
21:31
to you. See you down the road. Thanks.