Want to show you the programs we have covered with the democratic president ial primary candidates. Politicians write book once policy issues or memoirs prior to launching a Political Campaign and well kick off with michael bennett. He has been a senator for colorado since 2009. He launched his president ial campaign in may of 2019, and his book, the land of flickering lights, came out in june of 2019. Heres a portion of his discussion from san francisco. Ben. You cant accept the way politics works in was and create a tour double seeings on climate. You cant fix Climate Change four years at a time. I dont think thats any way to regulate a Banking System or support education. But you certainly cant deal with climate that way, and thats why i think sort of as a definitional matter you cannot accept the current political align independent america and we have to build a coalition of americans outside of washington to overcome a broken washington. Thats what well have to do. That sounds really hard, and it is really hard. But there are no shortcuts and democracy. This why the debate about to get rid of the full buster or not. Filibuster, the question is can you win states like colorado, iowa, arizona . Because if you cant, youre not going to be able to make the kinds of changes that we need to be able to make. The democrats are putting forth a lot of ideas on Climate Change and one heat gotten the most attention for better or worse is the Green New Deal, or as pelosi calls it, the green new dream. Not so much anymore. She buried the hatch set aoc. Inscientist say the longer you wait, the tougher the solution. What should congress be doing that is acceptable, thats doable . First of all, i believe that we should not ever compromise with the science. Ever. Ever. And thats why i actually support the findings of the Green New Deal that say, weve got to get to net zero carbon by 2050 and a bunch of other thing is agree with. But i think another approach to the policy is going to be more likely to be successful for the reasons i said earlier. I of you come out to colorado have a conversation with people and say, my climate plan we have to act urgently and my plan is that were going to retrofit every building in america in the next ten years and give everybody a paid vacation and well give everybody a paid job, and Bernie Sanders health care plan, people will say that doesnt sound like a climate plan to me. Sounds like Something Else and one thing that drives me nut, the one thing the left of the list was a high Quality Public School for every kid in america. Why are always left behind . Theyre invisible to us. The kids in these urban School Districts and theyre invisible to the Progressive Left in the country. And so what i believe is that the tragedy of the last election, is that we lost an election to a climbed denier. It should be disqualifying for the white house if you deknee the climb change is real. Satellite be disqualifying it should be disqualifying on moral terms. But i mean Something Else. It should be disqualifying on political terms. Because the majority of americans believe the Climate Change is real and the majority of americans believe we need to do something to fix it and the argument we lost to trump, which is a disgrace, should never have lost is, was on economics and he won an argument with the American People where he said if we deal with Climate Change, its going to be an economic catastrophe for america, when the reverse is true. Of course. Itself we dont deal with climate, it will be an economic catastrophe for america. That is an argue. We cannot lose again. A failure of democrats to come up with a message. It. That resonates. Aning a guying description in the book about agonizing description in the book but the Keystone Pipeline vote and this is a thing where i voted in a way that was not consistent with the environmental communities view with whom i have very very strong relationship women moved to colorado because my wife was the regional director or earth justice, the rockie mountain region. They do a great job and i had to crawl into bed every night so i need to be right on these issues. But what disturbed what was is like the night you vote for the keystone. It was fine because we had been through it. At galvanizeed our base but didnt bring anybody else to the table. Somebody else once say what would mickael have said two gets to pick symbols, the movement or the politics and thats a legitimate question and my answer is probably a little bit of both. And then the question from the friend of mine in colorado, who was very disappointed in me on this but had agreed it was the keystone was a symbol, not more than a symbol. What would michael have said but the lunch counters in the Civil Rights Movement and this is all in the book to which i said, exactly, thats my point. This civil rights the lunch currenters broth the north into the Civil Rights Movement. It expanded the movement. And built it in a way that could overcome people who thought they would never be able never give up on segregation in this country. We need the same sort of relentlessness and approach on Climate Change. Have the build a coalition of people to change politics in washington, dc so with a adorable solution and i believe we can easily do that. Think the coalition is waiting for news america to do it. But you cant just expect that its going to be there and you cant make proposals that actually divide people when youre trying to unite people, and i want to end by just to be very clear about it, you cannot compromise on the science and we cannot compromise on the science. That is not the same thing as saying we shouldnt be open to figure out how to build a durable coalition of people that can sustain a political outcome in this country. Thats an honorable thing to do i think, not a dishonorable thing. As you say in the book, i think you allude to this, youre talking about segregation, civil rights, the big civil rights bills made in the mid60s could never have happened without the republican. Never have happened. And what has happened to the party . Not just on civil rights which is little more understandable but on science. Its good example. A chapter in the book called the corruption of inaction about what is really bit Citizens United and the way i describe the effect on temperature country is by using Climate Change. Dont want to overstate it but the republicans actually had a fairly honorable environmental tradition. Everybody knows that Teddy Roosevelts honorable tradition but imagine this. Richard nixon signed into law the Clean Air Act and the clean water act and stood up the epa. Ronald reagan closed the hole in the ozone layer. He was a skip cancer survivor, log cap and trade system. Two gorge bushes went the u. N. Unand said we have to do something, gorge bush the dad went to detroit, michigan, and said, people that think were not going to get anything done on climate, forget but the white effect and well get something done on climate. My friend, john mccain, i was on the gaining of eight with him on immigration, he ran on Climate Change. What happened in 2010 the Supreme Court decided Citizens United and led to the Koch Brothers and other billionaires, fossil fuel people from have a completely outsized role in their politics and first set out just in that year, set out to require every member of the congress who is republican to sign a climate pledge that said that i would say the Climate Change was real and that humans werent going contribute to it and so they went out and sign that pledge. And then ever since then, we have been living in a world where if a republican in washington looks like theyre going to do something on climate, the coaches have kochs have to ratting their coins in the pockets because its chump change for them and say, oh really . Because of the Supreme Court we can put 30 million in your next primary and you will be dead before this even starts and that has creates this profound corruption of inaction in our country. The Supreme Court in their opinion, which i used to describe as like reading a seventh graders American Government paper, and then i decided that was insulting to americas seventh grader sod i dont say that anymore. But the ignorance of that opinion where they were so focuses on this idea of corruption of action. You give me 5,000, i go write a bill for you. Or you give me 5,000, and i go write a bill that has the appearance of being written for you. The court stayed, both those things we have a right to worry about and we can limit contributions. Set that why you can only give me 5,000 but to then they said with independent expenditures by definition theyre independent so we dont have to worry ask thats why the Koch Brothers can give a billion dollars and not put their name on it and affect all ol american elects. Said this money in american politic is while not cause thisser is their language with nothing cause the American People to lose faith in their democracy. 95 of the American People say theres too much money in our dem address and the billionaires control to much of it. This is one of the huge reasons why we are in the mess were in. Its not the only reason. It was a confluence of the rise of the tea party and reaction to the election of barack obama. It was the Koch Brothers simultaneously being unleashed by the white house, and unbelief by corrosive effect, the particularly corrosive effect in that era of the partisan gerrymanders that happened in the house of representatives. Those things co lessed together in a structural, toxic stew were live being. When minimum friend joe biden says if this guess to the question of trump being a symptom not a cause says if we just get rid of trump it will go back to normal. Ignores the structural issue that exist in the democracy i lay out in my book. And many of the changes over the last ten years, and ignores the fact that the place is now populated by a bunch of Tea Party People and not by the kind of republicans who were available to pass a civil rights bill. Joe Bidens National political clear began in 1972 when he whereas elected senator for dedelaware he has over 1,000 cspan arches us but only once on booktv. He wrote a book in 2000 called promises to keep. We want to show you a portion now. The twin temperatures collapsed i by thyme get on the road and the death estimates for in new york were five, six, seven thousand, me a more. When i got home and put on the television i saw that americans were still had a heart that was still beating very strong. Doctor and nurses ready to treat the wound. Snaking through the streets and up the avenues were long lines of new yorkers waiting to give their blood. Even though the word was being passed that no more blood was needed. I can see it in their faces. They were hungry to do something, anything. Nobody was talking about war footings or paybacks. They just wanted to do thing part. That was a day that reminds me that even in the moment of almost total silence from the leaders in washington, americans would rise to the occasion. Watching these people in the blood lines way convinced the country would get up off the mat, face the new challenges head on, and emerge stronger for having faced them. To me, this is the first principle of life. The foundation principle. A lesson you cant learn defeat of any wise man or woman. Get up. The art of living is simply getting up after you have been knocked down. Its a lesson taught by example and learned in the doing. I got that lesson every day while growing up in a nondescript split level moment. My ad, joseph arent bid bide sr. Was man of few years. I learn from him i learned from watching. He had been knocked down hard as a young man. But he never stopped trying. He was the first one up in the morning, every morning, in our home. Clean, shaven, el againstly tress dressed, pouting on the coffee, going the karl dealership show a job he never liked misbrother, jim, said most morning you do hear dad singing in the kitchen. My dad had real grace. He never, ever gave up. And the never complain. The world done owe you a living, joey, he used to say but without ranch core. Didnt jump a imagine by how many times he got knocked down. He judged them by how rapidly he got back up. Get up. That was the phrase. That was the phrase and echoed through my whole life. The world dropped on your head . My dad would say, get up. Youre lying in bed, feeling sorry for yourself . Get up. You got knocked down, not docked on your ass on a football field, get up. Bad great lake get up. The girls parents wont let her go out with a catholic boy. Get up. Wasnt just small things but big ones as well. When the only voice i could hear is my own, after the surgery, senator, your might lose your able to speak, get up. The newspapers are calling you a plagiarerrist, get upper,under wife and daughter, im sorry, joe, nothing we do coo do to save them. Get up. Flunked a class in law school. Get up. Kids make fun of you because you cant pronounce your last name, you said bbbbiden. I get up no daylight between my moms philosophy of life and my dads. She just was more vocal and continues to be. He couldnt stan people who abused power of any kind. He never laid a hand on any of us and if we heard him, time and time again say, it takes a small man to hit a small child. No man has a right to raise a hand to a woman. Under any circumstances. Always about getting up. And standing up, standing up to abuse of power whether at the hands of a neighborhood bully or a dictator. When i was in eight grade, i got invited to the Presbyterian Church for a mix are for the kids kids who went to public school. Was the catholic kid in mayfield ask and. Heyed to we are one if dads dress shirts. A big deal to go to the dance but the dress shirt was too long so i never forget my mom rolled up the sleeves twice, french cuff shirt, and then she couldnt find any cuff links and hi dad worked on friday nights and we couldnt find them. So my mother went down to the washing man and picked up the toolbox and out of the toolbox she got a nut and a bolt. You think im kidding, im not. And my mom came up from the basement and started to put them into my sleeves. I pulled away i said, mom, im not doing this. Im not going to do this. Im not going to do this, mom. Theyll make fun of me mitchell mother, as all of her kids and grandkids and grandchildren have heard, said, joey, look at me. I said, mom, im not doing it. Im not doing it under any circumstances. She said, joey, look at me. If anybody says anything about these nuts and bolts to you, you just look them right in the eye and say, you dont have a pair of these . And i said, mom, im not doing this. [applause] im not doing this. I wanted to go to this dance in the worst way. All the best looking girls in eighth and ninth grade were there so i went. Nuts and bolts and all. And literally as i was stand he to punch bowl, one of the sort of bullies of the neighborhood, i reached out and he held up my arm and said, look, look, biden, look at his cuff links. Nuts and bolts. And first i felt just so embarrassed. And then he felt more angry than i was embarrassed. And i looked him straight in the eye and i said, frank you dont have a pair of these . And it was dead silence, true story. And he looked and he went, yeah, yeah issue got a pair of those, too. [laughter] i want you to know, i want you to know, it always reminded me and taught me that its not about whether youre barefoot orr wear guccis, have it ins and bolts or fine cuff links. Its who you are and what you believe. My 50th birth day me best friend, my sister val my stir is incredible. Stand up. [applause] my sister went to tiffanys and had a pair of sterling silver cuff links made. Theyre nuts and bolts. She got them for me to remind me, to remind me where we come from. And remind me about how to judge a person. Never forget. Never forget. From time to time, you talk but the holocaust, my dad. He could never understand how people could be persecuted for just being who they were. The war was wrong, joey at the dinner table where we had one rule mitch dad came home every night from the dealership. One rule was, at dinner, the only place you are expected to have impeccable manners. No excuses. Theres a place we sat to have conversations and occasionally eat. Wasnt about eating. And my dad would respond to what he thought were these terrible things he said the world was wrong, failing to respond to the atrocities against the jews we should be ashamed and also very critical of jews who did not want to establish the state of israel. He couldnt quite understand it mitchell father was not jewish. We each had a personal responsibility, he told us, just like the nuns toll us. Wasnt sufficient enough to point out something was wrong. It was obliged, if you had the capacity, any way to impact it, to intervene. In april 1993 i traveled to belgrade, come in, senator, he said, lets talk. We sat down at his conference table and he talked. You know you got us all wrong, senator. Got us all wrong. Its the muslims and the cruet, its not us. I brought up a largely muslim town trying like hell to hold all the serb soldiers who were firing on neighborhoods from aretily pieces around the town who were minute during the humanitarian relief effort and pummeling their convoys. No, no the u. N. Has preceded this. The recent bombings are not us. Theyre doing it to themselves. To make us look bad. He tried to tell me that all sides in bosnia have artilleries. Battery and tanks. Including the muslims. Mr. Mellow rich i said youre the only