And I'm rolling.
All right.
Well, I guess let's start with tell me a little bit about how coming out of the fall,
and then I'm sure there was a Supreme Court race coming up, but what was that like coming
off of November and kind of leading into the winter view?
I can definitely tell you, it wasn't a great experience.
This was an election that I had been working on for the last almost two years.
It doesn't matter if it was with a local organization or a high school organization,
and we were really trying to ensure that the people's voices were being heard.
And I feel that on November 5th there were so many voices that were silenced, and I believe
that's something that we're seeing today, very much so.
And I would definitely say when it came to myself and other students, and even adults
morale was very, very low.
They don't believe in the system anymore, and they didn't believe in too much to begin
with.
And now when we're given this government that acts like they don't work for the citizens
and they don't represent their states or their individual districts, it's like why
should I go on vote, why should I go in Canvas, why should I help anyone besides myself?
So was there a turning point for you in getting back into it, staying committed?
Obviously, you spent a lot of energy.
People would understand if you're like, you know, I'm going to take some time.
I'm a young freshman in college, I've got to focus on myself for a bit.
Absolutely.
I spent about a week post-election cycle, didn't go to any classes, wasn't doing any work.
And it was just so very sad for me, and I didn't know what was coming next.
I didn't know if I wanted to get back into it, but I sat down and I was, you know, just
looking at one of the little clips that were coming up on the news and already seeing the
things that was happening with whether it be doge or, you know, whatever, you know, project
2025 plans that have come to fruition within the new legislature and, you know, the different
policy initiatives that are being brought up.
And I was like, I can't just sit here on the sidelines and allow this to happen.
And though I'm not on, you know, working the national level anymore, I'm not part of the
convention, the most important work is here on the local level, because it starts on the
local level and it builds up to your state and then it builds up to the national level.
And that's why I got back into it.
I had met with Susan Crawford around the time that I was planning on running for a delegate
and I had went and I was actually speaking at an event when she introduced herself to
me and I could tell immediately that this was a person that I want to represent my state
and I want to represent me.
And so when I heard of the opportunity to go and organize, to work with different groups
to help her win the nomination and to hopefully then be elected in this upcoming election,
I couldn't just sit down.
So we ran into a campaign event in Green Bay where she was at the Democratic headquarters.
How has it been like since then?
What are, I guess, some of the struggles or the things you've had to deal with from trying
to convince fellow students and other people that, hey, this race matters too?
Yeah, I think the biggest struggle is that people don't know there's an election coming
up.
Everyone was wrapped up in the presidential election as always.
That's the first one and that's the most important one.
And like I said, it's not just the president, everyone else under them, you know, they're
just as important.
And so I've really just been trying to nail it into my friends.
I had friends who weren't planning on voting for the presidential election and I had brought
them to an up event, allowed them to see and hear firsthand from different candidates
and eventually got them to go out and vote regardless of who they voted for and, you
know, fortunately was for the candidate of my favor.
But those same friends now, they felt like it was a waste of their vote.
And so it's me trying to ensure them that I know the system seems flawed and I know
it seems like it was unfair.
But that election cycle is over.
We have to do what we can now and that's to get Susan Crawford and she's going to be
someone that represents the state of Wisconsin well.
It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat, it doesn't matter if you're a Republican.
You know, she strictly follows the Constitution and that's what we need more than ever nowadays.
You have candidates who believe that the Constitution is less of a rule book and sort
of, you know, maybe do this.
This is how we started off, but you can branch out into your own form of government and that's
just not what it is.
You know, it was enshrined in our government for a reason because it endowed, you know,
each of the citizens with certain nonalienable rights, rights which are being violated every
single day.
So is getting people to be aware of a Supreme Court race different than a partisan fall
race because in some ways the Supreme Court is very, very important in terms of like protecting
and enshrining the backstop of the rights to say, no, you can't do that when it comes to
a legislature, an executive that may overreach, but for some people they may not understand
how closely that could be conducted to their lives whereas they vote for a senator or
a president, you're like, they can do this and the Supreme Court doesn't feel as close
sometimes.
It's definitely difficult to get people to kind of understand the importance of the
Supreme Court.
They don't understand the entire idea of the check and balance system and I don't say
that didn't mean anyone, but you know, it's in part to a lack of teachings by, you know,
our education system there, you know, students aren't as civically engaged, so I'm doing
what I can to ensure that they know why it's so important, how it affects them.
I mean, if you look at it, again, states are in control of reproductive freedoms and
whether or not women are allowed to have abortions and that is something that the Supreme Court
deals with and I especially try to get those friends who, you know, are pro-choice, to
understand that even if they were like, I'm not going to vote, be like, if this person
who you're voting for right now, they're making that decision, they're deciding whether or
not our state is going to allow for that, you know.
So we've got a push here to the end.
Is it different campaigning in the snow, the cold, and it's warming up a little bit now,
but you know, you get in the summer and it's beautiful weather, you get in the fall and
it's pretty in Wisconsin, you know, it's definitely pretty in February to be out doing
stuff, trying to knock doors or get people involved, right?
Yeah, I've done it a few times here and there now with this election cycle, most of my work
I'm dealing with is just calling people different numbers, but when I am out, it's cold.
Even for Wisconsin, you know, I bundle up with my gloves, my hat, sometimes a scarf,
and people, I would say, you know, they felt a little hostile during the presidential
election cycle, but now it's, you want to talk to me about another election cycle, you
want me to open my door, it's negative 20 degrees outside, can you please just leave?
And I know that we seem like a burden to come and to knock on your door, but it's that
important, and I've been saying that since the presidential cycle, that it's that important
that you go out and vote.
You know, once you've made that decision, I'm still not going to stop bothering you
because I want you to really understand the impact that your voice and your vote have.
We need to stop treating our government like that, like they're the big shark.
They are the little shark.
There are a few hundred people who go out and make the decision, and we are the people
who employed them.
Once we show them that, again, we are that big shark, the more, the more our impact
we'll have.
So it used to be that the Supreme Court was kind of abstract because it wasn't, it's
still technically nonpartisan, but the candidates were a little afraid to embrace the political
parties and they tried to pretend, oh, I'm not connected to any of that.
And so some people sometimes had to figure out, like, who, which candidate feels most
closely aligned to what I believe in?
That's not the case anymore.
They're very heavily politically aligned with the Dems and the Republicans backing everyone.
Does that make it easier to convince people of how to make a choice or how to think about
this?
Sometimes almost tarnish it, but tying it so closely to partisan elections.
I feel, you know, in the middle about that whole situation when it comes to them picking
or aligning with different parties.
In most instances, I find people will almost always just vote for who's a part of their
political party, and that should never, never, ever be how you vote.
You vote based off of, you know, if it's, you know, a congressional race, what kind
of policies are this person going to implement, and how is it going to benefit me and the
rest of my fellow citizens, if it's a Supreme Court justice, how are they going to best
represent my state?
And unfortunately, I have seen people more times than not aligned with their own party,
but I have seen a few people who have broken away from the collective mindset, and, you
know, it's a really good thing to see, especially with this upcoming race.
You have, you know, Brad Schimmel, and you have Susan Crawford, and one of the biggest
things, even with, you know, my male friends who don't align politically with me, they're
saying that this is someone who, you know, in their eyes and other voters' eyes don't
care about them.
And what I mean by this, you know, one of the biggest talking points for the Susan Crawford
campaign is the fact that before, you know, he made this run to become a Supreme Court
justice, this is the same guy who's only testing what a few dozen, if that rape kits,
and you have a person like Susan Crawford who's here, and she's going to represent the
whole.
She's going to ensure that you don't feel left out that, you know, your tests are going
to be done, that your rights are going to be violated.
Again, she, I would like to say, is more of a constitutionalist when it comes to doing
her job as a judge.
I don't care if you're a Democrat, I don't care if you're a Republican.
This is the law, and this is what we're going to abide by.
So I know we're not there yet, but April 1st is coming up.
We can be a finely deep breath, relax, try and finish out the rest of your freshman year
of college.
Yeah, something like that.
I'm currently, I've been onboarded with a new fellowship that I'm working with that
is very focused on women's choices and, you know, bodily autonomy, so I'm doing some
work there, and it will go a little bit into the summer, and I'm hoping I have a few
prospective job opportunities and internships working along with different representatives
in the area, and hopefully even a few senators.
So I don't think it'll slow down too much, but it'll be a lot less hectic not being
in an election cycle, at least for a little bit.
At least until the next Supreme Court, all right, anything else you want to add?
No, again, just thank you for having me here.
It's always a great time to be able to talk about, you know, the issues that matter most.
And again, being a young guy and having people come out and be able to see and hear what
it is that I have to say about specific candidates or issues that matter, it means the most to
me just because I can make a difference or make a change in one person's life, at least.
You know, that's the biggest goal.
All right.
Thanks for stopping by.
So we'll grab the mic back from you.
We're going to get packed up, and then we will be up with some of your friends.
All right.
So I'm good.