- Democratic US Senate candidate, Alex Lasry.
Thank you for joining us.
- Thanks so much for having me.
- Currently an executive for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Why do you wanna be a US Senator?
- I'm running because I wanna make sure
that we're able to get things done.
You know, I think one of the biggest frustrations
that I've had with Washington,
and I think all of us have had with Washington
over the last number of years,
is the fact that we've got a lot of people in office
who just aren't getting things done.
And I think that's where a lot of voter's frustration are
and that's something I've been able to do my entire career.
Whether it's raising wages,
creating thousands of good paying union jobs,
bringing investment to this state.
- If elected, what would your legislative priorities be?
- Well, I think the top legislative priority
is more of a process issue.
We have to make sure that we get rid of the filibuster,
because that's how we're gonna make sure
that we can actually get things done,
like codifying Roe V. Wade.
Like making sure that we ban assault weapons.
Like making sure that we pass things like the Pro act
so that we can raise wages
and give workers their rights back.
You know, I think one of the things we've seen
many economists say is that one of the best things we can do
to make sure that we're mitigating inflation
is getting rid of the Trump tax cuts.
And so I wanna make sure that we're able to do that
so that we aren't creating these tax breaks
that make it easier to ship jobs overseas,
but actually working for investments on education,
job training, bring those jobs back here to Wisconsin
so that we can actually invest in our workforce
and bring higher wages and more jobs to this state.
- You mentioned inflation.
It's at a 40 year high.
How should federal lawmakers address inflation?
- Well, I think there's a number of things that we can do
in the short term and the long term to help mitigate it.
If you look at the plans that we've put out,
it's all about how we're gonna put more money
back into people's pockets,
making sure that people are able to take home
more of what they earn.
And that's gonna mean that we've gotta make sure
that we're passing things like the Pro act
so that we can have greater union rights.
I think that's one way
that we're gonna be able to raise wages.
Another thing we can do is make sure
that we're making more things in America, right?
That's gonna ease supply chain issues.
That's gonna make sure that people,
we've got good paying jobs here in Wisconsin,
that'll ease the effects of inflation.
So these are all things that we can do in the short term
that'll help mitigate some of the effects
while ensuring that we've got strong economic output
in the long term.
- There have been a number
of major mass shootings even recently.
How should the US Senate address gun violence?
- No parent should have to worry
about sending their kid to school.
We shouldn't have to worry about walking down the street
or anything like that.
And so one of the things that we've done,
I think I'm the only candidate to have done so,
is put out actually a public safety plan.
We have a three-pronged approach.
So the first is making sure that police
have the resources they need to do their jobs.
Not just preventing crime, but also solving crime.
Making sure that they've got the training
and the resources that they need.
Investing also in our infrastructure.
Things like education and job training.
We only look at public safety
from the view of the police department.
We need to also look at it
from a community building perspective.
And then I think making sure
that we're banning assault weapons.
Universal background checks, right?
These are all things that other developed countries have
and they don't have the same issues with gun violence
that we have.
No one's trying to take away guns from law abiding citizens.
But what we wanna make sure that we do is
make sure that the bad guys aren't getting them.
And there's no reason,
when you look at the polling,
70, 80% of the public support universal background checks.
These are some of the simple things we can do
that would drastically decrease
the amount of gun violence in this country.
- The Supreme Court has overruled Roe versus Wade,
which returns the decision
on allowing abortions to the states.
What should US senators do on the matter of abortion?
- You know, my wife is the chief of staff
at Planned Parenthood.
And I'm seeing all the work that her and her colleagues
are doing on the front lines, right?
They're doing their job.
It's now up to us to do our job.
And we've gotta make sure that we codify
a woman's right to choose.
A woman's healthcare decision shouldn't be left up
to some politician in Washington
or some Trump handpicked Supreme court justice.
This should be up between the woman and her doctor.
And that should be her medical decision, right?
And unfortunately what the Supreme Court did
was not just hurt the integrity of the court,
but made sure that women have less rights
than men in this country.
And so what I wanna make sure that we're able to do
is send democratic senators to the Senate
so that we can get rid of the filibuster
and ensure that by law we protect
and guarantee a woman's right
to make their own healthcare decisions.
- There have been claims of voter fraud across the country.
And here in Wisconsin.
How would you reassure Wisconsin residents
to have confidence in their electoral system?
- First off we should point out
most of these claims were unfounded.
And I think you look at any investigation
into voting across the country.
There's been no basis for anything, right?
You might find one here and there,
but there's been no mass voter fraud
like Republicans insist or anything like that.
And Republicans are systematically
hurting the integrity of our elections
with their false claims and the big lie.
We put out a plan on how to protect
and strengthen our democracy.
And so that's making sure that we pass things
like the John Lewis Voting Right Act
and the Freedom to Vote Act,
ensuring that we're investing in elections
and making sure that we're investing in our poll workers
to make sure that we are restoring
trust in the electoral system.
But it also depends on who we've got in office, right?
If we're gonna have someone like Ron Johnson,
an office who is gonna cast doubt on an election
that he knows was fair.
And he knew that Joe Biden won the election.
We've gotta make sure that someone like that
doesn't have the podium
and doesn't have the the ability to cast that kind of doubt
on an election that we know was fair.
And so these are some of the things that we can do,
but we've put out a plan on how to protect and restore
and strengthen our democracy.
And it starts with passing the John Lewis
and the Freedom to Vote Act.
- Ron Johnson has won this election twice.
Why are you the candidate who can beat him
in the general election in November?
- When you look at the last 12 years,
Ron Johnson's done nothing for the state of Wisconsin.
The only thing he's done is pass a tax cut
to enrich himself and his friends
and make it easier to ship jobs overseas.
Do you want someone who's done nothing
for the last 12 years and is actively hurting the state
or someone who has brought jobs,
raised wages and created investment here
so that we know that when they get to Washington
they're gonna be able to do that same thing.
I think when we make that choice clear
the choice is gonna be really simple.
- Alex Lasry, thank you again for joining us.
- Thanks so much for having me.