The Daily Beast Podcast - Not Crazy or a Nazi? Liberal Org Wants you for School Board

Episode Date: September 24, 2023

Run For Something has just pumped $10 million into electing left-leaning school board members. Co-founder Amanda Litman tells The New Abnormal the basic credentials you need. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, I'm Andy Levy, former Fox News and CNN-HLN guy and current cable news conscientious objector. I'm a former libertarian who now sits comfortably on the left. Hi, I'm Danielle Moody, former educator and recovering lobbyist. But today, I'm an unapologetic, woke commentator on America's threats to democracy. And I'm producer Jesse Kedin, and I'm here to make sure things don't go too far off the rails. We're here to have fun, smart conversations with some of the most knowledgeable and entertaining people in politics, media, and beyond. Our goal is to try and make sense of our current crazy world, our new abnormal, and hopefully even make you laugh through the tears. Hello and welcome to another special bonus edition of the new abnormal.

We thank you so much for being here. Today we have an extra special guest with Amanda Littman from Run for Something. And she's going to tell us all about how they're doing smaller races to counter moms for liberties moves to take over school boards in all the important work they're doing around this. But first, let's have some fun. Are you guys ready to listen to some clips? Clips. Clip us. So people often talk about how a European accent can hide the fact that when you say something very dumb,

it gets lost in the accent because people think it's fancy. While there's a lot of reasons to think that's stupid and probably some white supremacist shit, I have found a clip that should be in the Wikipedia entry for this phenomenon. Here we have Indiana Congresswoman Victoria Spatz going Karen on Merrick Garland at the Oversight hearing this week. Example. We talk about January 6th. I'm sorry? There are some people came on January 6th. There probably were some people that came on January 6th here that had bad intent.

But a lot of good Americans from my district came here because they're sick and tired of this government not serving them. They came with strollers in the kids and there was chaotic situation because the proper security wasn't provided. That's a question that was answered really why. I debated for 55 minutes on the floor and didn't stop the debate after the people broke into the capital. But these people came. They were throwing the smoke bombs into the crowd with strollers with kids. People who showed up, you know, FBI agents. You had in my district in my town FBI phone numbers all over the district, please call, call that.

People are truly afraid. I just want to make sure if you're not aware that you are. And this is a big problem when people are afraid of their own government. And I'll show you some other things. We're talking about justice system. I don't question, you're probably not a bad person. I don't know you. But what I'll tell you, you're in charge of the department.

And people right now feel, you know, I look at Durham report, and I call on the fights of violations of queries of millions Americans, right? It's like KGB. But when I read Durham reports, we have. this, you have a nice, you know, playbook. First, let's have a special counsel and then you don't have to answer any questions here. Then let's extend slow walk investigation on Hillary Clinton, on Hunter, everything is slow walk. We were very quick on Donald Trump, but you were very slow walk. Then by the time, you know, that investigation ended statute of limitation expired and all of

your agents need to be tested for amnesia. No one recalls anything. Okay, you probably should have as part of your hiring policy. So no one held accountable, which was egregious what happened, you know, in that report when I read about them. I can't believe it happened in the United States of America. This is my frustration. I'll be honest with you. Then it's very interesting, you know, regardless what it is, even people in Obama administration raise concerns. So first of all, you hate us. Like that is the, like the pitch, I can't. And this is literally, Karen on steroids. It was hard to digest, as I'm sure

Merrick Garland felt the same way. And Merrick Garland slow walked every fucking thing. It's why we're here right now. He actually moved with some haste. We wouldn't be coming up against an election with a fucking insurrectionist at the top of the ticket.

Oh, boy. Yeah, that was a speech. I think it was supposed to be a question, but I didn't really hear one there. That's kind of how these hearings go. days. Yeah. It's a little wild that she was basically outing a number of her constituents as having storing the Capitol. I hope the FBI gets right on that. Well, I have very good news for you guys. That's going to be a very happy ending on this. She's retiring from Congress and she's not going

again. Not Karen. Had you guys heard of her before this? No. No. I definitely not. I was like, wow, like she's bringing MTG energy and yet must have been outshyed this whole time. Yes, everybody's auditioning for their role on Fox News, the Apprentice 2.0, like everybody's fucking auditioning. Nobody does their job. They just perform. Also, I didn't realize that that's what an Indiana accent sounds like. Oh, yes.

That's definitely the accent. She's actually from the Ukraine. And I bet she hates immigration. You know what I'm saying? Like only the white country. Anyways. Yes, yes, yes. Okay, well, the stupidity continues.

So many of us do not have the tolerance or numbness to watch Fox News, never mind, it's third-rate competitors like RSB. But this clip surfaced this week of one of their anchors interviewing a Trump supporter, and I have to say, I feel like this is incredibly telling. What is Trump under his policies? How did it benefit your life? Are you work? You retired?

I mean... I'm disabled. I have a broken plate. in my back. And it really bummed me because during COVID, I was supposed to get my third surgery and have it fixed. And when the doctor, a very big specialist, went to fix it, he said, where's your Medicaid? So what do you mean?

Worse by Medicaid? Well, they took by Medicaid. So I'm coming up here hoping I can get my surgery done. Well, it's interesting, right? This is like when he has no answer for when people ask him about his religion. this is the supporter version. Oh, my God. Yeah, I don't know what to say to people anymore.

Like, I hope he gets her Medicaid. Yep. I don't think voting for Donald Trump is going to help with that. Pretty sure it won't. I'm pretty sure they all have said no social safety nets. We hate poor people. We hate everyone. So good luck, you know.

But whatever. You're voting for your demise, lady. It's just also another of those things that you're like, You know, we've really civically failed this country really badly when you think this is what electing a president is for. What is RSBN? Right side broadcast network. Sure. Oh, God.

It's not the Liddell network, though. You can't confuse it with that. Okay. Oh, God. Okay. As the stupidity continues, Ron DeSantis, who's failing in the polls and really having a rough week, the entire punding class really breathed an astonishment of just how much. people don't like him. And then now, you know, Michael Wolfe's book says he kicked Tucker Carlson's

dog, even though I've been told that Tucker's denying this. But what puts spring in my step each day is to really see him feeling like this, but he wants to cast some doubt on reality like he does. So let's listen to him do just that. Are ahead of you in the polls. Why is that? Well, I don't know that he's really that head in Iowa. I think he may be ahead, but I think it's fluid. If you really press people, the majority of people here are still haven't made a hundred percent decision. I think the former president, you know, he believes he's entitled to be nominated. He's not doing the work it takes to really earn people's votes. And I just view it differently.

Last, he views it differently, like not reality. You know? Maybe Trump's not doing the work because he doesn't have to. That is correct. Because he's 40 percentage points. I have to. head in the polls. And the more that DeSantis talks, the less people like him. Yeah. And also they love Vivek. Right. Because he is, he is

Trump-Light, younger, and browner. So they can say, I'm not racist because I like him. One might call it the Herbert Cade bed carouselade. Yeah. I do love to see DeSantis running forth in New Hampshire now. 29% behind Trump. You know what I'd love to see? This

actually would make me happy. I'd love to see Tim Scott rise of of Duran D'Santis and the Bulls. Republicans, can you make that happen? Chris Christie's beating him in New Hampshire. Yes. I mean, you really have to try. New Hampshire's an outlier for Republicans, but still,

fourth? You were supposed to be the savior. Mm-hmm. You were the great white hope. I bet Casey is not happy. I will tell you this, too. I kind of feel like he was changing his voice to be a little deeper in that clip because he's heard all the feedback about his whiny voice.

It is really whiny. And he didn't laugh that whole time, which is probably smart. I'm sure she's tased the laugh out of him. Oh, shit. All right. I got one last one for you two. Now we come to the Money, Honey, Maria Bardo, the Fox News Network, talking to Senator Bill Hegarty.

And they're discussing the most important political issue of our time. the dress code of the Senate. New thing in the Senate, that you all are okay to wear, you know, casual clothing, you don't, you no longer need a jacket and tie. Was that because of John Fetterman and he wants to wear and he likes to wear his hoodies? And is that, is that the reason that Chuck Schumer made that change? You know, Chuck Schumer certainly didn't consult with me before he made this change. I think it's just another step in the movement by the Democrats to, quote, transform America

to take us to a different place. us to a place that is much less respectful than we historically have been. The United States Senate is the world's most important deliberative body, and to see it completely downgraded, no dress code now, I just think it's another step in the wrong direction. Senator, thanks very much. The insurrection wasn't though. Go ahead. What an idiot. Dress codes are stupid. You love dress codes, Andy. You had a change of heart already yet? What size? Because now you listen to this idiot.

That was a couple days ago. You've majored? I've prayed on it. Oh, prayed on it. No, my feelings are the same about the dress code, but this guy's a jackass. Another step in the wrong direction. I just love that everything has to be a conspiracy now, and they're out to degrade our society. It's like they've just realized it's fucking stupid.

I mean, when your party has people who give. over-the-pants, handies at musicals, I don't think you should be talking about lowering the standards. Or when you have Cruella DeVille at the State of the Union with her fur collar,

Marjorie Taylor Green, who was screaming at the President of the United States while he's addressing the nation and the world, don't talk to us about fucking decorum and what is downgrading the body of Congress. Fuck those guys. And not the right. But yeah, you know what? Fuck those guys.

Folks, I am very happy to welcome to the new abnormal. Amanda Lippman, who is the co-founder of Run for Something, a progressive group focused on supporting candidates in down-ballot races that just announced a $10 million investment in left-leaning school and library board candidates in 2024 and 2025. Amanda, I will tell you that as a former educator, I taught first and second grade general education and special education and worked in education policy, which is how I got my start on the hill. I have long talked about education being the battleground for democracy in America, that without an educated citizenry,

that without critical thinking, that without history being taught, that we were consistently going to be behind and susceptible to, to right-wing advances. So I can't express to you enough. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for taking up this fight. But tell us about Run for Something and why this investment now. So Run for Something recruits and supports young diverse progressives running for local office all across the country. We've been around since 2017.

And we've been working on school board races and library board races and state boards of education the whole time. But what I think we've seen in the last really, year to two years with the rise of Moms for Liberty, the extraordinary focus on at this point thousands of book bans, the attacks coming against school board members. There was no time to waste. We needed to scale up this work dramatically. So you are quite welcome. I think this could not be more important. And I am so, so, so both excited and scared, but mostly excited about what we're calling our 50 state school board strategy, which is our effort to recruit and support candidates for school board everywhere and anywhere education is under attack, which unfortunately

right now is everywhere and anywhere. Moms for Liberty, the other fascist arm of the proud boys and the oathkeepers, but they bake. So that's the difference is the organization that has been behind a lot of the book bands that we have seen, a lot of the headlines that we've seen with teachers and administrators being pushed out or fired from schools, whether or not people actually live in the districts or have children in the school districts, they are the group that has been organizing in a way to take over schools. Talk to us about how you see run for something and the ability to be able to combat that kind of rhetoric, but also, you know, we used to think that these were kind of, I don't know, non-dangerous kinds of jobs, but I've talked to, I've spoken to people that are on

school boards. They have faced the same level of political violence and rhetoric that we see, that we've been seeing at the national level. So how are you going to be able to combat that their rhetoric, but also the fears that now surround making yourself that kind of a target? You are absolutely right. It's a tactic they're trying to use to scare people out of running for these offices, out of serving their communities. We're not going to let it work. Part of that is thinking about ways we can help candidates who are running for school board or serving on school boards secure themselves, whether that's online or in person, how we can build community across candidates, how we can really make sure that people feel safe or at least feel like someone

has their back as part of this? Because I think that's something we've heard from a lot of the folks who've worked with who ran for school board before, that they felt really isolated because it sucks. As for what Moms for Liberty has been doing, it's worth really pulling apart their role here. Moms for Liberty does certainly a lot of activists. showing up at school board meetings. They're doing a ton of trainings around book bands. They're giving people the raw materials to do that. They're creating lists. But they're part of a broader Republican ecosystem. So while earlier this week, they just rolled out their campaign kits, which is like guides for potential candidates on how to run for school board, they've been doing that kind of

training over the last two years in partnership with the Leadership Institute, which if you're not familiar is like a 40-year Republican organization that has a 30 to $35 million a year annual budget that does competitive training for operatives and activists. And Leadership Institute, which is often funded by the Koch brothers or primarily funded, just opened a 6,000 square foot headquarters for educational activists in Arizona, Florida. You know a way to know something is not a flash in the pan or a fad? Real estate. They are in the long haul. They are not back and down from this. So what run for something is going to be doing is making sure that we are there to recruit and support the candidates running against these folks. There's incredible organizations across the

left from teachers to ed reform to red, wine and blue, to literary freedom organizations, to grassroots groups who are all taking on really important parts of this fight. But we saw a whole when it came to candidate recruitment and support. So we are going all in to fill it. Talk to us about what kind of candidates you are looking for because tons of people listen to this show and they will say to themselves, well, I don't have kids that are in the school district, but I'm like, do you care about books? Do you care about providing a robust education? Are you an employer and are hoping that you have employees that are going to be coming in with critical thought and skills that can be applied? So talk to us about the kinds of people

that you are looking for and also just the training that you really provide for folks that are interested. So let's take a step back for a second. There are 80,000 school board races across the country. On any given year, there's between 20 and 25,000 of them happening. Only about half of those happen in November. The other half happened at any other point in the calendar year. So there are always school board races happening and there are way more of them than you think. And the final point here, 60% of them on any given year go uncontested. In Virginia, right now, where there is, critical elections where Glenn Yonkin has made education a key part of his campaign, 56%, I believe, of school board races are going uncontested. There's at least nine districts in Virginia that

haven't had a competitive school board race since the year 2000. So if you are a not crazy person who's thinking about running for school, yes, it is definitely better if you've got a kid in school or some kind of personal relationship with the education system. It's definitely better if you have some kind of mind for massive operations or a passion for literacy or arts. But if you're not crazy and you want to do this, your community probably needs you because no one else is stepping up. What Run for Something does is help you figure out how to go from person who cares to person who runs to person who leads. So we'll help you figure out how to get on the ballot. We've got guides on how to do so in all 50 states. We'll help you to write a campaign plan, how to write a budget,

how to identify your win number, how to get access to the voter file and what to do with the voter file once you have it. You can apply for our endorsement where our staff will work closely with you to make sure you have every possible resource you need, who'll connect you to other school board candidates running for office, or especially putting together some resources as part of our 50 state program for people who do have kids or are otherwise caregivers because we know that's something that in particular, people who care about schools that often gets in the way or is that an obstacle to entering the race? They have just like responsibilities to their families.

We're also linking about how we can make sure that we've got the compliance set up for these school board races. You know, I didn't know this until we started doing this work. In order to work on a school board race in Manchester, New Hampshire, we had to set up a Manchester, New Hampshire City Pack, which is the kind of compliance infrastructure you wouldn't really think about until you started to engage. But we're doing that so that we can help people in all the way as possible. And then we're with you all the way through to after election day. So if you win, we'll help you figure out how to govern.

And if you lose, we'll help you figure out what to do next. I love this because I can't express now more than ever that I believe that Republicans have overplayed their hand. And I think that they have shown in so many ways on so many issues that they are not a tolerant group. They are not a group that looks to collaborate and live comfortably alongside other people. They are looking to suppress, to oppress, to silence, and restrict. And that's not what it means to live inside of a democracy. And I think that when we look at our schools, people think that it's just about history. It's not.

It's about how are we preparing the next generation to actually have the wherewithal to lead? And I think, you know, you tell me, Amanda, because I think that the ways that we are seeing these restrictions play out is that they want a da-sides. right, a docile constituency that doesn't know any better, that has no tools and no concept of how to fight against right oppression. And so like, you know, tell me like what, what is what is the thing that really got you and your organization to say, no, we need this now and $10 million is the price tag that we're going to put on it? I think politically we see that there's so, much engagement around school board races. Ralph Reed, who's the leader of the moral majority, said back in 1996, I would rather have a thousand school board members than one president and

no school board members. They have been understanding this for decades. That if you control how kids are learning and the kinds of communities they're learning in, you can control the kinds of grownups they grow up to be, what kind of citizens they grow up to be, the kind of voters they grow up to be. So we're thinking about this in a political sense. It's really important what kids are learning in schools, sort of abstracted out from what kids are actually learning in schools and the experience they're having. The book bans in particular are infuriating. And I think the push around publishers and libraries to raise awareness and to tackle it head-on

is really good. But you know who decides whether or not a book is banned? A school board member. So for us, this was the most obvious place to be able to fight back on that. And personally, like, I became a parent this year. I think about what kind of school she's going to go to when she's bigger, how important it is to me that she grows up going to good public schools that keep her safe and have her free to learn and read and be whoever she wants to be.

I'm not fucking around here. We're going to make sure that people are good and that these people leading them are compassionate and empathetic and not Nazis. And all of that is really important. And I know that you say like you're quoting moral majority from back in the 90s and this is something that we have known that has been on the forefront of the Republican party's mind since Brown versus the Board of Education. Right.

And so why do you think that? that Democrats have allowed this to kind of exist under the radar. It is true from abortion to education that the way that the Republican Party has been able to make so many inroads is that they've literally left no village, no town, no city, no locality behind. And yet for so long, for way too long, Democrats had only been focused on the executive branch,

had only been focused on the presidency in the election every four years. Why do you think that is? Democrats love the flashy object and hate the thing that builds power. You know, it's boring. Working on a school board race in many ways, especially if it's not your school board race, is boring. And that's okay.

It should be boring because the things that school boards should be tackling are things like facilities funding and teacher pay. And are we putting new grass in the football field? And how is the library like resource? That's boring. It's important. It's boring. Most people do not get excited about that.

And they're not get excited to fund it. They're not get excited to work on it. It doesn't get you. It's invited to cocktail parties. Engaging on a school board race doesn't make you become ambassador to some foreign country where you get to throw a really good time for your friends. It doesn't get you a good photo to put on your wall. It is so critical to building power.

And this is why I run for something right at large for now almost seven years has exclusively worked on local races, down ballot elections, state house, state city council, library board, school board, coroner, the half a million elected offices that most places don't even engage with and most Democrats don't even engage with because we know that if you want to win sustainable power, if you want to win power that makes a difference in people's lives and helps you politically, the way to win big elections is to win lots and lots of small ones. So that's what we're going to try and do. Do you think that people understand that now? Do you think that what we have lived through, particularly under the last, you know, seven years? Like I'm assuming that your organization

got jump started right at the time that the Trump administration came into power. you know, the 2016 election was the most, at that time, the most consequential election we had ever faced in this country. And I'm sure like me, you also were just like, oh, my God, how did America just fail us in this, like in this moment? How do you think that the last seven years have awakened people to their own personal power that they have inside of their communities? I think we've come a long way as a party for Democrats specifically focusing on the kind of of local elections that can win and make a difference. But I think the thing that gives me a lot of hope is that over the last seven years, 140,000 young people all across the country have raised

their hands and said, I want to run for office what's next. They have looked around at their community and seen that there is an opportunity to make a difference on an issue they care about and then put their name in to maybe do something about it or at least think about maybe doing something about it. Now, when we started run for something on Trump's inauguration date, when we launched that morning, people told us we were bananas. They were like, yeah, nobody goes to go in for office. Candidate recruitment's really hard, especially local. You'll be lucky if you get 100 people in the first year. We had 1,000 people sign up in that first week that we're up to over 100, or just about 140,000 now is indicative of a sea change in what it means to be an engaged citizen.

That's really, really nice. You know, I wouldn't trade it. for the Trump presidency, but it's really nice. No, and I think that it's important, and it does signal a sea change, right? Again, recognizing, I think, everyone on that morning, on his inauguration when he gave that horrible address to the American public that people were just like, how did we get here?

And what have I been doing? Because we're coming off the Obama high, thinking that patting ourselves on the back that we had done it. Like, we made history. So we can go off. worry about something else because, you know, the country is running just fine. And then, lo and behold, it wasn't. And so, you know, I know that you just mentioned that you became a parent and congrats to you. What do you say to people who don't, again, who don't have kids? What do you say to them about why

this is so important? I just want you to drill it home one more time. Quality of our schools is understood as a shorthand for the quality of a community. Like you think about what makes a good or bad place to live it's how good those schools are. Now, often that's also a shorthand for like property taxes and racial dynamics, which is its own fucked up lens of understanding a good or bad place to live. But if you care about where you are, whether or not you're a parent, especially if you're not a parent, you have maybe the time or the flexibility or the ability to show up at that school board meeting on Tuesday nights after bedtime.

You have the ability to bring a lens that is often maybe even a little less emotional and a little more pragmatic to these races. And if you, again, if you are not bat-shick crazy, you are stepping up into a race where the opponent probably is. Because, wow, do the Republicans invest in these elections? They are recruiting candidates. They are supporting them. They are pushing them to ban books, to keep queer kids at a school to make it impossible to read books by and about people of color. They are making it hostile environments for anyone that isn't the white, often male kid. That's dangerous for the kind of people that I know that we care about. So whether or not you're a parent, you need to think about running for school board. Your community needs you.

Run for something will help you. 75% of school board races cost $1,000 or less. 85% cost $5,000 or less. These are accessible races. Often the number of voters you need to talk to is in the hundreds. Maybe it's in the thousands, but often it's in the hundreds. You can do this. You can absolutely do this. And you can serve. And when you do it, you won't be alone. Amazing. And just tell people where they can get more information. Yes, yes, yes. Please find us at runfor something.net. We are run for something or run for something now on any various social media platforms.

And I'm Amanda LITM or Amanda Lipman all over the internet. Amazing. Amanda, thank you so much for the work that you are doing with Run for Something. Thank you so much for recognizing. recognizing the gap, the whole, and getting people to run for school boards and local offices. I can't appreciate you enough. And folks, go run and check out this site and find a way to get involved. Really appreciate you, Amanda. Thank you for having me.

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