The Daily Signal - #368: Our Memories of Bre Payton

Episode Date: January 4, 2019

We usually feature our "Problematic Women" segment on Friday's podcast. But in the aftermath of the sudden death of "Problematic Women" co-host Bre Payton, we spent today's episode remembering Bre, and how great she was. We talk about what a unique person she was in Washington, D.C. and some of the million little things that made her such a unique--and joyful--individual. If you want to contribute to the scholarship fund her family has set up in her memory, donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/bre-payton-scholarship-fundWe also cover these stories:--Nancy Pelosi is officially House speaker, again.--Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine being held in Moscow, has now officially been charged with spying.--Mississippi's new license plate design includes the phrase "In God We Trust."The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk, business. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, January 4th. I'm Daniel Davis. And I'm Kate Trinko. Today we're going to do something a little bit different. We're going to remember Bree Payton and talk to our problematic women colleagues, Lauren Evans, and Kelsey Harkness. But before we do that, we are going to discuss a few of the headlines. Well, Nancy Pelosi is back in as House Speaker.

Every two years, we gather in this chamber for a sacred ritual under the don't. of this Temple of Democracy, the capital of the United States, we renew the great American experiment. I'm particularly proud to be the woman Speaker of the House of this Congress, which marks the 100th year of women having the right to vote. We all have the ability and the privilege to serve with over 100 women members. of Congress, the largest number in history. And while there's been a lot of talk about the tension between old school Pelosi and some of the New House Democrats like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pelosi did extend a warm

welcome to the newbies. Members take the oath. Our Congress will be refreshed and our democracy will be strengthened by their optimism, idealism, and patriotism of this transformative. freshman class. Congratulations to all of you in the freshman class. Working together. Well, FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller is 20 months into his investigation into the 2016 campaign and a final decision from Mueller is expected in the coming months.

The Justice Department has argued that Mueller does not have the legal authority to actually indict the president while he's in office. But Speaker Pelosi says that's an open discussion. In an interview this week on NBC's Today Show, she said the Justice Department's view is not conclusive in terms of what Mueller can do. And she wouldn't rule out impeachment. She said, quote, we shouldn't be impeaching for a political reason and we shouldn't avoid impeachment for a political reason. Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat congressman from California, previously pushed an impeachment measure against President Trump. but with the House and Republican hands, the measure held little chance of passage.

Now, Sherman is reintroducing the measure. He told the Los Angeles Times, quote, there is no reason it shouldn't be before the Congress. And every day, Donald Trump shows that leaving the White House would be good for our country. Well, Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine being held in Moscow, has now officially been charged with spying. Rosebult News Agency, a Russian source, reported last week, that Russian agents arrested him while in possession of a USB drive

containing the names of people employed by a top secret state organization. Whelan's lawyer says that his detention and arrest are baseless and that he expects him to be held at least through February. If you're looking for religious language on your license plate, move to Mississippi. The Magnolia State's new license released this month features the state seal, which includes the phrase in God we trust. But unless you're right on someone's name, bumper. You probably won't be able to read it. It's in fairly small print. So we usually turn over

this podcast on Fridays to our problematic women. But as you've probably heard, Brie Payton, who co-hosted Problematic Women, she died December 28th after getting a really terrible flu strain and she was hospitalized and unfortunately she didn't make it. Bree was a writer for the Federalist. She was a frequent commentator for the Fox News Channel, but for us at the Daily Signal, she was someone who'd pop in most weeks. I'd see her chatting with Kelsey Harkness and Lauren Evans and sometimes Ginny Montalbano. And then they'd do the problematic women show in the same studio that we're sitting in right now. And Bree was always a lot of fun.

She had a great attitude. You know, we're really, really going to miss her here at The Daily Signal. So I asked Kelsey and Lauren if they could just come in today. And I do want to say I think the news is still really fresh for all of us. So these are somewhat scattered thoughts. but I asked them if they could come in and just talk a little bit about Bree and all their wonderful memories of her. So, Kelsey, I'm going to turn it over to you. Well, Kate, thank you for that kind introduction.

I know it has been a very difficult week for our whole Daily Signal and Heritage family, as well as the Federalist family, and of course, Brie Payton's family. Brayton was an older sister to four younger siblings who I can only imagine. how much they looked up to her. She had two incredible parents who she loved talking about. If you were a problematic woman regular, you might have heard her mom on one of our podcasts. Bree loved talking about her mom, and you could tell her mom was Bree's number one fan. After Bree passed, I was scrolling through Twitter and wound up on her mother, Cindy Peyton's Twitter page. And her mom didn't tweet often, but I looked back at June 8th of this year,

Brie and I both shared a birthday. We said, we also shared that birthday with Kanye West. And we said we had dragon energy. We would always joke that we'd drag in energy. That's why we got along so well and, you know, had such amazing chemistry to be able to put on a podcast every week. And that day, her mom tweeted, happy birthday to my first born, Bree Payton. You sure are living up to your name, the strong, clear, bright one. When I read that, it absolutely just broke my heart because it rung so true. Brie Payton was the strong, clear, bright one. For those who don't know, she also was a contributor to Bright, a morning email for women by women,

run by the Federalist. I am one of the editors of it. And how fitting that it was a product named Bright and Brie made such amazing contributions to it. But Brie was always so strong and so clear, certainly was so bright. I think she had an amazing ability to talk one second about someone like Kanye West and then turn around and then talk about Mark Twain. The depth of her writing was, it's hard to even put into words. She was 26 years old. And if you scroll through her name at the Federalist, it is unbelievable what she was able to write about. She had an ability to be so culturally relevant and connect with young women, which is the reason why we were doing problematic women podcast, but also communicate important values, values about life and faith

and history that so often get lost, I think, in our modern world. She had such a good influence, such a positive influence on me. She was so encouraging. I'm three years older than her, but I actually looked up to her like a big sister because she was so fearless every time she would go on TV. And I, on the other hand, would be very intimidated by it. I'll never forget. Her advice for me was to just pretend.

like your Beyonce channel, her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. And that was Brie. She was always looking out for the people around her. She was so successful and yet so selfless. And I think in Washington, D.C., that combination is so rare, which is why it's such a loss for all of us. It's going to be really difficult to move on. The last thing Brie would ever want us to do is to end the podcast. So we are most certainly going to continue on and try to make it even better than ever and do everything we can to make Brie proud. But we do need a little bit of time. I hope everybody understands we need a little bit of time to process this and figure out what the right next steps are to make her proud and to carry on her legacy and all that it deserves. So I'm going to pass it off to Lauren, but I just want to ask you all to keep Bree in your prayers,

keep her family in her prayers, and also keep her incredible boyfriend, Ryan, in your prayers. You know, she loved him so much. And from what I know, he was getting ready to propose, which makes this story all the more heartbreaking. Yeah, she really was the woman that every woman wanted to be. She was beautiful and she wore, you know, eccentric clothing and just had makeup, but it never seemed fake. She, and I would say the same thing went about her faith. She was never showy, but you knew she was a confident woman who just, like, believed in Jesus with her whole heart. And that's really what I've tried to cling to is that while we're really hurting down here, Brie, is, you know, still being fabulous in heaven.

and we will see her again, but it really still doesn't feel real. I just feel like she took an extra week in California and she'll be back next week, you know, smiling, walking down the hall. She just genuinely cared about every person around her, whether she knew them for 10 years or 10 minutes. She wanted to know what they cared about.

She wanted to see any ways that she could help them, whether that's in their journalism career or even if it's just getting plugged in in the city. But it's just a hole that we have here at problematic women. And I struggle to find words for Bree's family and pretty close friends. We are hurting so much. And I can only imagine what you're going through. But for us to even have Bree on this planet for 26 years,

I feel really lucky. And just as a friend over the past year, we were able to kind of become personal friends past the podcast. And whether it was fitness or whether it was, we were joking before that Brie was not into sports, but she wanted me to be passionate about sports on the podcast. And that just shows the person Brie was. She cared about what I cared about.

And I know we will get through this. Like Kelsey said, Brie would want us to get through this and want us to be stronger and better every year, every podcast. But it's a scary thought thinking to have to do this without her. Yeah, just hearing both of you, you know, it's really a testament to the impact that one person can have on others. And it's something that, you know, seeing the responses from folks, like yourselves and others who were close to her, it's just something, it makes you think, man, like, what a, I mean, that's a, that's a legacy right there.

the influence that she's had. I, you know, I didn't know her that well until this past summer. We did a two-week program together out in California with a group of about a dozen young conservatives with the Claremont Institute. And that's where I really got to know, Bree Moore. And we had some extended conversations about everything. And she, one of the things that struck me, I think, has struck everyone about her is just how genuinely interested in other people that she was.

I mean, she was genuinely interested in other people and would encourage you in your pursuits. And also, I think intellectually courageous. She would tell you what she thought, even if it amounted to a disagreement. Like you're having a friendly conversation, but then she's like, well, but then if that's true, then this is true.

And it's like, oh, man, she's a, and I can't just take it easy around her just because she's my friend. She's also going to speak her mind. But in a way that encourages me to sharpen. And so that was one of the things that impressed me so much. And I think everyone in our program over the summer was, you don't want to underestimate her. And yet she was at the same time so gracious and just a great presence to be around. And, you know, when I found out I was just in disbelief, like, you know, I think all of us were.

And I'm still, you know, stunned have trouble believing it when I see my notes here for this segment. I just have trouble believing it. But, you know, I appreciate your words, Lauren. I do believe that she's with the Lord now. And so I do take comfort in that. And Kelsey, if you don't mind, I think you brought up in, one of your online tributes, I can't remember which one, that Brie had done the story about the homeless in D.C. And it struck me because the last time that I talked to Brie for an extended

period was at a Christmas party. It was actually funny. In D.C., we have this wonderful slash awful tradition of there being a million work Christmas parties in December. And I'm actually really grateful for it because as it happened, I saw Brie at a lot of those parties and I talked to her more than I ever had before, and I'm so glad I got a chance to know her a little bit better and just wish it was still with us. But anyway, I talked to her at one of these parties about this street in D.C., this bridge where they have installed, I believe, a $2 million light installation. And this is a bridge where the homeless sleep under. Kelsey, of course, you've done work on the homeless situation in D.C. Let's just say that big government has not solved it. But you also shared Kelsey a really touching

action by Bree that she did in relation to this issue. Yeah, you know, I think after somebody passes, you just keep looking for these signs to hold on to that they're still here. And it was actually such a coincidence that our team on the Daily Signal also did a story on homeless men and women. Actually, we focused on men in D.C. We published over the holidays. And, you know, I like to think that was probably some of our children.

dragon energy going on there too because that was not planned. But so it started with Bree did this amazing expose that you can all read over at the Federalist on this art installation that was going up outside her apartment. And of course, because Bree just does not just accept the world as it is, she questions everything around it. She was walking under it and saw these homeless people literally getting displaced because these fancy new apartment buildings wanted to come in and appeal to millennials, and it was difficult to do that when you had homeless encampments parked under the streets. So Brie

actually went over and talked to a woman who had been on the streets for seven years, who was getting displaced because of this. And I think it's just such an, that story is such an important reminder of what Brie cared about, because of course she was interested in unearthing the massive waste of taxpayer dollars. But what she was really interested in was how it was affecting real people. She went down there and talked to homeless people when many people in D.C. are scared to approach men and women who are living on the streets. And so that story published. And then randomly, you know, this was one of the last podcasts we ever recorded. Brie arrives, is sitting in my office, hanging out as we usually do, and casually mentions.

that she just walked by a homeless man overdosing on the streets outside Union Station in D.C. And instead of walking by, she stops a police officer and asks him why he isn't doing anything to help this man who is clearly overdosing. So she asked the police officer to help them and then stayed there and watched until they got the medical attention that they deserved. And then, you know, when she came into my office, she didn't tell me this because she wanted any praise. She told me because she was actually shocked that nobody else was helping this man. And again, that's the kind of person, Bree is. She was on her way to, you know, do one of her many jobs that she took on voluntarily doing the podcast with us. And she stops and helps people along the way.

She lived a very busy life, but she never stopped noticing people around her. And that's one thing that I'm going to try to carry on in my life. In honor of Brie is, you know, looking out for the people around us because she touched so many lives. I guess the last thing I'll say just to show the extent of the number of lives she touched as I was getting picked up to go to. Fox News over the holidays, which was very difficult to do in light of this news, but I did it because I know Brie would be so mad at me if I didn't. And one of the drivers asked me if I knew Brie, and he was absolutely heartbroken by the news. He couldn't believe it. And the words he had to say about this young woman who, you know, you didn't even know they paid attention to, it was just

incredible and it showed what an impact she had on every person's lives from the people in the makeup room to the drivers to all of us sitting here today to all of you listening who've tuned into problematic women over the past year she she was a firecracker she made her she made her mark she was only here for 26 years but she was a bright spot that we will always remember Yeah, and just what Kelsey said about signs. I was walking to church on Sunday evening. Bree and I lived within maybe four or five blocks of one another. So I was near her house, actually one street over from that piece that she wrote on the ex-bizade on.

And someone had been there shortly before me and gave all the homeless people water and socks and feminine products. And I just, like, I felt that in my heart. That was a sign that, you know, she was there. And she, it wasn't that she cared about homeless people. It's that she cared about people. And it didn't matter that these people were homeless. She cared about the unborn. She cared about the drug addicts on the side of the road in D.C.

So a colleague of bars, Michelle Cordero, told me shortly after it happened, she said, look for signs. And that was the first sign that I saw. And yeah, we're going to miss you a lot, Brie. I think that's an important note to end on that homeless people in D.C., This wasn't a pet project at Bree's. She just cared about everyone. She saw everyone for the individuals that they are, and she gave everybody the respect and treated them with the dignity that they deserve.

And I think if all of us do that, if all of us can be a little more like Bree, the world will be a better place. But we are certainly at a loss without her. May I add, the world will be a little brighter. It will. Maybe have a little more dragon energy, too. So if you want to honor Bree's memory, her family has set up a scholarship in her memory. It's on GoFundMe, the Bree Payton Scholarship Fund.

It, quote, will go towards college scholarships to support other young, rising Christian leaders who share in Bree's passion for truth, purpose, and life. So please donate to that in her memory. I know we could use a few more Breeze in the world, but also, you know, especially in the political world. So Kelsey and Lauren, thank you both for joining us. I know this was hard to do. Thank you.

Thank you. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal podcast, brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. Please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud, and please leave us a review or rating on iTunes to give us feedback. Rob and Jenny will be with you here on Monday.