Lindsey Patrick-Wright

0:00Lindsey Patrick, right, is a long time public servant, community advocate, and mom running for Tennessee State Senate District 17. Lindsey, welcome to Nuntaken. Oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much. I do hope that we talk about how we got connected. Yes. Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, let's start with that. Can we start with that? I would love to. I would love to. And Natasha. Yes. Okay. Natasha just left. She's get her. And so she has a co-producer for her big show, The Velvet of Fair. She does that East Side Bowl. Any, you know, a lot of people are in Nashville. Today, you know, who aren't in Nashville? They all, they've heard me talk about my wife's show. Yes. She does a burlesque show. And they were, she was hanging out with Pete's doing like some production meeting stuff, I think, right? Yes. And you two saw each other. So all the remembers that Natasha telling me, hey, you need to get her on the show. I don't quite remember how that all happened. Well, so I, I just come back from a very boring political event. And so I was there with my campaign team.

1:00And we were having a Margarita or two. And I walked by Natasha and Peach. And just two of the most stunningly beautiful and stylish women that I've seen in real life in a long time. And I'm a girls girl. And so that's what I said, I just send you two are both just beautiful, your style, your aura, everything. And of course, we're in our campaign gear. And so they started kind of talking, which, you know, if you're political in middle Tennessee, that could be a lay on mine. Sure. Yeah. But it didn't take us long to figure out that we had a lot of, a lot in common, a lot of issues and common. And I have seen one of their shows because I love the art of burlesque. Thank you. Thank you. And yeah, and thank you for supporting that. Yeah, we, we, I mean, I, I say we like I do anything other than just make change. I always do as big change and help her load and unload. But it is such a fun thing to be a part of. Like it is so impressive. And, you know, I know that in her mind, she probably still thinks that she's kind of new at it.

2:03It's like, you've been doing this long enough and you put on one of the best and biggest shows in Nashville. And she's starting to realize that she's like, whoa, like she's far too humbled to like have that get to her head. But it is just like, I'm so proud of her. I guess is what I'm dancing. Good. I love that. Well, it sounds like you're both very lucky. Yes. I, I thank you. Thank you. Well, we are here to talk about you. Yes. So I'm a bit familiar with you. And then I had a chance to look over some of the stuff in your bio. And as I read more and more, I was like, how you do, how you do this? Like I mean, I mean, I like, I'm not to be boring and be like, I read this thing. But like seriously, Lindsey helped rebuild the Wilson County Democratic Party, which response for flipping three seats in the last local election. Yes. Tennessee. That's quite achievement. Yes. Like look, I get it. We are the blue dot in this area. But you get a little bit out into Wilson. It's a little bit, you know, a little more purple, right? Like, yeah. Oh, it's, you know, honestly, we don't even want to say that we're red because Tennessee has been gerrymandered all to hell. Yeah. We are before we talked. I was like, I don't even, I don't even

3:04know. Can I vote for you? No, okay. I can't. Well, I like you anyway. And then I was looking at the congressional map. And I was like, Oh, God. Okay. Sorry. Oh, yeah. No. Absolutely. So, you know, I don't even like to say that we're necessarily a red county over here in Wilson County. We're just non voting. Tennessee is non voting because they have absolutely constructed it that way to make people feel like their vote doesn't count. But what's really interesting about the seat that I'm running for is it is Wilson County, which is a bit of an uphill battle for a Democrat. But it also includes Southeast Nashville. So it is the only part of Davidson County that is currently represented by a Republican at the state level. Right. And it's not just any Republican. Yeah, I was going to say I've got his bio ready. I mean, I'm not going to make you do it. If you don't want, if you want to take the high road, I'm here for you. Introduce legislation to ban same-sex marriage after old burger felled. What he, he was a he was a busses for January 6th. He introduced legislation to put a woman to death for seeking reproductive health care.

4:10So he is so pro life. He's pro death. Pro death. Yeah. That's another piece of legislation that fortunately did not go anywhere this session. But I'm sure it'll be back next unless we get me into office is putting Charlie Kirk courtyards in all of our state universities. And he is. He is a Republican. I work at the university a lot. And I keep thinking like why isn't there more Charlie Kirk in this university? Yeah. I can. Yes. And one of the pieces of legislation that he sponsored that did pass is putting the tin commandments in our public schools. That that ended up. Okay. So, but here's the deal. Like he's so. You know what? Democrats dropped the ball in 2024 by abandoning weird. He is so weird. He is so weird that even the other Republicans are like dog. We got to reward this. So much of what he tries to get pushed through. They have to be like, you can't do that. You're like Andy Ogles, but bad. You can see them in the in the committee hearings. You can see them kind of sigh and roll their eyes. And these are his colleagues.

5:14Also, I don't want to mean by Andy Ogles, but bad. Andy Ogles is bad. But like this is like you're not even good at being like that kind of a culture warrior. Like he's a he's not even and they have to reword it. Right? Like sure. The 10 commandments one passed, but they had to alter it. The Republicans like they didn't have nobody made them do that. They're like, we don't even want to be like you. So you've got a chance to flip that, which is like this is this is a district that represents a part of Nashville. Like it should have no. Not just not just any part of Nashville. To be very clear, part of it is Annie Ogk, which is the most diverse part of southeastern United States. Yeah, not just middle Tennessee, not just Tennessee, the southeastern United States. And the reason I know that is the last job that I had at National Public Library was the regional manager of the Southeast region. So I was the public librarian in charge of southeastern Nashville. And so I know exactly who that community is made up of and how richly and beautifully diverse it is. So I currently live in Wilson County and I'm raising my child here in Wilson County.

6:16I know Martin Pote is not representing me. He sure as heck is not representing the people of Southeast. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love them. You have a library in past. I was a library kid like I spent all summers like all the time. I was in library all the time, right? I met my first girlfriend in the library like that was just the library was my home. I've known you for 25 years that we've never talked about that. I love that. Yeah, I love the library for a future. How was it being like in that role in that job that's got to be like just I mean it's got to be really cool. It is. It is. It's it's it was a dream job. And you know a lot of times when you talk about libraries since you spend a lot of time there, I don't have to tell you this. But often if I'm out of party or something and I say I'm a library and they're like, oh, it must be so nice to read all day. And I'm like, I wish all I did read all day. Like I'm helping I'm helping people get citizenship. I'm feeding them. I'm helping at you know, I'm helping them navigate housing applications and job applications. I'm giving people a warm

7:22place to to be during cold winter months. And yeah, I do get to occasionally take someone and you know, connect them with a good, muddy book because that's the job right. Exactly. As we bonded over that too. But and that's kind of why running for office is a natural extension of being a public library. And the public library is how government should work. We help everyone that comes through the door without judgment. I don't ask them if they're a Republican or a Democrat who they voted for. I say, how can I help you? And that's what our government should do. That's not what it's been doing in Tennessee. It's been specifically laws are being specifically written to target people and make their lives less safe. And I mean, you know things have gotten bad if a public librarian has said, I'm going to get into politics. No kidding, right? Yeah. Wow. What glad you did. Thank you. So what was the what was the thing that happened with the

8:24the music city migrant watch? Music city meagre watch. So I'm a verifier. I'm a meagre. Yes. With music. Oh my god. Migrant watch would be very different. I'm so sorry. Just you know, so small, small correction there. Yeah. So because again of my work and specifically southeastern Nashville and really getting to know the immigrant and refugee communities there when all of the ice detention started happening, it was very much how can I use this white privilege, this blonde white privilege that I have and my piquito espagnol to help. And so I became a verifier, which is when we find out a detention is happening, if we are available, we go to the scene, we record it, we talk about the people's rights and we talk to the people who are doing the detaining and make sure that they have a warrant and stuff like that. We aren't escalating situations because we don't want to put anyone at risk. No, but the other but the other side involved

9:25in that often was. Yes. I hate I interrupt a lot. I'm sorry, but is that okay? Are you dangerous? Did that ever feel dangerous? Well, yes, but so is being a public librarian. I've had guys pulled on me twice in a public library. Okay. Okay. So, you know, it's I'm I'm used to that and I have a very well-honed fight flight or fun or free use response. But also, you know, I have been very well trained to know that looking the way I do is going to make me a little bit more safe. And so that's why, you know, that's what my mom raised me to do is to help other people. So that's what I chose to do with it. Mr. Roger said, watch, look for the help for the helpers. Yeah, I was literally just talking about that the other day. But, you know, people have been trying to get me to run for office for a while now because I've been very outspoken about book banning. My kid is non-binary and lesbian. So I've been very upfront about protecting

10:30their identity and their rights and their freedoms as they move through life. So people have been trying to get me to run for office for a long time. But first, I needed my kid to be safe and thriving. And I'm happy to report that they are. And then I also needed my husband to be on board. My husband is very private. And he has a big heart and he doesn't like to see what people are calling me online. But on Christmas day, in 2025, I got a notification that two teenagers were being detained just down the street from me. So I'm in my Christmas PJs. Didn't even have time to put a bra on. I'm in the car. I'm going down the road to hopefully make sure that these kids, they were kids go home to their family on Christmas. Fortunately, this is a Christmas day. Fortunately, the situation did deescalate and the teenagers were not detained. But when their family arrived, I explained to them what is happening here in Wilson County is that ice is showing up at the

11:31court hearings. And that's where they're detaining people. So I gave them the information that they needed to get in touch with music city meager watch to ensure that they had someone there with them just in case that happened. And when I came home, sweet, sweet fella of a man still sitting at the Christmas table, you know, with our waffles and cold coffee and he goes, it's time. You need to run for office. Oh, I love that. I am such a baby. I love that. It's a great story. And that was it. Like literally, I waited until the next day and I started making calls. And I always knew if I was going to run for office, it was going to be the seat because it covers that part of Nashville that is so dear to my heart. Yeah. Right. Right. That makes sense. Like given those entirety of what you've been saying, like what your career was and why that made me so I mean, like, that's the idea of public service. Like what is my experience? What is my background? How can I apply that to literally represent the people that I represent with whatever privilege or access that I may have

12:32and then ask them to vote for you and see if they will. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. That's awesome. So we recently observed the 25th anniversary of 9-11 and I saw that you had a particular story about where you were on 9-11. Would you like to share that with us? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It's still very much on my mind and my heart. Yeah. It was my first children's library job. So I was 23 years old and I was going into an elementary school to read to one kindergarten classroom. So I had my three books and my flannel board. I don't know if you all remember what a flannel board is. Yes. You know, your teacher holds it up and puts little apples up and sings this song. So I had three books and a flannel board. And I'm sitting in the office and all of these parents start coming in and this is an inner city school. They are coming in and they're like, I want to get my kid out right now, right now, right now. It was like 20 parents. And so I was like, what is happening here? And of course, this is before cell phones were

13:33prolific. Yeah. Right. So I said, what is happening? And the administrators quickly filled me in. And this was after the first plane hit hit. And so my mom was a flight attendant based out of New York at the time. Oh, God. But I was able to get her on the phone. She was in Atlanta. She was in New York. And so I said, okay, what do we need to do? And they said, can we put half of the school in the gymnasium with you while we figure this out? So I went from reading to one class of 30 kids to reading to like two to 300 kids, you know, not with the appropriate books. Of course, I just had a little kindergarten or books. And so, you know, for 30 to 45 minutes, I was just up there 23 year old me, keeping them as entertained as I could with me not knowing what was going on. They're just giving these teachers. And so when you talk about Mr. Rogers and the helpers, yeah, I was a small helper that day. And ironically enough, the president George Bush at the time was also reading

14:34to get this. I've been, I look, I'll like to was interrupted. I've been waiting for my chance to ask you. You said you were reading something that wasn't appropriate. I said, the only appropriate book to read on 9-11 is my pet goat. I don't know why I know that fact. No, I only know that. I didn't even know that. Dustin's I don't know. I'm so good at jeopardy. The only time I don't do well at jeopardy is when I just can't get the words out of my head. I'm like, it's there. I know these weird facts that are not useful. Like, that's not going to give me a job. That's not going to do anything good for me other than, you know, you know, you've found exactly where that niche is to live. But yeah, I think about that all the time. And I just, you know, I was playing, I got a fair and I started just telling stories, like making stories up and bringing the kids up to tell the stories. Yeah. But, and, you know, the fallout from that too, because a lot of public institutions became targets. So we had to close the library the next week because there was a little

15:36baggy of white powder in the book drop. Right. That we didn't know if it was anthrax or not. I'm sure it was powder sugar. But, you know, and it's, I was in second grade when the challenger exploded. And I remember seeing that. I think I'm probably older than you all. But I remember, I think we all, I think I remember, you know, the teacher had wheeled, wheeled on the TV on the Tuesday. And we saw that happen live. And so I remember the impact that that had on me. And so I was thinking about that when I was in that gymnasium reading to these kids, like, this is, this is a little learning in their lives. Yeah. And that's why I do. I just think of the helpers. I think of those teachers who were worried about their family and their kids. And I was thinking of the parents who were trying to get their kids out of school. And that's in times like that, you really do just have to rely on the people who are acting in good faith. And that's just kind of kept me motivated, motivated that ethic has kept me motivated my whole career. Well, speaking of acting in good faith,

16:41I mean, I think one of the things that you do tout is like an ability to work across parties, which, you know, you just kind of mentioned that you're like, it's a landmine when you talk about politics. When you meet someone in middle Tennessee and politics comes up, you're like, all right, I know that I can hold my ground and say whatever I feel. But are we going to still be able to be friends after we talk about this? And you're like, oh, great, I'm talking to a normal person where either they agree with me or they disagree with me in the old way that people used to just be able to get along before, you know, people started getting brainwashed into their own silos and cults. I'm taking myself down a diversion. How do you, I, so, so just full disclosure, that is like what we hurt me and Alan are about. Like we, I used to be more of a libertarian times of change and libertarians just became like, well, it's convenient to back Donald Trump. But I just kind of just got turned off by that. Yeah, I think. Yeah. Well, and not only that, like, when it's a lesser of two evils, you have to like hold one evil accountable and pick it and just getting to pick your third party doesn't help you. So like I will vote Democrats until mag is

17:44gone. And then maybe, maybe someday I'll vote for a normal Republican again. I don't anticipate it ever happening again. I would still like to vote for a libertarian if they would stand for, you know, free markets, free ideas and things like that, but they don't seem to. This is my own diversion. So what I'm trying to say is our show was sort of about like bridging across those things and being able to communicate across all of that. Yeah. That's why I was very interested and grateful that you all had me on because it's needed now more than ever. Yeah. And you're right. I guess we all are around the same age. We did. I mean, I'm going to Southern Democrat my whole life. And we used to be able to agree to disagree or come to a compromise. And I have seen that fall further and further by the wayside. But I also have specifically this election cycle. I have seen it shifting and I have seen people willing to sit and talk. And I mean, I mean, truly exchange ideas. Now, interestingly enough, I've been working the Wilson County Fair booth, the Wilson County Democrat Party Fair booth at the Wilson County Fair for four years now. And that's always a

18:50treat. And I say that going on right now or was that a couple weeks ago? It was a couple weeks ago. Yeah, it was so hot. It was so hot. But what was so interesting is we had, I think, six groups of teenage boys come up to the tent and say, do you debate? Oh, and I, you know, of course, I'm running for office. Oh, my gosh. Because Marsha Blackburn's afraid to. I was like, you know, I know what they're wanting to do. They're wanting to get into this Jubilee, you know, and Dean with her. Which is a great ring of freaking. Exactly. It's such a. I'm running for office. I need the practice. So I'm like, bring it boys. What do you want to talk about? But before that, it was just so there is like, there is some willingness to debate. But a lot of times it is that they just want to getcha you. Yeah. And so we are taking a much more one on one approach. Usually in Democrat politics, when you are campaigning, you go and you knock on the doors first of people that you know we're going to vote for you. You get them out of the way. You get them supporting you

19:54hopefully donating to you. Yeah. Get some easy wins, right? Like, you get a new job. Like, get a couple of easy wins on your belt. Yeah. And then you start going down to a lower democratic score. Well, we're flipping that. We're flipping that for a number of reasons. First of all, we've been busting our tail in Wilson County. And that's how we flipped three county commission seats. So we've already been engaging with the high scoring dams in Wilson County. They know we're active. They know that they've got choices. This election. So we're just giving them a call and saying, don't forget to vote. Don't forget to check your registration. And we're going real low. So we know that we may be knocking on the doors of Republicans. Just plain no Republicans. And so we're prepared to talk to them about the things that we can agree on. So we can agree that our groceries are ridiculously expensive. Gas is ridiculously expensive. Now you and the most likely you're most likely you and your listeners know there is very little that I as a state senator, I'm going to be able to do about the gas prices. However, we've got a two

20:58billion dollar infrastructure backlog in Tennessee. And that averages to you having to spend $280 a year on maintenance driving on our crappy roads. That is something I can fix. I can eliminate the grocery tax that will put five to $800 back in your wallet. Police it is outrageous. And they're like, we're no tax on blah blah blah. What's the groceries? That is and that's what aggressive that'll come out of my taxes. And it's like, no, no, no, not we are specifically targeting the excise tax of these huge corporations. They are the welfare queens in this state are these corporations that aren't having to pay taxes. So that's where we're getting that money to eliminate the grocery tax from. It's not from everyday Tennessee ends. But then I still have people like, well, where do you stand on abortion? Where do you stand on trans athletes? Because that's, you know, now that abortion doesn't have them in the country. I know. Now that abortion has been settled here in Tennessee. Now they're moving on to trans athletes. And then I say, you know, I have a trans kid and I support them. And I was like, and that may not

22:02be something that you understand. And I don't need you to understand. But what you can understand is my kid is 16 years old. And I'm teaching them to drive on unsafe roads. My kid is 16 years old. And I'm afraid to send them to school because they might die in a school shooting. My kid is 16 years old. And I want them to eventually be able to afford to move out of my house. Right. Yeah. And they can't right now. How many 25 26 30 year olds have to live with their families right now? That is something that we can agree on and we can work toward making that better. And here are the plans that I have to make that better. And you're not hearing any of that from the Republicans. They just keep saying, I will protect, you know, women's sports. As if suddenly they care about women's sports. And that's going to make my groceries less expensive. That's going to make my roads better. That's going to make anything safer. And it's, you know, the same thing about abortion, like I was saying, abortion is settled here in Tennessee. We are not going to have legal abortions in Tennessee until it's a federal law. But what what I can do as your

23:07night state senator is I can get in there and I can amend the draconian abortion laws that we have in place to make sure that women don't die because they can't get medical care. I can make sure that we aren't hemorrhaging OBGYN providers because we are. We've seen a 25% decrease in OBGYN residents because they don't want to practice medicine in Tennessee. And I can mend these laws to protect IVF. That's the craziest thing is this legislation specifically that my opponent has proposed targets IVF. So if the whole idea is having more babies, they are literally throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Right. I'm not right. And so that makes, you know, when you're talking to a Republican, those are the big boogie boogie men that they're afraid of. Yes, yes. I'm like, look, I am just a librarian and mom standing in front of you asking you for your common sense vote because what have the Republicans done for you the past 20 years? Do you get good? Do you get when you're doing that one on one, do you get good reactions for people? Like,

24:09because that's genuine. Yes. If they are willing to talk and and and and I do more listening than I do talking. I want to be very clear. You know, no, hasn't it a rump or I can tell? You know, given me a platform here. So I'm doing a lot of talking. But I think it's very important that I'm sitting there and I'm listening. So because that's what I've been trying to do for the past two decades is listen to what is the person's needs in front of me. And so if they are willing to talk to me and then I am going to respect them by listening to them and finding a way that we can, you know, move forward. And so if they're like, I'm never voting for a Democrat in my whole life shut the door. All right, move on to the next house. But if they're like, all right, let's hear you out. Then I know that there's some dissatisfaction there. Yes, which we, Alan, we got some polling data we're going to need into. Yeah, no, I think especially in the younger demographic, you know, a lot of them maybe were kind of sucked into this magazine. And then they're seeing the results. And we have the Iranian war. We have,

25:14you know, diesel prices higher than ever. Gas prices. Super high grocery prices through the roof. Like they're seeing the results of this and going, I don't think this is, yeah, maybe this isn't the play. You know, I don't think that trans kids are the problem. No, no, no, I don't think so. Definitely not. Yeah, definitely not. And so there's, there is, I mean, you must know this better than anybody, but there's an anti-incumbency sentiment that is sort of on the rise. And it's been going on for a couple of election cycles too. I think it's just really apparent in the last two. But then there's people are just dying for authenticity too. So like if you can sit there and talk to someone and say something that you obviously mean, you know, you're not Ted cruising at them. And you're not sitting there as the incumbent. I think that, man, I think that really has a chance something to be hopeful about. You know, and this weather that we have been door knocking through has been miserable, but it's also been helpful. Like when I'm knocking on a door, I'm covered in sweat. Oh, yeah. I'm like, have you had a Republican knock on your door in the past?

26:17Festive buyers. Yeah. Like I, I, the candidate and out here in the seat knocking on doors, because I truly care about what you care about. And so my dad ran for office here in Middleton, a sea eight years ago. And he said, oh, here's a, as a Democrat, he said, here's piece of a diet. So when you're out there and you're taking pictures, knocking doors, spray some water on your face. So it looks like you're sweating. And I was like, like, don't need dog. I'm sweating. In fact, one of my one of the more humbling experiences I had was door knocking in Annie ought. And, you know, I don't have it here, but, you know, we have our, our piece of literature, you know, that we have with us. And this is an older one, but anyway, the woman said, is this you? The humidity and the meat. Yeah. Hey, and, dude, your supporters, man, like, I've seen the videos on your, on your, on your socials and your story posts. Like you got people that are

27:20out there that really believe in you. And that's really awesome. You know, one of the people that taught me to run him for the seat is representative Justin Jones. And it's really. Yes. We love him. We love, we've covered him on the show a lot. He, um, he obviously his district overlaps with this. So, um, he really hates that his senator that represents part of his district is Mark Cody. And, um, we've been doing a lot of organizing together in Wilson County over Christian nationalism. And so, yeah, he's been trying to get me to run for this for a hot minute. And like I said, I needed those two pieces to fall into place, but he was one of my first phone calls. That's fantastic. We love. We love. Brother Jones. The end coach. Yeah, it's awesome. That's really awesome. Yeah. Um, I do want to get a couple more policy things with you. Um, I love your phrase on, on data centers. It's better if you say it. The only data center I support is a public library. Yeah, that's the, oh yeah. I can't believe more

28:20people don't say that. I mean, it's perfect for you and your background, but like, man, well, and because I'm a librarian, it is in this, like, guys, I did not invent this phrase, but I do. Yes, I like to think I'm a librarian's got to come with our sources. And unfortunately, I couldn't find the original source, but I am not going to plagiarize this. This is a thing. That this is a thing on our podcast. I will admit that I do steal it, but I always say, if you steal from me, you stole twice because just like, it's not really a thing to say. Probably God, I don't always know what that I do, but yeah. Um, uh, do you have any, what, are we really anything that is a, how, how are flat cameras in our area? Oh, I know there's flat cameras at like the home depot every once in a while. I drive into the one with my work truck. So I'm laying on the ground. I'm like, sure, exactly where you all live. And you probably want to keep that. But in Wilson County, and specifically Mount Juliet, we, uh, our city was one of the early adopters of flat cameras. And so they are everywhere.

29:24And just like AI, uh, those can be tools that can be useful for public safety, for, um, you know, scientific advancement, all of that. We understand all of the nuance that is behind flat cameras, that is behind data centers. But we also understand that a tool in the hands of the wrong people is going to disproportionately harm black and brown people, lower income people. And that is exactly what we're seeing happening with data centers. And, uh, you know, specifically being put into low income neighborhoods and kind of being snuck in and being a burden on their grid. Same thing with flat cameras. That data is being sold to some very sketchy sources. And so I think that all of our technology has advanced so far that we are back into the Republican loophole of putting mandates on bullet holes. So that is one of the, that's, you know,

30:24speaking specifically about policy, I know when I'm in office because I'm projecting that when I am in office, it's going to be a lot of harm reduction. Uh, because I will still be in a public, or in a Republican supermajority. Right. That being said, the benefit of being a senator is you've got four years. And not just two. Yeah. That's the terms four. Okay. Yeah. And so one of, one of my goals is intervention. So, um, obviously my Bayleywick is public education, early literacy. So instead of, and so I'm kind of jumping around this, but it'll, I think it'll make sense. So we have a law on the books that was passed a couple of years ago called the Third Grade Retention Law, which on its face sounds okay. It's basically if a child is not proficient in reading by the end of Third Grade, they get held back. I mean, of course we want children to learn how to read. The problem is, is this legislation was centered around one test. And we all know that that is a bad idea to put everything on one test. And what we are seeing

31:31is very proficient readers and very proficient students getting held back because of that one test. Wow. When an actuality, the legislation that needed to exist starts in pre-kindergarten. So all of this money that we are putting towards private school vouchers, the voucher scam. If we took that money, Alan, that's all that's a whole thing out here by the way. We haven't ever talked about that. We've never, yes. Okay. Well, so essentially we are subsidizing private schools with public school money. And it is a piece of legislation that I can talk to Republicans about because Republicans do not want it. So if we took that money that is now going to make rich people richer and able to send their kids who they were already sending to private school to private school, we re-invested that into the public school. We could put every four year old in the state of Tennessee in a pre-k program, which would be $13,000 helping a working family. It would allow a parent to go back into the workforce, so that boosts the economy as well. Plus, it prepares that child

32:35for school. So they're not learning how to read in kindergarten. They're learning how to learn. And so that's when I'm talking that investment, all of these things we can lay at the hands of the Republicans. This legislation that we are now having to like put a moratorium on data centers, instead of having these interventions in place before it got to the point where we say no data centers because we understand this technology is moving. And we have to be able to keep up with it. But then everyone is, you know, we're suddenly hearing the NIMBY, the not in my backyard, for data centers. And so it's like you're benefiting from them. So that's, yes, I believe that we do, you know, moratorium is kind of where we're at right now because we have to take a step back and figure out exactly how much energy resources are going to be expended and where these can be placed. And that was kind of a long way. Yeah, sorry. That's also that's how we talk to you. So that works

33:37really well. And our audience likes that. Or they wouldn't be or so. Alan, I know I've been asking a lot of questions. And I do see that we went a little over 30. Can I ask you another couple of questions? Yeah, I hear all night. Okay, absolutely. Okay. So one thing that really bothers me in Tennessee is that we have like there are no public, is it public referendums? You just call it a referendum when we get to vote on things. I talk about it with lack of familiarity because we don't get to do it here. Alan, do you know this? I'm sure I've complained about it. Yeah, you can complain about this for they make jokes about it at Capitol Hill. They're like, no, we certainly will not be letting the people of Tennessee vote on anything. That's what they got me for. And then they get a super majority and they just don't let anything go out on the ballot. So that's how things like THC gets banned because they're like, well, we can decide that for you. Not we can't let you ask about that. So I'm wrapping things two into one. What do you like? Is there any hope on the THC bullshit reversing? I can't imagine that's popular. And is there any hope? Can you? Is there

34:40something? Is getting a referendum back on the ballot? Something that you could hope for by having someone like you be elected? Yes. I mean, that's it's going to take quite a lot of the side. No, I know, of course, of course. And I am very careful about because like I said, when I'm elected, I'm still going to be in a Republican super majority. I think that we can anticipate to flip some seats here in Tennessee. And I intend to flip this one. But we're still going to be in a Republican super majority. We didn't get into this most overnight. We're not getting out of it overnight. Right. And you know, you mentioned earlier on that the Democrats dropped the ball first to admit that I've been a Democrat again from birth practically. The Republicans have been playing the long game a lot better than we have, but they've they've gone too far now to their detriment. And so they there was a constitutional amendment to prevent referendums from being on the ballot. So the state constitution has to be amended. And so I didn't realize it was that bad. I thought they just like were like, no, we won't they bet. Wow. Imagine going out of your way.

35:42It was and I, you know, I should I should have looked this up before, but I know we were actually going to get this deep into the weeds. And I love it. I love it. I'm a nerd. I love it. But I believe it was in anticipation of the abortion trigger ban. So we in Tennessee, we have an abortion trigger ban in place ready for a row to fall. And so that's why we were one of the first states to put a total ban on abortion. And that referendum or that anti referendum was put into place. That rings a bell. Yeah. Because if it was on the ballot, Tennesseeans would vote in favor of keeping abortions legal. Of course. We have the statistics to show that. So yeah, I mean, it is going to take flipping seats. That's what it's going to take. And that's why that's why you've got public librarians out here running for office now. And you know, a lot of people are paying more attention to the house. The House of Representatives. They're kind of louder and they're flashier. But one of the reasons I did want to run for Senate is

36:43again, that four years, four years. But also loud and flash you for reasons. They have to keep an election cycle going. Exactly. That's it. Exactly. It's the people's house. Marjorie Taylor stuff, right? Where she's got a national brand. Yes. Yes. I know that didn't work out for her. But you know what I mean by that? Like, well, you know, she got her money and she left. So it worked out pretty well for her. Yeah. I think it worked out pretty well for her. Yes. But in what I have been noticing the past couple of legislative sessions is the really sketchy stuff. You can say that. You really sketchy shit that has been dying in the legislature. A lot of the if if we are able to kill like anti LGBTQ anti-immigration legislation, it's happening in the Senate because there are fewer senators. So if you are in the House, you've got these committees, these huge committees. And we're still in such a super minority, the Democrats, that they, their votes aren't real unless they can turn a couple of, you know, a significant amount of

37:46Republicans, then their no votes aren't going to matter in the Senate. There is much more relationship building. And that is where these bills are dying is in committee. And so that's why I keep, you know, I understand that these house races are flashy and they're exciting. But it's like some let's make government boring again. Yes. Please. Yeah. Yes. That's what I desperately want. And I think, you know, when I first kind of came on the scene in politics, I was this loud librarian mom that was advocating for my books and advocating for my kid. But I'm also a 48-year-old woman who has had to live my life knowing how to get along with people and build relationships. And that's exactly what it's going to take in the Senate. 100%. That is so key. I know you already said it, but I just want to hear you say that again, because it's so refreshing to hear a politician say that. Like it is about building relationships, relationship building and getting like coalitions together. And it's like, if you don't want to do that, get the fuck out of politics.

38:51Right. And I want, I want our own party to agree. Yeah. Like that's, you know, I mean, seriously, like it's, it's very obvious to me that there are some people that get into politics for the social aspect because they want to go out drinking and they want to hear the gossip and, you know, who's sleeping with you and everything. Yeah. My goodness. I'm too old for that. I am in politics because I want to preserve my future. I want to preserve my child's future. And, and, and, you know, that's, I want to give back. I don't, I don't care about the flashy. And I realize I'm saying this with very flashy nails. And I do want to tell you all a really quick story about these nails, because I think you will. So I met a young high school student that's here in Wilson County. She was recently, she went viral at the end of the school year last year because she led a, an ice protest march out from a Mount Juliet high school. And it, you know,

39:55made it all over the news. Her father has been detained since December. She is supporting her family by working 30 hours a week at Walmart, paying her family's rent, getting her nieces to and from school. And she is practicing nails. And so I went over to her house to get to know a little bit more about her, you know, how I will be able to help her as a state senator. And she did my nails. And I know this is a podcast and you can't see. No, no, no, okay, wait, wait, wait, we will put this on YouTube. Are you okay with that? Yes, absolutely. That turquoise, are they turquoise? Yes. It's my, it's my love. Oh, sweet. I love it. Yeah. She did the logo. So she, you know, practiced and, you know, because she's tried, she wants, she's studying, she's got, she's in dual, dual enrollment enrollment right now while working 30 hours a week. It's just, she's just a remarkable, you say she's a, and she's a high school student.

40:5617 years old. She's 17 years old. Good. God. And I had a job when I was in high school, but I wasn't working 30 hours in paying for, and supporting your whole family. Yeah. Yeah. Incredible. Yeah. My grandpa walking up to school both ways up hill. Right. Exactly. So yeah, I just, and these are the kind of stories that I'm hearing. Is her story worth sharing? I'm sorry. Yes, she is. She's very public, and I can give you her, her Instagram, her TikTok, because that's another way her name is Diana. And I'll, like I said, I will include her. Yeah, we'll put in a story. She, you know, she is building her content, you know, that's another way that she is helping support her families, but building her content and doing it, you know, practicing her nails and putting that out there. Very nice. Very nice. Cool. Well, I have kind of a softball question. Oh, please, Alan. Oh, a softball question. All right. A softball question. You're a mom. What's your go-to, like Friday night dinner for the fam? Like, you know, what's your go-to?

42:02To kids stay in on Friday night. Mine does. Mine does. Oh, nice. Yes. We usually watch a, um, usually watch Avatar. Avatar. Last year, Bender. Yeah, yes. Yes. Sorry. Not, not James Cameron Avatar. Right. I need to be very clear. Or, you know, my neighbor, Toto Roe, or something. My kid is super into animal, animal, animal, manga, cosplay. Yeah. In fact, you know, one of the reasons why I have a platform is my kid and I went viral on TikTok for making fun of Trump. Um, that, you know, that quote of his that these kids, they go off to school and they come back and they've had a sex change operation. Yeah. Yeah. We do just a little clip and like six million views later. But so I do have a good relationship with my kid. So yes, they do want to spend their, their Friday nights with me. And they are autistic. So they have a lot of sensory, food sensory issues. So it's usually just spaghetti and meat sauce. I mean, that's pretty good. I love that. How about meatballs? Meatballs good?

43:03Oh, yes. Absolutely. Okay. No, no, they're fine with, they're, they're fine with that. And, you know, what's so interesting about them and what I just adore about them is that they, they do have their very particular foods, their comfort foods that they like, but they will branch out and they'll be like, I want to try octopus. Oh, and of course now that I've seen, you know, the, the documentary on how smart I'm to pie. I don't want to. You know, you, we've had this breakthrough. So, you know, they do, they are very brave. And now that I understand a little bit more about sensory issues, I'm very proud when they're like, let's go try octopus. Something new. Yeah. It's about the texture, but I'm willing to, oh, god, I don't like what I like. Look, look, we are, we are a neuro atypical friendly podcast. And I would be portraying a lot of our audience. If I didn't press this button, I didn't plug it in. It's not even plugged in. Once in episode, it was a clip about trains. Yeah, but I know there's all flavors of autism. And I don't mean to stereotype. No, it's a super power. I know, I know, I really understand that

44:11by helping navigate, you know, helping my child navigate it. That's awesome. So, yeah, when they get lost into, I'm sorry, oysters and octopuses. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, so they are typically a chicken nugget in French fry kid. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, they're like, I would like to try oysters. And I'm like, they're like bacon. Oh, yes, they do. Okay, well, oysters rockaballas is, we are at a house divided. And you all may use respect for me. Are you ready? Oh, yeah, I'm ready. I like floppy bacon. Oh, I know, I know my husband and my child. Oh, I know, my husband and my kid, you know, so I pull, I make it in the oven. So I pull mine out early and I leave this in the crystal. That's my why I think that's all right. I'm going to bring it back. Are you ready? This is Nikki,

45:16wait, this is Nikki Haley. Okay, I'm done. All right. I'm going to bring it back. I grew up very poor. And so most of our meat was just pure fat. And so I think that's where I think it's, it's, it makes me think of that, you know, just more gristly. You know what? That was a good, that's a good politician response. You did pivoted well. Yeah, yeah, I like respect, respect, respect. Lizzie, we can agree to disagree on bacon. We can't agree to disagree on human rights. For me, we're all at the good point. I was going to step over that. That was really good. If we're all at the buffet together, I know my crispy bacon safe because of people like you. Yeah, it takes a whole community. You know, we don't know if we're bacon out. It takes a village. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Well, look, I thank you all, thank you all for having me on. I know that most of your listeners are right here in Middleton, the sea. This is the only Republican held seat in Davidson County. So flip, even if you don't live in in this district, it's going to benefit everyone

46:20in the same Tennessee. Yeah. So you can go to my website, Lindsay for TN, L-I-N-D-S-E-Y-F-O-R-T-N, dot com. And, you know, even just sharing my message, getting my name out there, that helps tremendously. But I really am hoping that some folks in our district have heard and understand that they now have a choice. Well, we're pulling for you. We got a lot of friends in that area. They're going to see this. We're going to keep talking about you. And I really hope you have a big day coming up in November. And we'll keep in touch. Definitely. Thank you all so much.