Host Rachel Miselman discusses the current US Senate race between Elizabeth Warren & John Deaton, characteristics of Donald Trump, Lydia Edwards & Jeanna Tamas, & more.
WBCA Podcasts
Bostonian Rap
Hello and welcome to Boss Tony and Rap. My name is Rachel Miesleman. You are listening to me on WBCA LP 102.9 FM Boston. This is Boston's community radio station. Like we always do, we're gonna go to a quick disclaimer and then we're gonna come back and jump right on in to tonight's show. The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston Neighborhood Network 3025 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, o2119. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio at bnnmedia.org. Hello and welcome back to Boss Tony and Rap. Again, my name is Rachel Miesleman and let's just get right on down to it. So I've been thinking a lot about this past U.S. Senate race or this current U.S. Senate race between Elizabeth Warren, who of course is the incumbent, and John Deaton, who is the Republican nominee for this office. And I think a lot of people were impressed by Deaton's performance and the debates. I do wish, however, that the debates had taken place earlier. I have made a practice in all my years in politics that whatever I say in private, I say in public, and I do that to protect myself. Now, there are always going to be people who try to make things up, but when you have that consistency, when you say something about someone, when he is in the room, and you say the same thing when he's not in the room, and you stand just in general by what you say, it engenders, I think, a certain amount of trust. And so in keeping with that practice, I'm going to say that privately, I have asserted that I would have preferred John Deaton to be where he is now. I would have liked to have seen him at this place a month and a half to two months ago. It can be really tricky when you're running a campaign, because when you're the candidate, if you're managing a campaign, because you don't want to peek too early. And we see that, I think we see that often with say the presidential race, races, because you have a number of people. And I remember when Trump first ran, there were a lot of people running. And Trump, I think, pretty much he grabbed hold of people's imagination, fascinated people. I think really captivated, because I do think he has a lot of charisma. I appreciate not everyone likes everything he says. And I know that a number of people certainly don't like the way he says it. I'll get to that in just a bit. I'll touch upon that point again. But I do think that he has a certain amount of magnetism, a certain amount of charisma. When he's in the room, you notice him. He's not dull. I think he's a bit of a character, actually. I think he's quite funny. I think he's quite intelligent. And then I appreciate a lot of people might disagree with me. But this is what I think. But to the point, he kind of grabbed hold of a lot of people's attention early on. Having said that, there were different people who kind of took turns and it was kind of whispered or maybe even said very publicly, "Oh, could this person be the one that overtakes Trump?" Or, "This person seems to be doing really well. This person seems to have quite a thing going right now. Not even a honeymoon period, but it's just really kind of a flying high. In the polls, people want to see what this person has to say. But Trump really kind of, as I said, he kind of really grabbed hold of people. And these other candidates, I don't think they really knew how to pace themselves. And so that's really, really important. There were a lot of people that peaked really early. And I know that a lot of people don't want to give them credit. Again, I'm sure there are going to be a number of people who are listening to this who are thinking, "Trump intelligent, Trump charismatic, Trump funny." What? But I do think he's all of that. But I also think he's very smart and so far as how he presents himself. You know, certainly the Trump in 2024 is not the Trump that we saw in 2016 and 2020. And he has shown restraint, I think, when it has been necessary. And I think that this shows kind of an evolution, his evolution as a political figure. And so he's managed to pace himself. He's managed not to flail out. He's managed to, after all these years, still command attention. But I think he also, in addition to all of that, I think he really, he just knows how to run a campaign. He knows when to pull back, he knows when to charge straight ahead. He has very good instincts. And I think that when you're a politician, I think that it's not so different from being a businessman. Or it's not so different from being an entrepreneur. You're selling a product yourself. So I think he's very shrewd. So he knows how to pace himself. He knows how to grab people's attention. He knows how to hold on to it. And he understands the very real danger of a politician, just kind of plateauing. And then just kind of plummeting in the polls. So get back to Deaton. Deaton. I don't know if I can say it's been a slow, steady burn. I think it's just, I think his entry in the race was bullish. I think that he, you know, for a few reasons, he just kind of monopolized a lot of resources. He grabbed a lot of attention. He, he got a lot of operatives. You know, you throw out different names and, you know, as Republicans, if you're active, you know, oh, I know that person. He was on this campaign. Oh, I know her. She was on that campaign. He got a lot of operatives early on. But this has been just such a, I find it a weird campaign because, again, his entry into the race, he roared into the race. But I think that because of the resources that he had, and because of the support that he had from a lot of longtime operatives and others, he was able to win the primary decisively. But I still don't feel like, it's, it's, it's just so odd. It's, I don't feel like he necessarily campaigned. And I feel like, I mean, there were some instances leading up to the primary, we got to see how he acquits himself. You know, there were some forums. He's done. He did some interviews, of course. But I feel like it's, it's really now, as we're approaching the finish line, that he's given people something to chew on. I feel like he, you know, he talked a lot about his narrative. He put that out of there a lot. And it was, it's what a lot of candidates do. It's to humanize you. It's to, you know, make you seem relatable. In Deaton's case, it was also to show that he's someone that he's used to coming from behind and try and frame. And certainly, God bless them. He has known some dark chapters. There has been certainly a lot of trauma in his life. And it necessarily makes you feel good to see him, anyone who goes through challenging times or traumatic times to not only overcome it, overcome them, the instances of trauma of hardship, but to then go on and flourish. So, certainly, that that speaks to his character. And that's part of the packaging, right? So coming from behind, and he's tough, and he can get the job done, and don't count him out. He's been counted out before. In fact, he's been counted out. He's gone far beyond exceeding people's expectations. I almost said exceeding low expectations. There were no expectations. And he went ahead and set a high bar, and he jumped right on over it. So, again, God bless them. Muzzle toss. It is inspiring. And I appreciate that that's part of the story, right? Because every candidate does have to have a narrative. But I feel like, in terms of Deaton, the one to take on Warren, I feel like he's showing his metal now. And as I said, I don't dislike him as a candidate. I connected better. I did, I preferred, I was open. I preferred Ian Kane. But Deaton, I mean, I respect him as a candidate. I just, I really do think that if he were right where he is now, I'll say it again. If he were at this point a month and a half ago to two months ago, I would say, well, you know, maybe, I don't know if there'll be an upset, but you never know. I think that he's done well recently in particular. And that's not to say he's done horrible before, but I just feel like it's now he's, he's in his element as a candidate. But is it enough to, to overcome Warren? I don't know. I don't know. You know, obviously, I hope he does win, but I don't know. And that's, that's the thing. When, when you're running against someone like Warren, she has a lot of name recognition. Now that doesn't mean that she can't be beat. And in fact, I don't think she's, I don't find her that impressive. I've never found her that impressive. I don't really think she speaks very well to the issues. I feel like she has been someone from Massachusetts as opposed to someone for Massachusetts. I feel like there's a disconnect. And as I've said, you know, on social media, talking to people on, on Bostonian rap, I've, I've long said that I feel like really, I just, I feel like it was with Warren is treated Massachusetts like a bit like a one night stand, a long, long, long, long extended one night stand, but a one night stand nonetheless. And in the morning, we didn't even get cab money to go home. I just, I feel, I really don't feel like she's done a whole lot for us. I don't feel like she's invested in Massachusetts. And I wasn't, I haven't been shy about saying that, you know, when she ran for president, she was very quick to start calling herself an okay. And yeah, of course, she's from Oklahoma and she should be proud. But it was just like, it was just like whoosh. And I said, okay, and just like that, she's, she's Elizabeth Warren from Oklahoma. And it is a slap in the face because, and I will reiterate that because Massachusetts made her politically. It really did. It's made so many people politically. It's made Ayanna Pressley, Michelle Wu, you have Lydia Edwards. And I'm not throwing all these names into the same pot. I'm not saying all these people are the same, they're interchangeable. But what I'm saying is that there've been a number of people who originally not from here. They come here and this state has made them. The state has been very good to them. And I think that if, you know, they were honest, they would say that. And then there's no reason not to be honest. And it's not offensive what I'm saying. My point is, it's actually because Massachusetts has done so much for Elizabeth Warren. I would hope that she would be a little bit more invested, at least superficially, and in do more for us. Because it's not just her, her positions, a lot of which, admittedly, I don't like. I don't find myself aligned with, but it's this, this lack of investment. And it bothers me. It offends me, it insults me. And so for that, I do hope that Deaton wins. But I think that just speaking, generally, globally, broadly, I think that if you run against someone like her, you just, you really have to, you have to really get out there. You really, really, truly do. And speaking of getting out there, I'm going to talk about another race that's happening. And I've, I've talked about this a little before. You know, there's a race, Lydia Edwards, who's, you know, I mentioned, just mentioned her, she's, of course, a state senator. She's the state senator for the Third Suffolk District. So that is East Boston, except for one precinct, right? That that's, it's out in the harbor. So Nick Collins, state center, Nick Collins has that. But one through 14 precincts, one through 14, that's Lydia Edwards. She has the north end, the waterfront. I'm going to say parts of downtown, the West End, a lot of Back Bay, a lot of the Beacon Hill. And she's got a few precincts and Fenway. And then she has all of Winthrop and all of Revere. Her Republican challenger is Gianna Tamis. Now, Gianna, Gianna had, Gianna had a big hill to climb going into this race because she didn't have the name recognition, right? There are other people that, you know, perhaps they had some name recognition, but still even then they would still have to work. Lydia Edwards has big name recognition and speaking generally, unfortunately, because it is unfortunate because some people have name recognition and they don't necessarily do anything of substance, but they have the name recognition. I'm not saying this about Lydia or anyone else. I'm just speaking generally. So that's why I say it's unfortunate. But the harsh, cold, sad reality is that in politics, name recognition is big. It carries a lot of weight. And so if one does decide to run against a Warren or Lydia Edwards or Iana Presley, you know, these different healy, you have to get out there and work because these are people. These are people that are known. These are people that that the public knows and the public may not like these politicians, but they know them. Or maybe they love the politicians. I don't know, but and they know them. But the point is, is that they're known. They're a known entity. They're known entities. And of course, there's certainly others. So, Gianna, she is, I mean, she can, I'm not looking to disparage Gianna or her campaign, but it's about, it's really about being realistic. And it's about being truthful. She can argue or she can, you know, assert that, you know, she's been around for a long time, that she's been active since 2020. I really, honestly, like, Gianna really probably hasn't, I'm not saying she had no political contact before 2021. But really, that's when she kind of really stood up to be involved. That's not a lot, a long time. And there were only certain people that knew who she was. There were certain people that knew who she was. So it wasn't kind of widespread. So four years, not a lot. It's not a long time. And, you know, she had her own, you know, she had her own social circle, you know, her own orbit, so to speak. But, you know, she became more involved politically, and she was, you know, involved with standouts that attracted a lot of attention. So she was involved with a standout that, you know, former Lieutenant Governor Karen Polito was present. Matt Sisk, a former state committee man, Matt's a great guy. I've become this mad man. Like, seriously, like, I'm just like this huge, like, I'm like, Matt, oh, he's awesome. But, you know, he was at this, this standout. So it was Stop Asian Hate. And it was actually in Jacqueline Corvo, who is also on the state committee. You know, she was there. It was actually a very good initiative, you know, by the Republican Party, the state, state party. I was happy to see it for sure. So she was getting more active and doing things like that. But again, it's, I don't care what you're running for. You got to get out there. You got to get out there. You got to be seen. And so she, you know, she did run for state committee. So one would think that that would give her a little bit, certainly not an advantage, because, you know, again, Edwards is an established political figure. But it would make maybe the hell that she has to climb a little less steep. Well, no, because Gianna really didn't do anything until the month before. And so people might argue, well, if you're running a state committee race, it really only comes down or primarily comes down to the last four weeks. And there's a lot of truth to that for this particular race. Haven't said that. If you're only going to really be active a month before, I don't know, you know, because then if you run for state Senate, you, you, you got a kind of boogie. And so I think that sometimes Republicans, and I'm going to make this a more of a general statement. Sometimes Republicans, when they don't have a primary, they kind of just kick back. And these are the Republicans that are less experienced. And in some instances, and I'm not saying this about Gianna or this one or that one, but in some instances, it's, it's, it can be Republican candidates that are less serious, right? You know, what I mean by that, they, they don't really have any business running. So I think Gianna is, how do I put this tactfully? She needed to be a little bit more active. She needed to be a little bit more active. She's certainly doing, she's engaged in some activity this month, which is good to see. You know, there've been a number of standouts, but again, I'm going to say what I have said to anyone who would listen, I've talked with Lydia. I spoke with Gianna like once briefly, it was at a, it was at a town committee meeting, you know, when through this was months and months and months ago. It's, I think my message has been like, you got to, you got to know the nuts and bolts and you got to be out there. And, you know, someone who's, who's going to say to me, well, why are you talking to Lydia Edwards? Well, she's my state senator. First of all, and before that, she was my district counselor on the Boston City Council. And I know who she is. I know she is when she first got elected. I remember going up to her. And this was, Lydia's always kind of gotten around, right? She's, she's, she's been very smart about how she operates, how she moves, but she, I remember she was, she had just gotten elected. And I, I, you know, when full disclosure, I really, I loved, I think I still think he's great, but, you know, I love Stephen Piscontilly. He, Pescontilly, he, he, he ran for that seat. Lydia bested him in the, in September, he, he, he had a small lead. But in November, he, you know, she ended up pulling it out. She bested him. And so I said, okay, you know, I'll, you know, you still be, you be pleasant. And I saw her at the St. Patrick's Day parade. So we were in Southeast, South Boston. And I said, you know, congratulations on you when I don't know she's going to remember that. And she seemed kind of surprised that like I knew who she was. And she was like, okay, okay. Um, you know, over the years, I have not always been happy with her. And I've let her know. But I hope I've never come across as disrespectful because I'm very passionate, extremely passionate, like in every possible way, like I'm just, that's, that's who I am. And it seems kind of funny that I would say that because I'm very, I can also be like, I'm very much unflappable. Like that, that's also a word to describe me. But when I'm talking about, you know, causes and issues, I'm very passionate, right? So, you know, there's certainly been instances where I've been very unhappy with her. And I've let her know. But you know, whether it's Lydia or anybody else, I never try to disrespect the person. That's something I really, I really try to go out of my way never to disrespect the person. And I certainly never tried to disrespect the office that the person, the, the, the political figure holds, right? So, you know, so yeah, I talk to Lydia. And, you know, I've, I've shared my insight with Lydia about this race. And I'll be honest, if, if, you know, if Gianna and I were to talk, I would, I would share that, you know, I would share the same insight. You know, so it's, it's, this isn't, I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not, well, which support in Gianna, it's, Gianna's got to run a race. She should have been running a race. You know, it's good that she's out there now, but running for state Senate is not the same thing as running for state committee. And it's not because she was the only person on the ballot that she could afford to just kind of kick back and respectfully, I feel like that's what she did. But, you know, we're going to see, we are going to see how it shakes out. Good luck to both ladies. But I will say that one thing I did say, which wasn't well received, there was a sign. And I know who was behind the signs and putting them up, getting them out to people and having them put up. And it was a sign that said, save our neighborhood, vote out Edwards. So I saw some of that, some of those signs in East Boston, and I saw some of those signs in Winthrop. Well, first of all, okay, it works for East Boston, but surely the people behind the sign know that Winthrop is not a neighborhood. It's a city. And before people like slide into my DMs, cut me out, Winthrop really is a city. It really is. But its style does the town. Winthrop is so beautiful. If you haven't been there, please go. It's just, it's so, so, so, so, so, so pretty. I love it. And I love being by the water. So it's just like, oh my gosh, this is just, this is awesome. I love it. But yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a city styles the town. There was an act in 2005. It passed, it went into effect in 2006. So that's why, you know, Winthrop styles itself. While it's a city that's, you know, it styles itself as a town. So to see those signs, I actually thought that that was disrespectful toward the town of Winthrop. And toward the residents of Winthrop, you know, Winthrop is a neighborhood of what? No, I mean, it's, it's, it's a municipality. Cut it out. But, but my, my point was, I'm like, but my point was that this is not going to win the race for Gianna. My point was that the signs in themselves were not going, it, I don't know, I think maybe for a little bit, it was thought that, oh, these signs popping up everywhere. It was going to some, disseminate some, you know, it was going to trigger panic. It was going to, it was going to really kind of create buzz. And I just, it was, it was a lousy idea. Okay. I mean, like, I'm sorry, but it was a bad idea. So that, you know, wasn't well received. It was to, you know, pump up Gianna. And it was, it was done by some Republican political who's in East East Boston. And I think it was a lousy, I think it was a crummy idea because vote out Edwards. Okay. Okay. Sure. You know, even if someone was thinking, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I get bad. I'll vote her out. Who, who, who, who are people going to vote for? So it's no mention of that. And then I, like I said, you know, save our district, should have put, save our district. But, you know, that's, that's another issue I have. And people can say what they want about Lydia ed was, I don't really care. Okay. And people can, like be upset with me. I don't really care because I will say, I will sit down with Lydia and say, well, this is what upset me, what you've done, right? And she knows anyway. Okay. But she is, she engages in activity throughout the district. And I don't know what it is with the, the chair of the wood one Republican committee, which is ward one is that's East Boston. So his name is Joseph Stefano, Joseph Stefano. And I don't know, like, I don't know what the inner workings, like if you could like flip, like, if you could open up, maybe open up Joe's head, like, and look inside, like, I don't know what you would see. But like, for him, his wife, who's, you know, now, of course, the state committee woman for the Republican state committee woman for the third Suffolk district. And for Paul Wernicitis, who of course is the state committee man for the third Suffolk district. And for Gianna, who ran to be the Republican state committee woman for the third Suffolk district. And now who's, as I said, running for state senator, they all look at the district as East East Boston and went through and revere. And that actually angers me to know and because it's, it's a big district. It's a big district. And there are votes to be had throughout the district. And you do not disrespect parts of Boston and voters like that, like to blow off the north end, like for real though, Beacon Hill, like, there's a, like I said, there's a good chunk of Beacon Hill and back Bay. And just to be like, yeah, whatever. I'm sorry, but that's how it is respectful. And I don't care that they're like, like, you know, only a few precincts of Fenway in the district. They're in the district. So whatever, whatever, whatever is in the district, you go there. But this is this this idea, like this little triangle, they're going to work this triangle. Easty, you know, this whole EC, it's almost like looked at as is is a municipality unto itself, right? Like it's like a city. And it's the big brother to Winthrop and revere. Oh, look, okay. I understand that there's a lot of traffic in that triangle. I understand that people have a lot of ties, you know, to Easty, whether they're in revere or Winthrop, you know, you have some people who are from Easty, they've lived in revere. Now they live in Winthrop. You know, there's a lot of traffic, you know, friendships, family, business, ties. And let me tell you this, I want to preserve those ties. I think that that it's a beautiful thing. I think that we want to keep those ties, you know, because it's generations, right? Generations, you know, of a family, and you see them in different parts of the district, right? So, you know, Easty, revere, Winthrop, great and beautiful thing. The business ties, absolutely, right? We definitely, we definitely want to cultivate business ties, but throughout the district, though. And so I understand that the business ties are going to follow because of the friendships and the family ties and the proximity, the geography, right? So I get that. But the way it works, the way for them that it works, it's like the rest of Boston doesn't really count until the last two, three weeks, maybe month before voting, and then, you know, the ads come out, maybe there's some contact made, some mailers go out. And like I said, I think that's incredibly disrespectful. Like heck, no, that's not the way to do it. And so I very strongly, I very strongly oppose that because it's not going to grow the party. It's not going to, it's not going to really be effective as a strategy to make the Third Suffolk district really stand out as a purple district because it is. I was speaking the other day, I won't say, I won't say who, but I have a good relationship with this person, a political person. I was talking about district one on the Boston City Council. That's a purple district. Hello, it's a purple district. Stop playing, stop playing, y'all. It's a purple district. And so when you look at the Third Suffolk district, which contains almost all of the district one, you, you know, because Charlestown, of course, is not the Third Suffolk district, you know, you have definitely some, you would say, okay, well, based on Boston alone, you could say, well, you have some purple pockets. You really, really do, like throughout the parts of Boston that are in the Third Suffolk district. But when you look at Revere and Winthrop, look, there is a lot that can be done with these two municipalities. Now, in full disclosure, and I think I've mentioned this before, I love Dan Rizzo. I love Dan Rizzo. And I think his wife, Jane, she is so adorable. She is wonderful. I love the Rizzos. I had a chance to meet them, to interact with them on more than one occasion. I don't pretend to be great friends with them. I don't, I don't do that. Like, I'm not like, oh, yeah, we go back. And then no, but I do know them. I have had the opportunity to interact with them more than once. I, they, they knew that I supported Dan from mayor. I think he would have been a fabulous mayor of Revere. But of course, you know, I didn't, I didn't have skin in the game, so to speak, you know, I couldn't vote, of course. So I was sorry that he didn't win, but Revere is very lucky to have Dan as a resident. And he's done so, so, so, so much for the city. And of course, I wish Patrick Keith, who won. Of course, I wish him well. And I, and I said that to him. I did. I said, you know, I wish you well. But you know, Dan Rizzo is great. And, and he, I think he, he represents a lot of people. He speaks for a lot of people. I think a lot of people are happy for him to speak for them. It's, it's, it's, it's purple. It's purple. And I, and I don't want to speak for him, you know, because Dan Rizzo is, is very, he's sharp and he can very much speak for himself. But I do think that he represents, um, it's, it's nice. It's, you know, it might sound blue. Sometimes it might sound red, but it's, it's purple. Now, uh, whether he leans more one way or the other, that that's for him, uh, for Dan Rizzo himself to articulate and, you know, love to have him on. Uh, he can come on anytime he or his wife Jane, he and his wife Jane. Um, but it's, it's, it's just to say that you have figures like that, that, um, a very, very well respected who do a lot for the communities in which they live and which they reside. And, and it's, it's just purple. And so. For a candidate to stand up and run in the third Suffolk district, whether it's for state committee or for state Senate and not, they can knowledge the entirety of the district. I, I just can't, you know, like that old hall and notes song. I'm dating myself. I just happening more and more. Uh, I can't go for that. You remember that song? Some of you are like, no, I've never heard of that. Um, but some of you are like, yeah, yeah, I know that song. No, no, no, I can't go for that. Um, that, then that's how I feel. I just, it, again, it's just, I can just go on and on and on, but I won't stop there. But it just, it really does offend me. Either run to represent the whole district or sit your bottom down. It's just, and I'm, I'm, I'm not saying that like aiming it at Jan, I'm saying it to anybody, you know, like run to represent the whole district, which is very rarely done by Republicans or don't run at all. Period. Right? So I will end tonight's show. I want to talk a little bit about the activity in which I was engaged over the weekend. And so I have canvas for, I've done door knocking for a presidential campaign before. And I don't know how this like slipped my mind. Uh, maybe I in 2008 for John McCain. So I had supported Mitt Romney. I supported Mitt Romney very strongly. I supported him in 2008. I supported him in 2012. I think he's great. Um, I haven't always agreed with everything that he's said. And, you know, I think certainly as Senator, I think he did go off in kind of a different direction, but you know, God bless. I, I have a lot of respect for him. I always will. Um, I think he's a wonderful family man. Uh, he and his wife, and it's just, they have a beautiful family. They're very committed to community. It's just, it's just so, so admirable. And it's just so nice to see decent people and politics because you have so many people who are not. So I've always really, really respected the Romney fam, the whole family. And I think that, uh, Mitt is very intelligent. Uh, I love the fact that he has a JD and an MBA. And he just, he has so much to say and, and, and he can offer such valuable insight and, and, and, and offer great input and so many different key critical errors. So he's just, he's wonderful. Big Mitt Romney person. Um, but when he did not win in 2008, I said, okay, you know, John McCain won good luck to John McCain. And yes, I'll, you know, I did, you know, I did, and I went by two, three times. I mean, I wasn't a regular volunteer. I wasn't like, okay, I'm here again. Uh, no, I, you know, I went two, three times. I, um, you know, I did some foam banking. And then there was at one point, uh, a trip to New Hampshire, uh, that had been organized. And I said, I'll go. And actually at the time I was teaching, I was teaching, um, that was what I was doing full time. And it was, it was, it was so, it was so funny because I'm on the trip and then I turn and look. And I'm like, what? A couple of my students from Spain, they were like, Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. And it was just great. Um, it was great to see them so politically active. And I remember thinking, my gosh, I wish there were other Americans who are as activists, my two, two of my Spanish students. Uh, so it was, it was a good time. We didn't do a ton of door knocking, but we did some, we walked around a bit. Um, but over this weekend, I did, I did some door knocking, uh, for, uh, the Trump campaign. And it was, it was actually an effort that was organized by a couple of Massachusetts people with a Pennsylvania GOP to, um, really try to get out the vote early, uh, for president Trump, for former president Trump. So it was a wonderful opportunity. The two mass people are a T and Harold. Uh, if you get a chance to listen, I'm giving you a big shout out because these two individuals, they did a lot of work. They worked, uh, very well and very extensively and very closely with the Pennsylvania GOP, um, you know, different people in Pennsylvania, um, with the party to, to get, to get, um, this opportunity to put it together. And so there were a few of us that went, uh, went there, um, for Massachusetts and we, you know, there were different things that we did. And I was there along with, you know, a number of other people, uh, for a few days, you know, we, you know, some of us got there Friday night. Other people got there on Saturday, but on Saturday and Sunday, uh, that was when, uh, most of us people from, most of the people from Massachusetts, they think all of us, um, you know, we did something. So we were doing postcards and we were doing door knocking and, uh, it was, it was a great experience. So again, a shout out to Arate and Harold, um, you know, people, long time, Republicans will know who they are. Um, but they, they, they deserve a lot of credit and, uh, they put together something very nice and it was just a very, it was a positive, very positive experience. And it's, it's, I, I want to, I'm sharing this story because I want people to get involved. So obviously, you know, I'm, I'm supporting Trump, but, uh, you know, but if you're supporting Kamala Harris, support Kamala Harris, find out how you can get involved. People do standouts and, and, and there is a place for standouts. There really is, but I think for this, you have to think about the particular race, right? But for this particular race, I think rather than standouts, and I'm not, I'm not saying don't do it because it's still, it's still, you know, a good thing to do. But I think for this race, I, I think that whether you support Trump or whether you support, uh, Harris, I don't think either side can take anything for granted. I really, really, really, really don't. And I think that both, both candidates and the supporters for both candidates, they got to go, go, go, go, go, right, right, right through election day, right? So find out how you can, how you can get involved. I think that door knocking is, is, is a good thing to do, canvassing key areas and key states, particularly key states, swing states. They're called battleground states or swing states because they could, you know, go either way. They could be red or they could be blue. And, you know, Pennsylvania is one of those states. But I mean, even in a state that like Massachusetts, it's, it's still, it's still worth canvassing. Um, but I would, you know, I would go through, I wouldn't certainly for something like canvassing a foam bank and you don't do your own thing. Like you go through, you go through the infrastructure in place. So if it's Harris, you know, you go through, you reach out to the Massachusetts Democratic party, uh, to, you know, to get the contact information, to get, you know, the names, you know, who do I reach out to because this is what I want to do on the same thing for the Massachusetts Republican party. And, you know, you'll get put in touch with whoever, you know, either, either side, whoever's running things, running operations for the presidential campaigns on state level here in Massachusetts. I think that, and in this race, especially at this point, it's, like I said, standards, they're okay. Um, I certainly wouldn't disparage them. I'm not against them. I'm not opposed to being in one or two or several of myself. But I think that at this point, this race, it's, it's, it's canvassing, you know, door knocking and, and, and being smart where you go and phone banking, phone banking. And I think that it's, it's really important to get out and vote early. It is. I think for either campaign. And I'm going to tell you that I was in, I was in Scranton and both campaigns, they're, they're working Scranton, man. They're just, they're really going in there. So it's, it's, that's really, I think those are two of the best ways to really kind of help campaigns. I really, really, really do. And of course, you know, everyone's like money, money, but, you know, it's times are tight. Things are tough. So it, you know, there are different ways to, to, to contribute in big ways, right? And certainly, uh, the best way to contribute, uh, is just getting out and voting. That's, that's like super, super, super key. And, uh, you know, I urge people, I'm going to continue to urge people to vote because a lot of people don't understand people are given great power. When they run for office, they win. They are given a lot of power to do a lot of different things and not to acknowledge that, not to understand that. I think that that's problematic because the reality is these people are, they're given authority to do certain things, to perform the duties of their office. And because of that, we just, we need to be careful and we need to be thoughtful. And we need to also, you know, set standards and, and have expectations, right? But of course, I can talk about that all day and I'll talk about that more, of course. Um, but for now, that's all I have time for. I thank you so much for listening and I look forward to hanging out with you next week. The preceding commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston Neighborhood Network, 302-5 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio@bnnmedia.org.