Good morning, peeps, and welcome to woo k F Daily with Meet your Girl Danielle Moody. Pre recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, you know, it's not often, honestly that I get to interview a politician that makes me feel good right, that is doing the right things, saying the right things, and just engaging with constituents in a way
that should be modeled. I'm excited to welcome on to the show for the first time Commissioner Devonte Lewis from the third District in Louisiana, a black queer man that
won his seat by eighteen percentage points in Louisiana. DeVante is not the first, you know, black queer politician that we've had on the show from the South, which is just an exciting, exciting to witness right and exciting to have folks on because I think, much like we have with patriotism, with faith, with family, that we have ceded way too much fucking ground to the Maga supremacist Party, that we have allowed them to be the ones that
control the narrative around family, that control the narrative around patriotism, that control the narrative around religion. To assume that everybody then that is on the left is devoid of all of these values that in fact we actually hold in the truest and fullest sense of the word. Right, I can think about nothing more patriotic than marching and fighting
for a more just society. Right. I can think about no better display of family than fighting for marriage equality and the protection of trans youth right from oppressive policies and figures. You know, I can think about nothing greater than to see religious figures from all major religions and not by standing in their convictions about their scripture and it being about helping the most marginalized among us. Right.
And so this conversation with Devonte Lewis was just really heartwarming in a way that is needed, because it isn't as if we don't know what to say, but it's as if democrats when it comes during election time just forget how to talk to real people. And Davante gives us some really just good examples in his own campaigning and conversations with his constituents. That conversation, dear friends, is
coming up next, folks. I am so happy to welcome to OOKF Daily for the very first time, Commissioner Devonte Lewis out of District three UH in Louisiana, the first out LGBTQ candidate ever elected at the state level in Louisiana. I love this quote that we have of you, which reads quote my faith helps Dick. Let me say start that again. My faith helps dictate my politics. My politics isn't my faith, and too many on the right turn their politics into their faith. I want to jump right
in with that. DeVante, provide us with, like an explanation of what you mean by that, like I under like, I think that I get it, But explain what you mean in comparison to your opponents and the opposition that often weaponizes their faith.
Absolutely, I mean when I think about this, I'm a Southern Baptist. I grew up a boy of the South deep Louisiana, was in church from literally the day I was born. And for me, when I say that, what I mean is I am guided by my faith. My faith that tells me to care about the poor, to love one another, to help the immigrant, to do justice to each other. And so that shapes the political views
that I hold of. Why I'm a strong believer in equality for every single person, in equity, Why I fight so hard for policies that uplift people out of poverty, but to oftentimes feel what people have done, they've made a political decision that they are anti gay, they are anti abortion, they are anti the immigrant, and then use this faith as their justification for it. And so what I say that that is my faith is dictating what political stances I have. My politics is not dictating my faith.
Where I am now saying, because I believe X, Y, and Z, I'm going to distort my religion and my faith to now uphold my belief. So you are no longer questioning my politics, you have to now question my faith. And I think it's a tactic that the right has used oh too well, where they have wrapped their politics as faith based decisions to stop you from challenging them, because at that point then you're challenging their religion.
Absolutely absolutely, and I think the way that you have framed it and also defined it is absolutely right. You know, I often say that we on the left have conceded way too much ground to the right. And what do I mean by that? We have allowed the right to to take over and assume patriotism right to use it again as they do faith to say that if you are progressive, then you aren't. You aren't a patriot or a person of faith, right, And we have allowed them
to assume that role. And I think, but you expressly stating so that you are a person of faith, that you are a black LGBTQ person. To be able to say that, I think is so powerful. Can you talk to us about what it was like to campaign in Louisiana. You know, I live in New York on the the coast, and I know that folks on the coast have a different idea and imagination about red states and what it
means to be queer in the places. So give us a little bit of background about you deciding to run and running and being queer, but not making it the center of your campaign.
Yeah, I mean, I think the South is a very interesting place, and I think the South sometimes does get a bad rap because the loudest vocal people from the South are sometimes Matt Hillary Clinton would say, the big deplorables. But the South is a very place of to geniality when it comes to niceness, right, And we can get into that later. But when I decided to run, I mean, it was very clear that other people may make this an issue, but what I wanted to do. I mean,
I'm my position. I'm a utility regulator, and as I told people in the campaign trail, there was no way for me to make a gay utility rate and a straight utility rate. It doesn't exist, right. Everybody wants the same thing. We all want our lights to come on when we flip that switch, and we all want to pay the cheapest amount of possible when that bill comes in.
And so what I tried to do, and what I wanted to showcase to people is that I can run on the things that connect us, the things that make us a collective body, without having to focus or get into the differences. And oftentimes they think what happens is
people want us to run on that identity. And I wanted to show people that you can be authentically yourself and then still not have to fit into the mold of the characatures that people have created about what it means to be a black candidate, what it means to be a progressive candidate, what it means to be a young candidate, and what it means to be a queer candidate.
I mean, I had four kind of real no nos in southern politics, that I was running on someone thirty, someone who is openly progressive, someone who is black in a state that is very hostile to racial progress, and Toni is queer. So it was a lot of taboos.
But what I wanted to showcase is that I was going to not shy away from any of the identities that I hold, but showcase how I can use those identities as a way to commonly connect with people about the issues that we cared about, which was protecting Louisiana and and and making our utility system stronger and better. And we showcased that it didn't come up as an issue in the campaign, and it really people didn't try to make it a focal point because there was so
much of the uniting message around it. And I'm and
I'm proud of that. I mean, I have people that have walked up to me and said, you know what, this is the first time that my parents and I voting for the same person, and we did it enthusiastically that there was no there was there was no heartburn between the conservative parent and the liberal child around who they were voting in my race, and even with the complexities of my identities that some say showcase that that being you, but also talking about what people really care
about actually matters more, and we need to stop listening to the few people that think they know everything in politics to decide what people actually care about.
I love that, and I appreciate the way that you have navigated because you know, I think that at one time, sure it matters to lift up possibility models to young people who are like, oh my goodness, you're black, you're queer, you're running for office. I can do that too. I also do think though, that there is a necessity to be have that be what it is, but then also do exactly what you did, which is, let me tell
you what I can do for you. Where do you think DeVante that like, what do you think from what you have learned and experienced running for commissioner that democrats on a whole, regardless of what level they are running for, what position that they're running for, could use from what you've learned.
I think the first thing you got to do is you got to meet people where they are. And one of the challenges that I think democrats and progressives have and as one and who's very intellectual, we get very caught up in the intellectual argumentation behind why we believe what we believe, and it is not to say that people are not there. And one of the things that I always tell people is we got to remind ourselves
that people living are also experts. They may not have the terminology that we have, they may not be able to cite the data points that we can cite, but they are experts in what they are experiencing from either policy action or policy in action. And so what I really want, like put blank, I never truly said the words climate change and talked about CO two admissions in such an academic way because I knew the people that I was talking to would not get it. But I
didn't shy away from the issue. What I told them is about how they feel that policy of climate change. I went to my voters and said, hey, you know, every hurricane now is stronger than it has ever been, the summers are hotter than they were before, the winters are colder than they were before, and your utility bill is getting higher. And this is because we haven't done
these policy actions. That's the exact same thing of me saying because we haven't acted on climate change, we haven't done it, but I spoke to people in a way that matched where they were, and I think one of the challenges that we have to do better is talk to people in a way of where they are. But then secondly, we have to stop making the false dichotomy choice of whether or not we'd be bold or we
be incrementalism. And what I mean by that is I can sell a vision to people that is bold and that showcases promise, that recognizes that there are going to be incremental steps without making the incremental steps my bold vision. And that's where I think we fail because we fight in this battle about well, I don't want to overpromise because I can't deliver it. It's like no, I told people,
let's I want to make Louisiana Clton. I want to ensure that our security and our financial security, and our economic security and our environmental security is protected. But it's going to take a process to get there, and I want you along the journey with me. So while I sold the vision, I didn't lie to say that, Hey, I'm not going to flip a switch tomorrow and all of a sudden there's going to be nothing but renewable
energy in Louisiana. And I think these are the lessons that showcase that it speaks to people, because at that point, I'm no longer talking about how upholster or a consultant told me. I was talking to the people that I desperately wanted to be part of the process. And we saw that. We saw that internal we saw people for a public service Commission race that most people if you would have asked people in Louisiana what this was maybe a year ago, they couldn't even tell you. And I'm
talking people who are deeply involved in politics. Now they're aware because what we did is we spoke about why this position mattered to them, what actions could take we could take, and how inaction would also harm them, so they had a reason to come out and vote.
And I think that that attitude, that perspective is exactly what is missing from our national politics right now, which is that I believe that Democrats get incredibly hung up on the wrong type of messaging, the wrong type of statistics and facts, instead of talking to the people and
meeting them where they are. Because what everyone can absolutely agree on is as you were talking about it, and I'm like, yep, my electricity bill went up, right, because over the summer it was hotter in New York than it has ever been, so I had to run the air conditioner longer. It is, you know, colder than it usually is at this time, so having to run the heat Like, people get that right because it's something that they deal with on a monthly basis when they're doing
their bills. Right, So how can we help this lowering your bills without having to talk about climate change which has become a third rail. But we know that that is what the effects are of why we're in this place. But it doesn't have to be the front of the conversation. The front of the conversation can be about solutions.
You're absolutely right, really quickly. What I say, I think one of the things that we get caught up on, and I told this to someoney the other day, is we get caught up on the cause of a problem, not the effect of the problem. And sometimes if we only talk about how the problem is affecting people and what our solution means to their effect, it matters. Like I don't need to try to go change somebody in my district for them to believe climate change is real.
But if I if the effects of climate change, I demonstrate to them that that's why your bill is higher, and these policy actions that I will take will lower what you care about, then we all win. And I think that's that's something we got to stop doing, is we really want everyone to agree with the cause rather than recognizing what's the effect of the policy action or in action.
Absolutely, you know, I want to change us switch gears a bit to discuss a fellow Louisian, Uhisian Mike Johnson. Oh yeah, the news Speaker of the House who no one really knew anything about, Mike Johnson, and then it was all of a sudden he became, you know, a point of conversation and contention after the fact, after he was voted in. Tell us about the Mike Johnson, you know, and the people of Louisiana.
No. Yes, So Mike Johnson has been around and has been trying to climb the political ladder for years. I first met him when he became a freshman legislator won a special election in early twenty you would have been twenty fourteen, yeah, or twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen, and he came into the state legislature thinking he was the hot
Hot Hot Man. He tried to pass one of the most draconian bills I've ever seen at the Louisiana Legislature, the Marriage and Conscious Act, which was directly targeting LGBTQ people right away. And it was so bad that a Republican led committee in the state of Louisiana did not even let the bill get out of committee. That's how bad this bill was. I want people to remember this.
When he filed this legislation, the Republicans can Bobby Jinda was the governor of Louisiana, and the Republicans held the legislature and wouldn't let his bill get out of the committee because it was that bad. And to what I've known about Mike Johnson and why I think it's been a hardship is Mike Johnson has done what I think a lot of Christian fundamentalists on the right do, is
they weaponize niceness. And this is what I mean. Mike Johnson is somebody if you talk to his former colleagues, for me, he is someone who is going to always greet you, He's going to talk to you, he's going to engage with you. And what I mean by weaponizing niceness is it's a tactic that too often the right
uses to their advantage. Where then when they are passing or trying to advocate for some of the most egregious policy positions, it is hard to villainize them, because we oftentimes want to villainize people, right, We want everyone either become or bad. And it is hard for someone to think someone's bad when they're nice and and and that's what I mean when I say he has done that
significantly well where all of these policies. Let to be very clear, he is to the right of Jim Jordan, to the right of Jim Jordan.
On a line I don't even know what to what the right of Jim Jordan could possibly and like is it a circle? Like it's wild.
I mean, like if Jim Jordan wrote the four to the Book of Scott McKay, who is a radical blogger here in Louisiana, that that it that is conspiracy theory and very homophobic, we would eat Jim Jordan alive. But the reason Mike Johnson didn't get that reaction from his caucus is because, unlike Jim Jordan's he's nice. And that's what I mean when I said he has weaponized niceness to veil to to kind of cover his very horrible policies.
Is because now it is hard to villainize Mike Johnson because he's the man that's going to bring you cookies. He's the man that's gonna smile and ask you how your children are doing at the same time while he's trying to pass some of the most harmful laws, whereas Jim Jordan is just an a one asshole that you you don't want to talk to. And that's why I think he's so dangerous is because I tell people stop looking at niceness to equate good. Look at what people
are doing. And I said, and that's the challenge I think oftentimes I've called it the heaven or Hell theory, where we want everybody to either be good or bad, and we use niceness as an objective of whether people are good and bad. Like I've been in politics a long time, some of the nicest people pass some of the most draconian laws possible, and some of the people I never want to talk to are doing actually good social justice work. And so we can't let that confuse us.
And that's the danger of Mike Johnson that I want people to know is you're never gonna hear anyone say he's a mean person. But look at what he's tried to do and the lass he's tried to pass are the positions he's held over the last ten years. And then told me whether or not he deserves to be a Speaker of the House.
Do you think you know, given the state of the Republican Party, in the state of the House, and all that you've said about Johnson, now that he lasts longer than the prior speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
I think he does. I think that's why you see the Freedom Caucus not revolting as much, even when he makes some of the same decisions that Kevin McCarthy did, is because Kevin McCarthy wasn't as unlinkable, was the likable. That's why my guess he's defending him because it's like it's you. It's hard to demonize Mike Johnson because he's the he's the man with the smile. But as I told people, the only difference between him and Jim Jordan, for me and Louisiana was he wore a sports coat
and he put a smile on his face. That's right.
Yeah, One hundred DeVante last question for you. You know, as we head into twenty twenty four, and you know, we know what the headlines are, we know, you know for all intentsive purposes, what the matchup is going to be. You know your state is one of the states that has a lot of challenges, right, that is just you know, we count on to be one hundred percent read one
hundred percent of the time. What do you want people to know about your state and why Democrats shouldn't just again just seed ground, just seed the South to Republicans in this coming election.
But moving forward absolutely, I mean I think doctor William Revn Barber said it the best. The South is not red states. Where are press states? Where states with the history of racial segregation. I remind people, I'm thirty two years old, my mother's fifty fifty three. My mom was already in school before Louisiana fully desegregated their schools, right, And so when you think about even just my kind of short amount of history, there are still a lot
of work to be done. And the reason is we have more people in the South who are not voting than are voting. And that's a problem. Right, So it's not that we are just this ruby red state. It's that the only people engage because they are the least oppressed, are Republicans who are now making up such a small percentage of the vote. I mean, like, look at our goodnatorial election we just had. Jeff Landry becomes the governor of Louisiana, right, brond de Santis two point zero. Everyone say, look,
leave Louisiana. But I want to remind people Jeff.
Landry to win the governor's mansion got less votes then the Democrat four years ago to win the governor's mansion. So it wasn't the fact that there is this wave of people. It was that the pie of voters is getting smaller and smaller. And what I wanted people to know is that the South is ripe for opportunity. But we have people who need to believe right. And these are people who are who have worked two jobs to
just put food on the table. But then who walks out of their house and are breathing pollution from all the industry that have polluted black and brown neighborhoods in the South. It's a place where economic opportunity seems far fetched. And so what we have to do is not give up on the South. We have to reimagine the South.
We have to fight for the South that we should believe it and also recognize that the multi racial democracy that we talk about mostly for Southerners is and I heard you say from the New Georgia Projects say this is science fiction. We are asking people to believe in a society we have never really fully seen.
Yep.
And when we think about it that way, we can do work in the South. But we're so busy trying and say, well, guess what, Black voters in the South aren't turning out where they need to be. Let's move on. No, we need to invest so people see the vision that for most of their life they never knew truly existed.
Yeah, DeVante Lewis, this has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for making the time for Woke AF and I hope that we can call on you again because I really enjoyed this conversation a lot.
Absolutely, thank you so much for having me, and please anytime I'm happy to come back.
That is it for me today, Dear friends on Woke AF as always, power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke. As fuck