Good morning, peeps, and welcome to ok F Daily with Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, I'm starting off this week and just I mean, I don't know why I'm shocked, but on some culture news and first and not any political news as of yet. But you'll know if you follow me, you know that I love Beyonce right. Not only do I think that Beyonce is one of the most innovative, creative, brilliant artists of our time, I think that she is a genre shifter,
bender and an expansionist. Whenever you see someone who starts in one art form kind of boxed in as this pop star when she was younger, and then you know, moves through the evolution of Destiny's Child and then becomes a solo artist and then from the Beyonce album to Lemonade, you know, to what we have in this moment of Cowboy Carter. Not to mention, you know, obviously just the
other Boundless albums. To not be recognized when you are the most brilliant star out there at the CMAS, to me, is just like the racism at the Country Music Awards is on another level. Let me be clear, I'm not a fan of country music. As a matter of fact, when anybody ever asked me, like, what is your favorite genre of music, I'll say I like all music except
for country music. And the reason that I always had that response is because country music, to me, was steeped in racism and misogyny in a way that like, I didn't vibe with. And I will be honest with you that Beyonce's Cowboy Carter usually her albums when they drop, like, I will just ingest them as quickly as I possibly can, because I've written essays on Beyonce's work, I've gone on
television to talk about the politics of her work. But Cowboy Corter was like, you know, she doing country, so okay, you know, like not my vibe. Not everything is for everybody. When I listen to that album from start to finish on a train ride, I was in tears. I had never felt more patriotic and connected to the roots of this country tree more than listening to that album. And I am not being hyperbolic. Folks have to understand that while I was born in the United States, my family
is from Jamaica. So the roots of black American history is something that I have learned, not necessarily something that I have experienced, right, It is a very different experience in America when your family are immigrants to the country, And I've learned that over the years. There is a difference experience that my Black American friends have, right, whose families are from you know, this country, versus my friends who were born here but their families are from the Caribbean,
or their families are from different countries in Africa. We have very different experiences. While White America may see us all one way, we definitely do not see our selves all one way, nor do we have the same experiences outside of racism. But I'm talking about like our familiar experiences.
So to be introduced to like the roots of country music, to understand like terms like cowboy and where that came from, to really get what I believe that her album offered, which was a tutorial, if you will, a masterclass into Americana, right music, and to say that like this is our music, right, this is black people's music, this is black people's culture, was extraordinary. So is it a shock that then the Country Music Awards would like give the ultimate snub to
the number one country album of the year. It's not a shock. I mean, look what they did to the Dixie Chicks, right, we're now the Chicks, right, Look what they did the only time that Beyonce was on the CMS and performing with the Chicks, they completely erased her performance whatsoever from their social media. Like, is anyone who
is black or a person of color shocked by this? No, But I think that it just draws into our vision that it doesn't matter if you are a billionaire, it doesn't matter if you are the most talented, it doesn't matter. Racism will always exist and will always hit in any way that it can. But the reality is is that they hit and miss because Beyonce gonna stay, Beyonce gonna stay rising, gonna stay having a conversation like who knows
who else was nominated? We know who wasn't nominated, and that's what's running the conversation on social So you know, she stays starting converse station, you know, and that's power, that's power. I have to give that nod because I'm just I was annoyed so much, but again, like not shocked, but you know, annoyed. Nonetheless, in today's episode, I'm excited to bring back to the show the managing partner at Arena, Lauren Bear, to discuss their recent get out the Vote
workshop series that they are doing. And you know, as we get closer and closer to the election, it is really important that we continue to lift up the different ballot measures that are up for vote in states, as well as the down ballot tickets. It is really important, folks, that we deliver in this election in so many different ways. So Lauren and I get into really good conversation about the great work that Arena is doing, you know, with less than sixty days to go, So that conversation is
coming up next, folks. I am happy to welcome back to WOKF Daily the managing partner at Arena, Lauren Bayer, to talk to us about all things get out the vote, and frankly, there's been a change since we last spoke Lauren understatement of the century, understayment of the Century, I've been calling it a seismic shift that happened at the end of July. We are now at the end of
August at the time of this taping. Talk to me about how you are feeling personally about the shift at the top of the ticket and how your organization has adapted to the change at the top of the ticket certainly.
And first, fal Danielle, thanks for having me back again. So to frame all of this, I'll just remind folks that I'm the managing partner at Arena, where we build the teams that power democratic victories, and so we're in the business of recruiting and training campaign staff and deploying them to critical races up and down the ballot across the country. And just six eight weeks ago, I would say the overwhelming feeling was exhaustion, perhaps despair, a lot
of concern. People definitely recognized the stakes, they knew what was on the line in this election, but there was a lot of concern about how we were going to jump over that hurdle and put a Democrat in the White House again. And I think what we saw after Biden made that truly historic and selfless decision to step
aside was a collective exhaling. First, I talked to so many people, myself included, the overwhelming feeling was relief, and then quickly followed by this excitement and this joy and this coalescing around Kamala Harris and then Tim Walls and what that has meant for us at Arena is figuring out how to take all of that joy, all of that enthusiasm, all that excitement that we.
Have seen in the past six weeks, and translate.
It into action, because one thing we know super well is good vibes don't win elections, votes votes. With elections, we are in the business now of training and deploying all of the folks that we need the boots on the ground, we need to get voter polls in November.
I think that for me, and I've stated this so many times on the show since the shift, that people listen to wooke af and they know that I am no stranger to rage, that I am no stranger to anger and finding ways in which to articulate that. But I will say Lauren that I did not truly realize how devoid of possibility and joy I was until this shift happened. I did not realize how much I was just like kind of hanging on for dear life in the hopes that us articulating the stakes of this election,
we're going to be enough to get people engaged. And so talk to us about how the engagement has shifted. Because while we say and folks are saying like, oh, vibes are not votes, But what I realize now is that vibes are necessary to get votes possible. People need to feel good. It is not enough for people to have a sense of dread and to be fearful to get them to the polls. Honestly, I think that that
level of fearfulness will just keep you complacent. What have you seen in terms of your folks on the ground.
Yeah, so, I mean the first thing I want to acknowledge is that there were people who were doing the hard work before this shift. You know, we have trained a couple thousand people this election cycle. We were in Georgia and a role and did a massive in person training with more than five hundred people there.
And the groups who stood to lose.
The most under a second Trump term, women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ plus community. These folks were showing up and ready to put in the hard work then, and I don't want to undermine or discount that. I think what we have seen in the past six weeks is a broaderingly of that coalition who's willing to get up and do the work, and like you said, individuals who are motivated not just by fear, but by possibility.
Something that I have heard over and over again over the last eight years is do Democrats have an answer to maga? What is it that we can put on a hat and tell the electorate that we're going to
provide for them? And all of a sudden it struck me that we have an answer with what Kamala is doing when she talks about how we're not going back right, that simple refrain is the answer to making America great again, which is a backward looking perspective that's really regressive in so many ways because we know what Trump means is a restriction on our rights, lessening of our freedoms, and so at Arena, what we're really doing is saying, Okay,
we've got these good vibes. Now we've got this energy. How do we take people and give them tangible skills that can actually translate those good vibes into votes.
Talk to us about what folks can expect inside of those workshops and how if they are not connected with Arena, like, why it's important to actually get this level of training.
Sure, so, first of all, one thing I will say is it takes skills to run a campaign. I think so many people out there think that all you need is some of your buddies, some volunteers, and you can send out a team of people with no background or experience. But campaigning is just as much of a skilled profession as is anything else, so we treat it really seriously.
In the arena world.
Getting out the vote is one of the most important times of an electoral cycle. It's the few weeks before election day when we're taking those folks who we've identified as voters on our side and we're mobilizing them to
get to the polls. And so what we're doing at these training sessions is taking individuals who are going to be participating in GOOTV programs or running them themselves, and teaching them how to run the most effective and efficient programs, whether that's how to develop your GOOTV plan, how to develop your GOOTV budget, how to strategically target voters with the best data available, how to choose the tech stack
that your campaign is using. These are really nitty gritty things that most individuals who work on campaigns never have the experience or the opportunity to have delivered to them in an interactive classroom setting. And so that's what we're doing.
How do they vary from I should say, do they vary from state to state? Like, is what you're teaching folks that may be in Georgia, let's say, different than what you would teach people that are in New York.
I'll give you two answers to your questions.
The first thing I will say is we are set teaching a set of skills and best practices that are applicable anywhere.
And we have.
Individuals who are working on campaigns everything from small city council and state legislative races to the abortion ballot amendment in Florida all the way up to the Harris Walls campaign itself. So we were teaching broadly ap pickable skills. But we also tell everyone that you've got to take these skills and apply them to the particular nuances and set of circumstances in your district that you're running in.
So nothing is cookie cutter. You can't take.
Something that is, you know, a campaign plan that's going to work in rural Nebraska, try to apply it in South Florida.
But if you do have those skills that teach you how to.
Develop a plan, you can tailor to the context that you're in.
Let me ask you this, like, in terms of your evaluation of how you saw the Biden ticket, the Biden Harris ticket working versus what you've noticed has changed with the Harris Walls ticket.
So one thing that I find so fascinating is, on the one hand, not much has changed, right, so many of the people who are working for Harris are the same people who were working for Biden. But on the other hand, everything has changed. The campaign has a fundamentally different feeling. And what I think that speaks to is really the importance of the principle on the campaign, who
is the candidate at the top of the ticket. Kamala was an excellent running mate for Joe Biden, but he was leading with his approach to politics and his way of being in Washington and way of being with voters. Hers is is fundamentally different for any number of reasons, due to her background, due to her age, due to her particular experience that she brings to the race. And what I think she's really done is empowered this incredibly talented group of people who are already on that campaign
to do their very best work. So you're not seeing the product of an entirely new digital team. What you're seeing is the product of a digital team that has been really unleashed and allowed to effectively communicate on behalf of a candidate who is resonating with so many Americans. And I think that's a really cool thing and also just really a testament to the importance of those folks who are working behind the scene, whose work isn't often noticed.
What I have seen is a difference too, between these two campaigns. While the people are not different, you know, we both recognize that the end energy is different. And I think that there is an authenticity to what I'm seeing, just as it relates to messaging that we didn't see before. Right, So when you open up and you talk about what is the slogan that we're going to put on a hat in the way that make America great again works
and it's like we're not going back. Well, you know, Joe Biden's slogan was like, we're saving the soulovan you know, a soul of a nation. It don't roll off the tongue in the same way. And I think that we live inside of a very commodified culture that, like I need to want to wear it. I need to want to slap it on a hat, on a sticker, on a T shirt and for better or for worse, right, Like,
that's kind of the way that our society works. So when you're looking at this re energized campaign and you're looking at like even the way that the Twitter feed operates as opposed to how Biden's Twitter feed was operating, what are some of the standout points for you there?
And is that something that also so helps other candidates say there needs to be like a level of authenticity that I'm rolling with that I can insert myself into this and not what the focus groups are telling me I need to insert into this.
Two things that I'll point out here, Danielle, because I think you're right that authenticity is important. But it's not just about authenticity. It's about meeting the particular historic moment that were in And I actually do think Joe Biden was being very authentic. I think he is one of the most authentic politicians I've ever ever interacted with in my lifetime. But he met the moment in twenty twenty when what we wanted was a quote unquote return to normalcy.
When I think a lot of the electorates felt that we could roll back the clock on Trump and just get back to where we were at the end of the Obama administration. But what voters made very very clear is in twenty twenty four they weren't interested in a continuation of status quo. We were no longer looking to roll back to any point in time in the past.
We were looking to move forward. And so what kamalabroad is yes authenticity, which is going to look different than Joe Biden's authenticity because she's a very different person, but also a meeting of the particular moment now in twenty twenty four where we know the stakes, but we don't want just want to know that Democrats are going to save democracy. We want to know what they're going to deliver for everyday working people.
We want to know.
About jobs and the economy, and we want to know how they're going to product reproductive freedoms and the rights of LGBTQ people, and what they're going to do about gun violence prevention, all of these things that she is able to speak to with a positive, forward looking agenda, in part because she is in the prime of her career and not in the sunset days of her career, and so you know, Joe Biden was the messenger I think we really need it in twenty twenty, and Kamala
is just meeting the moment right now in twenty twenty four. And what's been interesting to me to see is how that has resonated not just with the core Democratic base, but also with so many undecided voters, with so many swing voters who see in her an alternative to Trump that's going to take our country into the future.
How do you see now the difference of the Trump campaign and what had been energizing that group in twenty sixteen versus twenty twenty to now, what have you seen in terms of if there has been, in your opinion, a shift in how they are meeting the electorate at these different points of the infinity of this man's run for the presidency.
Yeah, uh, that's right. It seems like it's been going on for a lifetime. I think at heart Trump's campaign in twenty sixteen and twenty twenty and now, it's always been a grievance campaign, right, It always centers himself. He is somehow always wronged, and he taps into feelings very much legitimate for some folks that they're somehow losing out
in today's America. I think what you saw before Biden exited the race was individuals who weren't necessarily excited about Trump, but just couldn't get on board with another four years of Biden, who we're toying with the idea of maybe grievance politics is going to deliver for me now. And what Kamala really offers as an alternative is not grievance but possibility. And so I don't think actually Trump has much more to go or much much space to expand
beyond that grievance caucus. And if you look at American politics, if you look at how historically we responded to folks like Barack Obama or even Bill Clinton back in the heyday, when folks offer a message a positivity and potential, I think ultimately that's what most Americans want to believe in. So I'm really hopeful that this is as a.
Real turning point in the election. The polls are starting.
To show that, and frankly, Trump is also showing his cards. He's been caught pretty flat footed because he doesn't know how to respond now to a campaign that is bringing out so much enthusiasm and excitement and enjoy in the electorate.
How do you see the vice president's campaign different than Hillary Clinton? Hillary Clinton? And it was something that I noticed that convention. Right One, I think that Hillary Clinton still remains in her prime. I think that she has been one of the best surrogates thus far of the
vice president's campaign. And I remember going to convention in twenty sixteen, and we didn't have a convention in twenty twenty, and then going just this last week, and I wonder, like what you see in terms of this difference, because it's history still. It's a woman still, but it's history in a different way and a different type and a different generation of women.
One thing I've heard a number of folks say, which I think is very true, is is Kamala doesn't have to announce her difference. Her difference is present every time she steps on stage, every time she speaks, and so the mere sight and sound of Kamala announces that it's a change, that it's a step forward for our country. And I think that's very exciting for people. And something else that I think is different, frankly from twenty sixteen is in twenty sixteen, there was I believe a sense
of inevitability to Clinton being elected. There was certainly the feeling in Washington, where I was working at the time that we were going to follow on the election of America's first black president with the first female president, and
we were sort of inexorably marching towards progress. No one is under that false illusion now, and so I think what Kamala's campaign is able to project is both possibility and the real weightiness of this election, of the moment, the significance of it, the fact that it's not only something it's not something that we inevitably will happen, but
that we have to make happen. I think is Michelle Obama made so clear in her beautiful convention speech, we have to do something, each and every one of us if we want to see her in the White House. And so I really think, you know, Kama's beautifully navigating this moment as fraud and consequential as it is.
Yeah, I think that that's right. I think that the inevitability of Clinton perpetuated the complacency that people had, like I don't really need to do the work because this is just, you know, part of the Clinton dynasty. And I do think that there is a deep sense of regret that a lot of people have and not wanting to make that same mistake again. Lauren, tell folks you know how they can get connected with Arena, because I think we have at the time of this taping sixteen
nine days until the election. So tell folks how they can get engaged and stay connected.
So we would love for you to get involved this cycle.
You can visit.
Arena dot run that will give you information about how to register for our trainings. If you were looking to work on a campaign, We've got our job bank there where there are thousands of campaign jobs listed that you can apply for. You can upload your resume into our active job seeker database so campaign hiring managers can start to reach out to you and also visit us on all of the various social media channels at Arena Summit.
We are really excited to help you find your place in politics and together to help the Harris Waltz campaign make history in November.
Yes, we need to run through the tape on this one. Lauren, thank you so much as always for making the time to join wok F really appreciate you.
Thank you so much for having me again.
That is it for me today. Dear friends on wok f as always, power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.