National Voter Registration Day

entered the chat Kristin Welker. Now, I have seen Kristin in you know, different situations and places where she has the chops and has been able to ask the hard hitting questions and really get to that they're there in

an interview. This was not fucking that at all. And from the moment that it was announced that Donald Trump was going to be her first guest on Meet the Press, I knew it was already gonna be trash because in the eight years since Donald Trump entered into the political world, no reporter, not fucking want, has been able to do what actually needs to be done, which is to fact check that motherfucker in real time because you know exactly what he's going to say, because he's a repetitive right

in terms of the lies that he tells not see the fucking ground to him and your platform, so that he can continue to lie and be justified for that line because mainstream media let him in and then think that you're doing a service to the viewers by saying, oh, we'll go to nbcnews dot com afterwards, where we are doing all of the fact checking. Are you fucking kidding me?

And you know, I just realize that the media, corporate media wants twenty sixteen all over again, and they are going to do their absolute damnedest to make sure that they recreate and make the same mistakes over and over again until the white evangelical Christian fascist takeover of America is complete. There is no more freedom of speech, and they're all out of the jobs because they fuck themselves

from the beginning. You know, there is a way to handle the moment that we're in, and it's with truth, it's with integrity, it's with passion, none of which I see anywhere in mainstream media. And I'm fucking sick and tired of it. If I'm a person in media, right and I just think to myself, my god, if I had the millions of listeners right and viewers in the way that these shows get in. I would never blow

the opportunity to tell the truth. I would never blow the opportunity to tell the American viewer what a consequential time they are living in and how much power they still have to do what's right, and that all is not lost, and that Donald Trump does not have to be your person, and that the Republican Party does not give a fuck about you or your family. They care about power, and to show them here's history. This is why they don't want you to know it right, because

this is what these white supremacists savages have done. This is how they have the wealth that they do. It's not because of the lack of know how and wherewithal of black people. It's because of obstruction and denial and terrorism from the jump. I just I'm tired of the farce at this point, and I get to a place sometimes, folks, where I just don't bother turning on the news at all.

I'm like, I'll just read because it's easier to digest that way than to listen to these people play out this horse race in our politics right now, as if this is the twentieth century and we're under no threat of the evisceration of democracy that you're going to continue to platform, and people say, well, he is the Republican front runner. Your first guest could have been Joe Biden.

Your first guest could have been Kamala Harris, right, your first guests could have been, right, the younger generation of Democrats in the House of Representatives. Right, it could have

been talking about the changing of the garden politics. Is it needed doing a comparison even if you wanted to, between the Marjory Taylor Green and the Lauren Boberts and I don't know, the Maxwell Frosts and the you know, King Jeffries and the AOC's one party is moving you in the direction of fascism, without rights, without a voice, without a vote, and the other is trying to expand

and strengthen our democracy. America is at a crossroads. That could have been your opening, but that's not what meet the press chose. And so I'm just tired of all of it. Right, I think that twenty twenty four, just by virtue of looking at at you know, the news over the weekend, it's going to be a fucking nightmare.

It's going to be a fucking nightmare one that we're going to get through together, trust and believe that, but it is going to be one that you were going to need a consistent and serious amount of grounding and centering and sense of community in order to get through, because you know, we're still coming off of a global health pandemic and all of the consequences of that that we don't talk about, that we pretend didn't happen, just kind of in the same way we pretend that slavery

and the ramifications thereof don't exist. We're coming off of multiple, you know, mass shootings, We're coming off so much tragedy, so much trauma, and then just continuing on. We have a entirely you know, just road filled with thorns and minds, and I don't even know what is ahead. But what I do know is that the media is going to

do the same old shit over and over again. But you have a choice, right, just like you choose to listen to and support me on wok F, on the New Abnormal, on democracy ish, you know, you have a choice right to save your sanity, to dip in and

dip out because these motherfuckers have learned nothing. And I realized that a part of learning, and I said this, you know, on one of my other shows, is that a part of learning and learning from one's mistake is to first identify the fact that you made a mistake that you were trying to then learn from so you don't repeat it. That's not what corporate media has done, right.

They don't believe that they made any mistakes in twenty sixteen because their shareholders and their CEOs living high on the hob doesn't matter that democracy it has backslid, doesn't matter that Republicans have you know, opened up Pandora's box in terms of the shredding of our constitutions, right like, it doesn't matter to them so long as the wealth and the money keep flowing for those at the top.

So you have a choice, though, as a viewer, as a cable subscriber, to fucking cut the cord and turn them off, to demand better, you know, and to put your money in places that are actually going to tell you the truth, the unvarnished truth. Because this isn't even about just like opinion versus so whatever. Any fucking historian that is following fascism, authoritarianism, that rites on tyranny, that writes on you know, falling empires can tell you where

the fuck we are. We just want to believe that America is somehow better and it's not gonna happen to us. And I'm like, we're in the crumpling, just like we're in the climate crisis, just like we're in you know, racial terror. But we still have choices, and that's what I want people to understand. And one of those choices is genuinely, you know, the choice to vote, the choice to lift your voice and your vote and get as

many people registered. And you know me because I say that we need both, and you know, which is why I'm proud of the strikes that are happening right now. I'm proud of workers across industries. We have more power then we give ourselves credit for, and it's time we remember that and operate in that way. Coming up next is my conversation with Claudia Joli Ferla, who is the

executive director of an incredible organization, Move Texas. And today is National voter Registration Day, friends, and I urge you that if you are living in Red state, make sure that you were still registered to vote and somebody didn't kick you off the ballot. That if you have people in your lives that have never voted before, take them to a place to go and register to vote. Do what you can where you can in your part of the world and universe right and then be done with it.

But this coming up, this conversation actually did provide me with a lot of hope and with a lot of faith that there are still good people doing good things in this world, and Claudia Joli Ferla is definitely one

of them. That conversation is coming up next, folks. I am very happy to welcome to wok F Daily for the very first time, Claudia Joli Ferla, who is the executive director of Move, Mobilize, Organized Vote and Empower, which is a Texas grassroots, nonpartisan nonprofit organization building power in unrepresentative, under representative youth communities through civic education, leadership development, and

issue advocacy. Claudia, welcome. First, give us give us some more in depth understanding of of why move and what is important about what you all are doing right now in Texas.

meaningful change happen in our upcoming city council elections. And their theory of change was simple, if we register and talk to our peers about about the upcoming election, we can make sure that our voices, our lift experiences are represented at the ballot box and beyond. And from what started as a small student chapter organization, we've grown into now a statewide organization that's servicing many communities across Texas with a mission of building the political power of young people,

and we're proud to do that through civic engagement. We are an organization that throws it down on voter registration, voter education, and turnout issue advocacy. We are an organization that advocates for voting rights, climate action, and criminal justice at local city council, local commissioner's court, and also at

the state legislature. And an organization that most importantly works to build the leadership development of young people, understanding that we want to make sure that every single young person that is turning out to vote with turning out to vote with us for the first election, become lifetime organizers

and the leaders of tomorrow. And so in many ways, Move Texas is a political home for many young people in our state at a time that is so crucial right where we need their voices, their leadership, their experiences at the front and center of the conversation on politics.

the conversation of are you registered to vote? What is the information that you need in order to you know, in order for your participation to happen, and what are the issues that you care most about, and how can we empower empower you right to become a civically engaged citizen in your community and an active organizer in the state. And so we have different tactics. Like I said, voter registration is often the first step into a young person

really becoming civically engaged throughout their lifetime. But then our hope is to continue that conversation, and so we bring them up what we call a ladder of engagement. We have two amazing leadership development programs. One is our campus organizer Student Chapter program. So if you're a young person in Texas attending higher an institution of higher learning, more than likely we will have a chapter locally in your

community that you can get involved in. And so many of our young advocates and young organizers learn how to organize through participation in their student chapter organizations. A lot of them run their own capstorm projects centered on some

of the issues that we organize around. And then the second program that I'm really really excited to always talk about is our National Artists of Texas Fellows Program, which really hones in on building the leadership skills and the deep skills that artists need in order to become also leaders in our movement. You know, there's so many ways, and history tells us right of how art has been so important in the way that we communicate about the issues,

especially with young people. Right, we don't really want to talk about all of the policy wonky things that happen sometimes that the legislature are at local city council government, but art is a really beautiful way and how we can help digest this information and also make politics fun and hopeful and exigitning for many mirror generations to come.

of the things that you hear from young people. When your folks are out on college campuses, you know, working to get folks registered to vote about what are they

feeling about the climate that they are living in? What are they feeling in this state of Texas where you know your governor is right up there with DeSantis in Florida in the ways in which he is trying to really suppress the vote, suppress the voice, suppress movement, and criminalize you know, immigrants and undocumented people in the state.

You mentioned the word hopefulness, and so I'm just interested to hear what are some of the reasons why some young people want to get engaged and what are some of the reasons that stop them, you think from getting engaged.

I want to start from that point. I think the second point to make is that young people are issue voters first, right, They are not necessarily in this fight because they want to see one party or another party

elected over another party. They are here because they care about the freedom to vote, the freedom to decide if and when they want to choose to start a family, the freedom to leave behind a livable and a clean air and livable planet for other generations to come, and the freedom to fight back against some of these awful, awful things that we're seeing happen at the legislature. Young people are also really pissed because we've been fighting for

essential human rights, especially in a state like Texas. And what we have seen with the participation of young voters increasing by almost six hundred percent since the last presidential election, is that young people are motivated more than ever. And let me just walk you through some facts and figures. Also in Texas, right, young Texans, young Texans and in our state are comprised one third of the electorate. We

are one of the youngest states in the nation. And not only are we, you know, the largest part of the electorate, we're also part we're also the most diverse generat voting generation in history, and we are more progressive and more fired up than ever, and so this all means that we should be seeing the diversity right of our issue, of the issues that we care about, of the of the backgrounds that we represent, also represented in an inclusive democracy that welcomes young people, that welcomes us

into the process. Young people also, right in Texas are are, like I said, are mad because we have a governor and out of touch politicians who are not actively responding to our needs. And so what we expect from our democracy is what all of us expect from our democracy, which are real issues, real leaders who take our issues seriously and actually pay attention to policy solutions that we know are best to represent and benefit our communities.

advancing LGBTQ equality. We know that we are a generation that is comprised of many different gender identities, different sexual orientations, and again we should be seeing the diversity reflected into the people we're electing into office and the policies that we're enacting in our communities. Young people also are really passionate about voting rights, right. You mentioned what part of your question earlier was what is it the kid keeps

young people out of the process. It's not necessarily a lack of wanting to be a part of the process, but rather that we live in a state that doesn't have access to online voter registration, that has done everything it can everything has done everything it can right to keep young people out of the process, with the removal of campus polling locations, which we know is an essential place where young people are able to access the ballot box.

In so many other ways in which our vote is currently being suppressed, young people also like me, you know, young immigrants like me care about fixing or broken immigration system. Right. I am a doctor recipient. I cannot vote, but I know that through organizing, right, we will get to a day where we have access to a pathway citizenship for more than eleven million undocumented immigrants in this country and

so many more issues. And like I said, we're mad, right, We're mad because we are seeing firsthand the way that out of touch extremist politicians are taking our rights away and we're continuing to show up and organized to ensure that we're protecting those rights not only for our generation, but for our communities as well.

at the national level. At the time, there were no protections of the doctor program did not exist essentially, and so It was really inspiring to see other young people like me right who did not have the protections against deportation, coming out to share their stories, coming out to organize their communities, talking to voters, rit eligible voters in their communities about why their vote is so important in the context also of our futures, and really that inspired me

to get involved. I started making a few phone calls for a couple of candidates that I supported, that supported my issues, and that was my way to ensure that I can bring my voice to the table despite the fact that I could not vote. I think that in many ways, organizing is the tool that saves our lives, that saves our genera saves generations to come, and it's something that we've learned from even our ancestors in previous movements across history.

and either throwout people's you know, voter registration. How do you you know, and the folks that move stay hopeful when you know that one you have a governor that you know, through the course of many climate climate crises that that state has fixed I mean that that state has seen has refused to fix like electrical grids, has refused to do anything that would deter the kinds of storms and flooding and winters that you have all been facing.

How do you continue to push that? And then two again, I like I said, has literally thrown out voter registration, has you know, thrown away ballot boxes, has shut down registration in you know, particularly deep people of color areas in your state. And how do you push back against those really insidious tactics that his party has been a part of.

to vote thirty days before a deadline. I'm sorry, thirty days before an election. We don't have access to what other states have, such as same day voter registration, automatic voter registration, and sometimes we don't even have access right to even campus polling locations or equitable locations within our

communities to be able to cast that ballot. And this is just all to say that there is and again an extremist party in our state right that sees the writing on the wall, that sees the fact that young people, young people of color, comprise so much of the electorate and are hungry, hungry to participate, and so all of these voting voter suppression methods are literally done and conducted in order for them to hold on to cynical power. So how do we fight back? I think the answer simple.

We fight back through organizing. You know, in this most recent legislative session this year, Move Texas, alongside our partners, was really proud to put together an event called Youth Power Youth Capital Takeover, where we work to mobilize over three hundred and fifty young people, And I'm getting literally chills as I talk about it. Three hundred and fifty young people mostly you know, from communities all across Texas, not just here in Austin, to bring them into a

one day of action. You know, we spent the morning training them about you know, what are the issues that you care about. How can you tell your story to a legislator, How does the Texas legislative process even works, because, believe it or not, in Texas, it's really hard to pass a bill, and more so hard to pass a bill if it's a bill that's actually benefiting communities on the ground because of the current unfortunate composition that isn't reflective of our of us, right of people like me.

And then we spend in afternoon taking over our capital. We actually worked with artists drag Queens right around the time when there was a bill to literally ban dract queens from our state, and shit did a beautiful presentation, a demonstration of our stories bringing art into the work.

And it's been one of the most radical, one of the most hopeful events that and I mean I've been doing this work for a long time, that I've ever seen at the Capitol and with a strong message of saying that hey, this building, unlike many of you all think, does not belong to the politicians in this building, does not belong to the special interest, but rather belongs to the people. And young people have always history has shown us that young people are always at the forefront of

fighting for change in our community. And that's exactly what that youth capital takeover has done. And so the answer simple, we continue to organize, we continue to educate our base, and we never give up.

means to participate in your democracy. And then if for some reason you're not in Texas and you can't get involved, we'd love to take your donations because those grass for donations is what really fuels the work and allows us to do the critical work in states like Texas that we know not only impact our states, but really impact the country right because if we want to change the country, it starts with Texas and doing this work from the ground up.