WEBVTT 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:07.400 Today on the Left of Old North, we're joined 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.119 by a new and rising progressive leader in North 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:12.839 Carolina's legislature, state representative 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:16.000 and Pete Buttigieg doppelganger, Phil Rubin. 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.399 Appointed in January 2025 to represent Wake County's 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.300 40th district after the passing of Representative 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:26.640 Joe John, Phil is a former federal prosecutor 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:30.199 and special deputy attorney general. He graduated 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:32.780 magna cum laude from the University of Georgia 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:35.460 and earned his J .D. and M .A. summa cum laude 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:38.179 from Duke Law, where he served as the editor 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:40.920 in chief of the Duke Law Journal. Phil brings 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:44.359 a legal rigor and fierce commitment to fixing 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.479 democracy. An attorney, a dad, and a proud advocate 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.920 for constitutional law, public safety, and voting 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:53.420 rights. Phil's joining us to discuss some of 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:56.359 the hot button issues of this session. from the 00:00:56.359 --> 00:00:59.219 rushed amendment -free budget to the latest power 00:00:59.219 --> 00:01:03.619 grab over election oversight. So, Phil, welcome 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:06.659 to the show. Thank you. I'm thrilled to be here. 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:10.400 Thanks for having me on. So, I will say for the 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:15.500 listeners, you know, Phil and I actually kind 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:17.799 of knew each other. Well, not really knew each 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:23.060 other, but we met during his whole... One week 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:27.719 election campaign. I guess kind of what exactly 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:32.379 happened and how did you end up in the state 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:36.819 legislator? Yeah, I if you had asked me, you 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:38.620 know, the beginning of January, what I'd be doing 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:40.500 right now, this would not have been on my bingo 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:42.799 card, even though it was something I've actually 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.420 always wanted to do. since I was a kid. But in 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:48.700 North Carolina, when a member of the General 00:01:48.700 --> 00:01:52.239 Assembly steps down or leaves office in any way, 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:55.799 the county executive committee of the party that 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:59.620 they're a member of replaces them. And, you know, 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:02.409 as the listeners may know. It was really sad 00:02:02.409 --> 00:02:04.909 in District 40. Joe John, who had served the 00:02:04.909 --> 00:02:07.430 state for 50 years and had represented this district 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:09.969 for just over eight, started his fifth term. 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:14.389 But in about mid -January, he announced his resignation 00:02:14.389 --> 00:02:17.409 due to his cancer diagnosis and he actually passed 00:02:17.409 --> 00:02:20.009 away. Gosh, I think it was three days after he 00:02:20.009 --> 00:02:21.710 announced his resignation. Three days later. 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:25.770 Yeah. Yeah. Really sad. And, you know, he is 00:02:25.770 --> 00:02:30.449 just a hero of North Carolina. He was an appellate 00:02:30.449 --> 00:02:32.870 judge. He was an executive branch leader. He 00:02:32.870 --> 00:02:35.449 was a member of the state house, served the state 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:38.990 for half a century. And so there was a very quick 00:02:38.990 --> 00:02:41.289 process. That process can take up to a month. 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:44.210 I think the statute gives you 30 days. But as 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:47.889 you know, the margins in the house with the supermajority 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:51.000 are so slim. there was really a need to move 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:53.860 quickly. So that process, I mean, I decided to 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:56.319 put my name forward. It was like late a Thursday 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.759 night. We got everything out like 1 a .m. Friday 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:01.599 morning. The boat was Tuesday and I was sworn 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:07.039 in that Wednesday. It's a wild week. Yeah, really 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:11.099 wild week and quite the change in my life. But 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:13.659 like I said, one that I kind of always wanted 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:16.400 to do, but I wouldn't have necessarily guessed 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:18.780 that that was going to happen. January 2025. 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:23.840 Now, CJ was there for your election pitch. I 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:27.580 was not, as were neither were many of our listeners. 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:30.199 What do you think personally put you over the 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:34.259 edge of the other candidates in your pledge to 00:03:34.259 --> 00:03:38.639 the county executive committee that allowed you 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:42.259 to become the representative? Yeah, great question. 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:44.159 First of all, the other candidates were great. 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:45.580 There were two other candidates who ran and they 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:48.280 were both fantastic and really dedicated folks. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:50.259 I think what helped me, I think there were a 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:54.580 couple of things. One was, I think that I was 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:57.639 able to translate my background really well to 00:03:57.639 --> 00:03:59.719 what we need right now. And I ran as an advocate 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:01.919 and I've tried to serve as an advocate that we 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:04.099 need voices who will stand up and fight for our 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:06.759 principles and advocate. And that has been my 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:08.860 career. My career has been spent in courtrooms 00:04:08.860 --> 00:04:12.780 standing up. and articulating you know strong 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:15.639 arguments that are really things we've put time 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:17.360 into thinking through how to put it and how to 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:20.300 convince people and so i came to folks and i 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:21.959 said look that's what i'm going to do if you 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:24.220 let me serve in the seat i'm going to be an advocate 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:26.300 and i could tell from the conversations i had 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:29.560 with people that that landed um so that was one 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:31.420 thing the second was that i had those conversations 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:34.240 i was able to get face to face with a lot of 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.420 the folks who had a vote and in the process. 00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:38.439 You know, not everyone was able to reach during 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:41.019 that rush process, but I certainly in some way 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:43.000 sent a message to every single person and I got 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.199 on most of their doorsteps and I talked to many 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.399 of them. And then and then the third thing was 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:49.439 we had a candidate forum that the party put on. 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:52.779 And that was that Sunday night. And I just I 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:54.800 felt like that went really well. And that was 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.120 actually when I when instead of me reaching out 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:59.680 to people, I started getting calls out of nowhere 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:01.879 from people after that night. It was that Sunday 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:05.379 night that like voters started calling me. Yeah. 00:05:05.870 --> 00:05:09.069 Quick follow up to that. So if you think that 00:05:09.069 --> 00:05:13.129 and you're probably right that your pitch as 00:05:13.129 --> 00:05:15.029 being an advocate was what kind of puts you over 00:05:15.029 --> 00:05:17.370 the edge. Do you think that that's because people 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:22.769 are hungry for that sort of advocacy based representation 00:05:22.769 --> 00:05:25.550 in our General Assembly? Do you think that there's 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:28.069 that we're being starved out a little bit there? 00:05:28.290 --> 00:05:29.850 I think, you know, one thing I've found actually 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:31.490 since I've been in the General Assembly is I 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:34.029 think there's a lot of tremendous advocates in 00:05:34.029 --> 00:05:37.120 the building. They advocate in different ways. 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:39.459 And so I think it's been cool to see the different 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:41.519 skill sets because advocacy can take a lot of 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:43.000 different forms. And that's one thing that is 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.620 really on display. So I definitely don't think 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:47.040 like only I can come in and advocate because 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:49.019 there are a lot of great voices, including sort 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:51.740 of my style of stand up and articulate an argument. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:54.579 There are some folks that are just astoundingly 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:56.800 good at that already. And so I'm adding to the 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:58.579 weight that we have there. But it's not like 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:02.490 there wasn't any. so i i but i do think to your 00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:04.170 to your broader point like people are hungry 00:06:04.170 --> 00:06:07.949 for that i think because right now sadly that's 00:06:07.949 --> 00:06:09.829 in north carolina that's the main thing we have 00:06:09.829 --> 00:06:13.529 because we don't have the ability to pass laws 00:06:13.529 --> 00:06:16.689 and we should democrats got a majority of the 00:06:16.689 --> 00:06:18.410 votes for state house and state senate statewide 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:21.209 we should have the ability to pass laws but we 00:06:21.209 --> 00:06:23.329 don't and so we're gonna have to articulate a 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:25.529 vision that isn't through the course of passing 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:31.939 legislation right now You know, because I am 00:06:31.939 --> 00:06:37.180 a nerd, I watch basically every single session. 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:41.819 And there was something that you said a couple 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:43.819 weeks ago that I wanted to kind of bring up because 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:48.160 I thought this was a really good way of phrasing 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:49.800 things, but also just a really good thing to 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:54.279 point out. You know, a few weeks ago, I forget 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:56.399 which bill it was talking about. Maybe it was 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:59.860 an anti -DEI bill. I cannot remember. But you 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:04.439 mentioned that, you know, the other side of the 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:08.019 aisle has tried to pass the buck a lot, has tried 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:10.839 to put blame on Democrats and everything. But 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:15.019 in this paraphrasing, as you put it, look who's 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:18.060 been in charge for 15 years. So I was wondering, 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:23.079 like, what can you kind of tell us about, one, 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:27.459 that sort of mindset that you kind of came into 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:32.860 that with? Yeah. So, you know, when at the opening, 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:34.660 you talked about me advocating for democracy 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:37.399 and like, I think I want to step back to like 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:39.699 the fundamental belief I have in democracy is 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:42.240 that democracy is really a form of accountability. 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:45.779 That the whole idea of a democratic republic 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:48.259 is that your representatives are accountable 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:50.800 to the people and the people can decide they're 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:52.819 doing a great job. I'm going to keep them or 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:54.860 they're doing a terrible job. I'm going to replace 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:56.399 them with these other people that have a different 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:59.920 plan. The reason I bring that up as part of this 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:02.579 conversation is in order for that to work, people 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.579 have to be able to replace their representatives 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:06.439 if they're not happy. But they also have to be 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:08.420 able to see and tell whether their representatives 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:11.540 are doing a good job or not. And those things 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:13.959 have really broken down in North Carolina. And 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:16.699 I've sort of watched how the people that are 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:20.000 making the decisions act really surprised at 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.199 the consequences. of their own decisions um and 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:26.459 like a really i mean it's the the vote the vote 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:27.920 you were talking about was the budget and it 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:31.040 was it was like it was fascinating so we debated 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:34.179 the budget twice um you know and as folks know 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:35.980 in north carolina each bill is read three times 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:37.799 the first reading kind of doesn't count that 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:39.879 just gets it in the door but the second reading 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:41.860 is where we really do the vote but then there's 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:43.720 actually a third reading on the budget we actually 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.899 debated it both times And they were back to back 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:49.460 days. And during the second reading, one of the 00:08:49.460 --> 00:08:51.700 representatives on the Republican representative 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:53.779 stood up and asked another member a question 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:57.139 on their side. And it was like it was, you know, 00:08:57.139 --> 00:08:59.279 our reading scores for eighth graders are below 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:01.720 average and the math scores are below average. 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:04.539 And who's been held? I still remember he got 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:06.799 so fired up, like who's been held accountable 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.379 to this? Who's been fired for this? who's been 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:13.139 made to pay for this and like the other members 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:15.580 like no one i don't think anyone's been held 00:09:15.580 --> 00:09:18.039 accountable and like it really i wish i had done 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:19.639 it right in the moment but i said i was thinking 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:21.080 about it that night i was like it just doesn't 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:23.679 sit right with me and so during the debate on 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:25.299 third reading i stood up and i called back to 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:28.139 that and i was like it's you you're accountable 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:31.139 for it you're the one who has starved the education 00:09:31.139 --> 00:09:35.500 system for 15 years you have taken billions of 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:37.639 dollars out of our schools you have handed it 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:40.179 to private schools and with no accountability 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:43.139 whatsoever and then you're going to stand up 00:09:43.139 --> 00:09:45.279 and have the gall to act like some teacher should 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.960 be fired for what you did and and you know i 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.639 don't mean that to be i don't know overly confrontational 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:57.159 but like i do expect people to take responsibility 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.799 for the consequences of their actions especially 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:02.539 when during that same budget debate another member 00:10:03.370 --> 00:10:05.649 of the republican party made a big point to stand 00:10:05.649 --> 00:10:08.990 up and say we have a philosophy of cutting your 00:10:08.990 --> 00:10:11.129 taxes and cutting regulation and all of this 00:10:11.129 --> 00:10:13.470 stuff we're doing is on purpose it's thoughtful 00:10:13.470 --> 00:10:16.450 it is strategic and my response to him was like 00:10:16.450 --> 00:10:20.789 yeah i agree it is and look what's happening 00:10:20.789 --> 00:10:23.190 we're 48th in the country in education funding 00:10:23.190 --> 00:10:25.429 we're 50th in the country in healthcare affordability 00:10:25.429 --> 00:10:27.789 like there have been some things that they've 00:10:27.789 --> 00:10:30.110 had some successes on and they'll take credit 00:10:30.110 --> 00:10:33.129 for it great but like take credit for it All 00:10:33.129 --> 00:10:37.210 of it. Yeah. Yeah. And they can't muster all 00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:39.350 that bluster and not expect to get any blowback 00:10:39.350 --> 00:10:45.809 at all. That's right. And so speaking of that 00:10:45.809 --> 00:10:48.950 budget bill, Democrats did try to add funding 00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:54.950 for for school lunches, for more education, for 00:10:54.950 --> 00:10:57.950 equitable housing, all sorts of things in this 00:10:57.950 --> 00:11:00.450 budget bill. And nearly all of them got shot 00:11:00.450 --> 00:11:04.679 down like systematically. formulaically shot 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:08.139 down by Republicans, some with just a simple, 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:11.480 like, don't vote on this, like, no argument, 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.659 really, just don't vote on this. So what, what, 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:18.840 in your view, is how, sorry, what's your view 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.200 on how budgets should actually serve the people 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:24.480 of North Carolina? This isn't to take away from 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.450 the fact that Phil actually posted a bunch of 00:11:27.450 --> 00:11:29.789 really great Instagram videos about this. Go 00:11:29.789 --> 00:11:32.210 follow him on Instagram and Blue Sky and a bunch 00:11:32.210 --> 00:11:35.250 of other places. But very informative. One of 00:11:35.250 --> 00:11:37.889 the first on the platform to say what was going 00:11:37.889 --> 00:11:40.830 on within the General Assembly. Reminded me a 00:11:40.830 --> 00:11:43.009 little bit of like Jeff Jackson style videos. 00:11:43.169 --> 00:11:46.870 But so I don't know. We'll see. We'll see if 00:11:46.870 --> 00:11:48.929 you can get 1 .4 million followers here pretty 00:11:48.929 --> 00:11:53.149 soon. I'm 500 people of the way there. So whatever. 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:55.799 But I appreciate the plug. That's how you get 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.600 there. Everybody's got to start somewhere. That's 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:00.019 right. That's right. I started with basically 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.820 zero a few months ago. So like, here we are. 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.120 But yeah, so the budget, what I want people to 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:08.059 know is how broken it is, like fundamentally. 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.139 And what I mean by that is like there's all these 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:13.860 artificial limits on the budget process before 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:16.179 we even got to that floor debate where all the 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:18.980 amendments were just being like batted away because 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:20.960 like the Republicans get in a room basically 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:23.129 and write the whole budget. And but they set 00:12:23.129 --> 00:12:25.149 these limits. They set a funding target. And 00:12:25.149 --> 00:12:26.789 that is the amount of money that you are allowed 00:12:26.789 --> 00:12:28.870 to spend on the budget. And no amendment at any 00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:31.590 stage of the process can alter that. They also 00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:33.549 put money, you know, everything's capping into 00:12:33.549 --> 00:12:35.870 different areas like general government, which 00:12:35.870 --> 00:12:37.690 is the appropriations committee I sit on. But 00:12:37.690 --> 00:12:39.649 then there's like justice and public safety and 00:12:39.649 --> 00:12:43.049 K -12 education. An amendment can't move money 00:12:43.049 --> 00:12:46.149 from like K -12 education. It can't move money 00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:48.389 from like, say, general government to K -12 education. 00:12:48.549 --> 00:12:51.909 That breaks the rules. Not allowed. not for a 00:12:51.909 --> 00:12:53.850 good reason that's just a rule that was put in 00:12:53.850 --> 00:12:55.409 there to like keep you from messing with the 00:12:55.409 --> 00:12:57.450 budget different colors of money right i mean 00:12:57.450 --> 00:13:00.370 exactly right like there's no like this is all 00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:03.350 completely artificial you can't mess with revenue 00:13:03.350 --> 00:13:05.389 like you can't do anything to raise revenue when 00:13:05.389 --> 00:13:07.409 they set that so like you know those are not 00:13:07.409 --> 00:13:11.029 in order either and so and it's weird because 00:13:11.029 --> 00:13:12.750 the budget actually contains some of those things 00:13:12.750 --> 00:13:16.080 they're just decided by not the body they're 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.580 decided by a small like subset of people who 00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:21.039 get to make all those decisions and no one else 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:22.779 even has like it's not just a matter of like 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:24.320 getting the votes to do it you don't even have 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:28.000 a mechanism to get the votes to do it and that's 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:29.980 actually like i think kind of shocking to folks 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:32.100 when i tell them that and then the second piece 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:35.320 is like how little time the rest of us get. I 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.200 mean, I remember I walked in. So the first time 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:40.700 you see anything from the budget is in your appropriations 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:43.440 subcommittee. And so I came into general government 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:45.840 appropriations on the day the budget is going 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.080 to be released, was given 400 pages of documents. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.059 as i as the meeting started in fact they would 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:54.039 not give them to us until nine o 'clock on the 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:56.740 dot which is when they were released not an hour 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:59.240 before not hey you can stay up late reading this 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.200 and get ready but the meeting is starting right 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.360 now and here are the documents and that was the 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.080 meeting in which i had the only chance during 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:06.940 committees to offer any amendments to that budget 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:10.980 um and it was interesting too because like you 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:13.179 know they both they also sort of make clear they're 00:14:13.179 --> 00:14:14.600 they're congenial about it but like they make 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.840 clear that like you know we're not gonna take 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:20.059 your amendments but um they they we went through 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:21.659 the budget presentation and then they were like 00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:23.360 well we can either just go ahead and send this 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:25.500 forward or if you really want to we can adjourn 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:27.059 and do amendments and come back in a few hours 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:29.379 and i was like i'm gonna put you through that 00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:33.360 exercise yeah um so You know, I did offer three 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.259 amendments relating to elections in that meeting. 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:38.399 But then, you know, we also got basically less 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:42.159 than a day with the final total budget before 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:46.120 we had to vote on it. It's in no way would any 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:49.639 sane sort of thoughtful process work that way. 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:51.320 But that is how budgeting works in North Carolina. 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:54.039 A lot of the recommendations for when people 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:57.519 are in a minority party, specifically from like 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:00.840 Indivisible, is talking about how, yeah, put 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:04.620 them through the rigmarole. Make them do every 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:07.120 single part of the process, even if it slows 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:11.620 it down. Because what are you losing? All they're 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:15.019 losing is time on their hands. If you're going 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:17.700 to lose a vote anyway, make them work for it. 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.700 So I appreciate that you're committed to doing 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:25.000 that. Yeah, I'm a proceduralist by nature, too. 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.320 And we're going to follow the rules. we're going 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.600 to do the processes we're supposed to do. And, 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:34.059 you know, it's going to take a little time, but 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:36.080 you know, when you're spending $33 billion of 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:38.659 the people's money, I think you can put the time 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:42.720 in. Yeah. I'm sure it's been a bit of a whirlwind 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:46.899 to say the least. What is the like one most surprising 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:50.799 or interesting thing that you've seen so far 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:53.980 aside from just how kind of at times broken. 00:15:55.070 --> 00:15:57.309 Our system probably falls under the category 00:15:57.309 --> 00:16:00.710 of how broken the system is. But I don't know 00:16:00.710 --> 00:16:03.190 if folks realize this. You know, the legislature, 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:06.529 we have a long session. That's the odd year. 00:16:06.610 --> 00:16:08.250 And then the short session, which is the even 00:16:08.250 --> 00:16:10.830 year, because it's a part time legislature. Like, 00:16:10.850 --> 00:16:12.990 we're not just always there considering legislation. 00:16:13.549 --> 00:16:15.750 And it's really designed to run from January 00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:19.009 to June, end of June during the long session. 00:16:19.110 --> 00:16:21.190 It never actually does end by the end of June, 00:16:21.250 --> 00:16:23.529 but it's supposed to do that. And so what that 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:26.720 means is. The only chance you have for the entire 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.820 year to propose a bill basically requires you 00:16:30.820 --> 00:16:32.879 to get the idea to the bill drafting people at 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:35.080 the legislature by the beginning of March and 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.080 you have to file the bill by the beginning of 00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:40.899 April. If you don't do that for most topics, 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:43.360 your next chance to do that is in May of the 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:47.139 following year at the short session. And so I 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:49.720 don't think folks realize like how rushed that 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.710 process is. And it's really it's it's. It's unfortunate 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:56.990 because, and this is less of my, like, this is 00:16:56.990 --> 00:17:00.009 a like schemey thing than I'm accusing the budget 00:17:00.009 --> 00:17:02.330 stuff of being. This is more just like the way 00:17:02.330 --> 00:17:05.450 a part -time legislature works causes you to 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:08.029 have to rush legislation through and just throw 00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:10.049 it on the pile and just fling ideas at the bill 00:17:10.049 --> 00:17:11.990 drafting folks and hope it works out because 00:17:11.990 --> 00:17:14.329 you have to meet these really fast deadlines. 00:17:14.410 --> 00:17:18.250 So I was sworn in January 29th. I had like. five 00:17:18.250 --> 00:17:21.369 weeks to get any ideas into bill drafting that 00:17:21.369 --> 00:17:24.849 I wanted drafted for the whole year. Wow. And 00:17:24.849 --> 00:17:27.109 that has bad consequences. I've got a lot of 00:17:27.109 --> 00:17:28.650 ideas since then, and they'll just have to wait 00:17:28.650 --> 00:17:32.509 for a while. No guarantee that, I mean, it seems 00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:34.589 like if you continue to do your job well, right, 00:17:34.690 --> 00:17:36.950 that you'll get reelected. But like, imagine, 00:17:37.089 --> 00:17:39.549 you know, a year down the road, you don't get 00:17:39.549 --> 00:17:44.190 reelected. A lot of that preloaded, I guess, 00:17:44.210 --> 00:17:46.789 mental work. kind of flies out the window, especially 00:17:46.789 --> 00:17:49.769 if somebody's elected in your district that doesn't 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:52.430 necessarily want to do those things. That's right. 00:17:52.529 --> 00:17:57.670 Yeah. One of the downsides of how short the session 00:17:57.670 --> 00:17:59.529 is in these really rushed deadlines is you can't 00:17:59.529 --> 00:18:01.890 do legislating the way that I think would be 00:18:01.890 --> 00:18:05.069 the best possible way, which is you have this 00:18:05.069 --> 00:18:08.150 idea. So you pull together a bunch of stakeholders 00:18:08.150 --> 00:18:10.109 and you get them together and you brainstorm 00:18:10.109 --> 00:18:12.349 it and you identify the problems and you identify 00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:14.529 the interests. And then you kind of get a bit 00:18:14.529 --> 00:18:17.170 of a coalition together. And then you go to bill 00:18:17.170 --> 00:18:19.130 drafting with the results of that and they draft 00:18:19.130 --> 00:18:21.069 a bill. And then maybe you do a few revisions, 00:18:21.109 --> 00:18:22.490 but you've got your bill and then you file it. 00:18:22.569 --> 00:18:24.069 And then when you do that, you've kind of already 00:18:24.069 --> 00:18:27.849 got a coalition lined up around it. You can do 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:31.049 that over multiple years. But like, you know, 00:18:31.049 --> 00:18:32.529 for me coming in, it was like, now I got this 00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:34.250 idea. I got this bill out and then I'll build 00:18:34.250 --> 00:18:37.430 the coalition around it later. And, you know, 00:18:37.470 --> 00:18:39.750 it's fine. We can do stuff with it, but it's 00:18:39.750 --> 00:18:42.880 not the best way to do it. And that's really 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:46.180 a shame because I just think we can get better 00:18:46.180 --> 00:18:48.079 legislation out of that. And it's something I'm 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.140 going to try and do for the short session with 00:18:50.140 --> 00:18:53.400 some of the ideas that I'm working on. Sounds 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:56.940 reasonable, which is unfortunately why most Republicans 00:18:56.940 --> 00:19:01.539 will not pick it up. So there's that. And I only 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:07.480 bring this up solely to annoy Adrian. So I know 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:11.160 that you, like myself, are a big West Wing fan. 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:17.099 so adrian loves to give me all sorts of shit 00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:21.019 for this in the general assembly have who would 00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:23.859 you say is kind of most like uh say josh lyman 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:28.119 or sam seaborne or president bartlett oh my gosh 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:30.000 yeah i thought i thought you were going to ask 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.460 what i got on another podcast which was who am 00:19:32.460 --> 00:19:35.019 i most like which i was ready for but how who 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:42.210 other people are like to this question um only 00:19:42.210 --> 00:19:46.190 because it's so different than those characters 00:19:46.190 --> 00:19:49.150 like a legislature works so differently that 00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:51.509 you almost don't have the ability for legislators 00:19:51.509 --> 00:19:55.470 to fit those those boxes they're all like principles 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:57.829 they don't report to anyone they they operate 00:19:57.829 --> 00:19:59.849 independently even though they operate you know 00:19:59.849 --> 00:20:03.430 in a caucus another team um so you don't have 00:20:03.430 --> 00:20:08.109 um that ability but i will say one thing is i 00:20:08.109 --> 00:20:10.630 have really enjoyed watching leader reeves speak 00:20:10.630 --> 00:20:13.329 on the floor and and in that sense i'll sort 00:20:13.329 --> 00:20:16.130 of make a bartlett comparison because like you 00:20:16.130 --> 00:20:17.829 know on the west wing like he's it's not just 00:20:17.829 --> 00:20:19.369 that he's a good speaker he's the president he's 00:20:19.369 --> 00:20:21.369 a good speaker you know martin sheen's a good 00:20:21.369 --> 00:20:25.549 actor but um yeah it it's more that he's like 00:20:25.549 --> 00:20:29.430 capable of this wide range from like you know, 00:20:29.490 --> 00:20:33.950 super calm, technocratic to like, you know, showing 00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:36.730 appropriate emotion and being able to do that 00:20:36.730 --> 00:20:39.710 off the cuff. I mean, that is that has been a 00:20:39.710 --> 00:20:43.089 real treat. That has been really a fun part of 00:20:43.089 --> 00:20:46.269 being in the legislature. So 2026 is around the 00:20:46.269 --> 00:20:50.069 corner. It's these election cycles feel earlier 00:20:50.069 --> 00:20:52.869 and earlier every year. What are the fights that 00:20:52.869 --> 00:20:54.690 you think we should be paying closest attention 00:20:54.690 --> 00:20:59.289 to in the run up to that? And also. How can people 00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:01.230 help you continue doing the work that you're 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:04.910 doing? So on the fights that I think people should 00:21:04.910 --> 00:21:07.349 be paying attention to, the obvious one are the 00:21:07.349 --> 00:21:12.029 court races. The path to fixing these problems 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:15.930 in North Carolina runs through fixing partisan 00:21:15.930 --> 00:21:19.210 gerrymandering. And to anyone who is listening 00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:22.089 and isn't already bought in on this, this whole 00:21:22.089 --> 00:21:24.130 idea that people should be accountable in a democracy. 00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:27.259 Republicans won 47 and a half percent of the 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:30.279 votes statewide for House and they got 59 percent 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:33.160 of the seats. It breaks democracy. It breaks 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.279 it. And it's the reason that they're completely 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:36.960 unaccountable on any of this stuff. It's because 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:38.599 they literally are unaccountable. They don't 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:41.160 have to be held accountable by the people. They'll 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:43.259 have control no matter what they do. Right. And 00:21:43.259 --> 00:21:45.720 it's the courts that can save us in that. And 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:49.430 so that is going to require. changing judges, 00:21:49.690 --> 00:21:51.650 frankly. It's going to require retaining the 00:21:51.650 --> 00:21:54.329 judges that we have on, Democrats have on the 00:21:54.329 --> 00:21:57.029 Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. And frankly, 00:21:57.150 --> 00:21:59.410 as we go towards 2028, it's going to require 00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:02.329 accountability for the justices who attempted 00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:05.269 to steal an election. And they're up for re -election, 00:22:05.410 --> 00:22:07.049 so we're going to have a lot to talk about with 00:22:07.049 --> 00:22:09.490 that. But I also want to emphasize one other 00:22:09.490 --> 00:22:11.609 thing that's important to me, which is we need 00:22:11.609 --> 00:22:13.150 to focus on those elections, and I think that's 00:22:13.150 --> 00:22:15.339 really important. and taking House seats and 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:17.240 taking Senate seats, because a couple more seats 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:19.839 changes everything, even though it's not a majority, 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.240 because it means that the veto is basically bulletproof 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.619 at that point. And that changes. It doesn't just 00:22:24.619 --> 00:22:26.579 mean the governor can veto legislation successfully. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:28.259 It means that, but it also means they have to 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:30.579 negotiate it with us. And just governing gets 00:22:30.579 --> 00:22:33.180 better when you have those kind of things. The 00:22:33.180 --> 00:22:35.990 last part of that is. that we should think of 00:22:35.990 --> 00:22:39.730 the election as as a whole unit as well like 00:22:39.730 --> 00:22:42.230 we need to talk about the entire atmosphere of 00:22:42.230 --> 00:22:44.069 what has happened in north carolina over the 00:22:44.069 --> 00:22:47.829 past 15 years and why that has happened and what 00:22:47.829 --> 00:22:49.710 the results of that and basically any metric 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:51.430 you look at north carolina has declined over 00:22:51.430 --> 00:22:53.809 the last 15 years it's really really unfortunate 00:22:53.809 --> 00:22:57.309 um and i think we back to the accountability 00:22:57.309 --> 00:23:00.670 point we need to get accountability for that 00:23:00.670 --> 00:23:02.289 and they need to be held accountable for that 00:23:02.289 --> 00:23:05.630 and if we can create that that feeling that true 00:23:05.630 --> 00:23:07.170 feeling that there needs to be accountability 00:23:07.170 --> 00:23:10.069 for what's gone wrong in north carolina then 00:23:10.069 --> 00:23:12.690 that will help in all of these elections and 00:23:12.690 --> 00:23:14.470 so it's the way to come across the board and 00:23:14.470 --> 00:23:16.089 then to your last thing on how folks can help 00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:18.829 me i am running again for the seat or to i guess 00:23:18.829 --> 00:23:20.369 sort of running for the first time but running 00:23:20.369 --> 00:23:23.190 to continue being in the seat i would love support 00:23:23.190 --> 00:23:26.390 obviously running for election requires votes 00:23:26.390 --> 00:23:29.490 it requires volunteers and it requires money 00:23:29.490 --> 00:23:32.289 i would be grateful for any and all of those 00:23:32.289 --> 00:23:35.069 from folks my website is phil rubin p -h -i -l 00:23:35.069 --> 00:23:38.369 -r -u -b -i -n dot com um it's got all the information 00:23:38.369 --> 00:23:41.250 on it all the links to social media and i am 00:23:41.250 --> 00:23:43.980 trying to make sure that i'm both a voice and 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:46.200 an aid to our candidates that are running in 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:47.819 the frontline, what we call frontline districts, 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:50.279 the ones that are close and really hard to fight 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:52.980 for, hard to win. And so I'm going to be raising 00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:54.920 money for those seats. I'm going to be helping 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:57.380 those candidates any way I can, because that's 00:23:57.380 --> 00:23:59.519 what we have to do to make North Carolina better. 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:02.380 And thank you so much for being on with us today 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:05.380 on the Let the World North. And like you said, 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:08.099 make sure to go follow him on all the social 00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:11.660 media if you can. Find ways to support the campaign. 00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:15.519 whether it's phone calling, volunteering on the 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.039 ground, or giving some cash. And while you're 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:20.319 at it, make sure to throw some our way so we 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:24.599 can keep doing these interviews and keep bringing 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:27.759 more and better high -quality content your way. 00:24:27.859 --> 00:24:30.660 We're going to, I'm sure, be talking more as 00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:34.779 we get closer to 2030 about gerrymandering and 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:38.039 about fair election laws and about redistricting, 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:40.579 which we'll see how that plays out. But for the 00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:44.339 time being, From North Carolina's 40th House 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:47.359 District, Phil Rubin, thank you so much for coming 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.420 to talk to us today. We really appreciate the 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:52.500 work you're doing and keep it up. Thanks for 00:24:52.500 --> 00:24:54.000 having me and thanks everyone for listening.