Trump, Guns, and Net Neutrality...With Governor Steve Bullock?!
2018-03-23 · collab / interview · Hank, Steve Bullock · 11:36 · watch on YouTube
Topic: US politics & society (also: Internet & YouTube) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: guest or collab, timely hook, self promotion
Hank interviews Montana governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat reelected while Trump won the state, about his net neutrality executive order, winning and governing by showing up, listening and persuading rather than mobilizing the base, gun policy and young people in politics; Hank closes that writing off opponents may cost the ability to govern.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — Hank's puzzle: Trump won 70% of Montana while a Democratic governor was reelected with 54%
- ★★ Hank says that in Montana's last big election Donald Trump won 70% of the vote while a Democratic governor was reelected with 54%, which he wants explained. — 00:00:07 · Donald Trump, Montana
00:00:23 — Bullock reads Hank's script; introductions in Hank's office
00:00:44 — Montana's net neutrality executive order, copied by other states, prompted by Bullock's daughter Caroline
- ★★ Hank says the FCC was 'poo-pooing' on net neutrality, which is a big deal in his line of work. (playful) — 00:00:44
- ★★ Hank says Montana was the first state to push back on the net neutrality rollback, with Bullock signing an executive order for state protections. — 00:00:53 · Montana
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock explains the order: providers selling internet services to Montana must keep the internet free and open for all Montanans; they may block and throttle, but then cannot sell to the state. — 00:01:07 · Montana
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says New York, New Jersey, Hawaii and Vermont governors did the same, basically taking Montana's executive order; Montana even offered a fill-in template. (hedged) — 00:01:25 · Montana
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says the order began when his daughter Caroline, having called their congressional representatives about the repeal, called his switchboard; he first said it was federal, then saw states could lead. — 00:01:41 · United States Congress
- ★ Steve Bullock: Bullock jokes that Hank can thank Caroline for saving the internet. (playful) — 00:02:19
00:02:21 — How a Democrat wins red Montana: show up, listen, persuade rather than mobilize the base; Trump voters; erosion of faith in press and government
- ★★ Hank says he believes in pushing good progressive agendas, and having Bullock in charge of Montana helps that and functionally helps a lot of people. — 00:02:28 · Montana
- ★★ Hank thinks the US has a problem with division that is getting much worse, and hopes Bullock can give him some hope. (hedged) — 00:02:43 · United States
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says how he got elected and how he governs are not that different: he shows up, listens and engages with people, not only those who share his thoughts. — 00:02:53
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says most people share the same values (a safe community, clean air and water, a good job, a roof) and public policy should talk about those. — 00:03:10
- ★★ Hank argues that although you never win everyone, candidates should try to win everyone and make their case rather than only mobilize the base and abandon whole sections of the electorate. — 00:03:27
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says nationally we need to listen and persuade: winning is not micro-targeting people who agree with everything, but engaging the public and saying why you'll fight for them. (hedged) — 00:03:47
- ★★ Hank says 20% of people who voted for Bullock also voted for Donald Trump; Bullock confirms. — 00:04:09 · Donald Trump
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says in a highly polarized system too many people ask what's wrong with those voters instead of what's wrong with themselves or candidates who don't speak to them. (hedged) — 00:04:16
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says his Trump-voting supporters, like his wife and children, don't agree with him on everything but believe he'd fight for them and listen to them. (hedged) — 00:04:27 · Donald Trump
- ★★ Hank says he worries a lot about the erosion of faith in the press and in government. — 00:04:42
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says many candidates run against government as horrible; it has inefficiencies and can be improved, but candidates should run to be part of the solution. (hedged) — 00:04:47
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says delegitimizing and tearing down the media, calling anything he disagrees with 'fake news', is not how representative democracy runs. — 00:05:15 · Donald Trump
00:05:25 — Running for office: 'you run to win, but you win to run'
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★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says his best advice came from Republican Tom Ridge: you run for office to win, but you win to run government. — 00:05:45 · Republican Party
“You run to win, but you win to run”
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★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says Montana kids are in publicly funded preschools because of his administration's work, and focusing on that makes the hard parts of office easier. — 00:05:57 · Montana
00:06:11 — Learning to govern: baby governor school, National Governors Association chair, good people
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says newly elected governors attend what he calls 'baby governor school', run by the National Governors Association. — 00:06:30
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says he is about to become chairman of the National Governors Association this summer. — 00:06:47
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says to govern you learn from peers, surround yourself with good people and listen as much as you talk; you start out drinking from a firehose. — 00:06:57
00:07:09 — Advice to young people considering running for office
- ★★ Hank says he is very interested in having more young people interested in running for office and being part of government. — 00:07:09
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock tells young people there is no magic age to get involved: a Montana state legislator had not graduated high school when elected. — 00:07:22 · Montana
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock urges people to be willing to take the step and risk failing; he has learned more from his setbacks than his successes. (hedged) — 00:07:35
00:07:44 — Guns: shared values, Pew survey, public health approach, background checks, red flag laws, student protests
- ★★ Hank says the US needs to have a gun discussion and asks how to bring people into it rather than leaving institutions to control perspectives. — 00:07:44 · United States
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock cites a Pew study from last year (2017): for two-thirds of gun owners, a main reason for owning a gun is keeping themselves, family or community safe. — 00:08:00
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says gun owners and those wanting restrictions both want to keep their families and communities safe and distrust government's ability to, so there is more commonality than we think. (hedged) — 00:08:13
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock argues for a public health approach to gun violence, as with cars: seatbelts and airbags didn't solve everything, but safety kept improving. — 00:08:28
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says universal background checks could make a meaningful difference. (hedged) — 00:08:37
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock backs red flag laws letting family or police petition a court to take the gun, for a time, of someone who could be a danger. — 00:08:45
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock says Parkland, Florida students may fundamentally change things, Montana students walked out in protest, and maybe grown-ups will finally listen to kids. (hedged) — 00:09:02 · Montana
00:09:21 — Bullock's fears: US leadership abroad and divisiveness; thanks
- ★★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock fears the US, long a beacon of hope and opportunity, is giving up ('advocating') its international leadership role, from climate to peacekeeping coalitions. (hedged) — 00:09:23 · United States
- ★★ Steve Bullock: Bullock worries about divisiveness: not everyone's life is consumed by government, but if government isn't working it can hurt everybody's life. — 00:09:43
00:10:19 — Extra footage on Hank's channel; Hank's reflection on winning versus governing; sign-off
- ★★ Hank says more of the interview, on being governor, voting and fears, is up on Hank's channel. — 00:10:19 · hankschannel
- ★★★ Hank relays Bullock's parting point: winning by writing off everyone who disagrees may win elections but lose the ability to govern, which we might be seeing now. (hedged) — 00:10:32
- ★★★ Hank says if government stops working it hurts everybody, but especially the people who need help the most. — 00:10:51
00:11:02 — Outtakes: Snapchat hello to Bullock's daughters, a ringing phone, 'say lit'
- ★ Steve Bullock: In the outtakes Bullock says Montana passed one of the most progressive campaign disclosure laws. — 00:11:19 · Montana
In the description and comments
- ★★ In the description Hank says he is confused about how to be an American right now and some days has little hope, given deep division and eroding faith in institutions. — video description · United States
- ★★★ Hank also worries about lost faith in the legal system, the military and law enforcement: they need fixing and so criticism, but past a point criticism becomes calls to overthrow or abolish systems that have made society prosperous and stable for many, though not all. — video description
Threads in this video
- restate · Should net neutrality be law? — Hank says the FCC was 'poo-pooing' on net neutrality, which is a big deal in his line of work. (00:00:44)
- restate · Is political polarization caused by structures (districts, rules, incentives) rather than by people? — Hank relays Bullock's parting point: winning by writing off everyone who disagrees may win elections but lose the ability to govern, which we might be seeing now. (00:10:32)
- restate · Does government work well? — Hank says if government stops working it hurts everybody, but especially the people who need help the most. (00:10:51)
- refine · Is it reasonable to be hopeful about the future? — In the description Hank says he is confused about how to be an American right now and some days has little hope, given deep division and eroding faith in institutions. (video description)
- restate · Does it matter which party governs? — Hank says he believes in pushing good progressive agendas, and having Bullock in charge of Montana helps that and functionally helps a lot of people. (00:02:28)
- refine · Does government work well? — Hank also worries about lost faith in the legal system, the military and law enforcement: they need fixing and so criticism, but past a point criticism becomes calls to overthrow or abolish systems that have made society prosperous and stable for many, though not all. (video description)
Mentioned
Central: gun control · Montana · Net neutrality · Steve Bullock
Also: People: Caroline · Donald Trump · Tom Ridge
Projects: hankschannel
Organizations: Democratic Party · Federal Communications Commission · National Governors Association · Pew Research Center · Republican Party · United States Congress
Concepts: political polarization · Youth
Places: Hawaii · New Jersey · New York (state) · Parkland, Florida · United States · Vermont
Policies: Red flag law · Universal background check
Only in the description or credits: United States Armed Forces
Also centred on gun control: The Time for Politics · My Governor is Weirder than Yours
Also centred on Net neutrality: Net Neutrality in the Shower · Hank vs. Hank: The Net Neutrality Debate in 3 Minutes · WE WON! Net Neutrality and Re-Thinking Cynicism
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