Name: "We're Speaking" Returns: Special Edition And Q&A Previews Upcoming Episodes
Uploaded: 2021-05-29T02:33:20.328748+00:00
Duration: 3671 s
Channel: The Lincoln Project
Description: Hosts Maya May and Lisa Senecal go live on Facebook to take questions, talk background, and preview upcoming topics on the returning series.

The Lincoln Project

Hosts Maya May and Lisa Senecal go live on Facebook to take questions, talk background, and preview upcoming topics on the returning series.

<p>Hosts Maya May and Lisa Senecal go live on Facebook to take questions, talk background, and preview upcoming topics on the returning series.</p>

Disillusioned Republican Finds Home At Lincoln Project

Comedy Serves As Vehicle For Tackling Tough Issues

Feeling Engaged Without The Rage

Franklin Project Aims To Empower Civic Self-Education

Lincoln Project Aims To Bring Back The Big Tent

Sugar Rush Of Trump’s Daily Drama Not A Healthy Diet

The Republican Ship Has Sailed But America’s Future Is Bright

The Republicans Went For A Hike And Trump Has All The Snacks

Crucial To Find Right Candidate Regardless Of Party

Think National, Act Local: How Franklin Project Will Energize Local Politics

https://d3ev5earl6dvd0.cloudfront.net/public-media/videos/002/077/002077/video_JAumCmN.mp4

Lisa Senecal once believed the Republican party was something different, that even though it had a dark undercurrent, a principled side would prevail. That hasn’t happened.

Stand-up comedy seems an unlikely path to the Lincoln Project, but not for We’re Speaking host Maya May. With an undergrad degree in political science and time spent living abroad, May hit on the idea to try to change hearts, then minds, then policy, through comedy.

Comedy is an outlet, a pressure valve that allows us to talk about the troubling trends we see in society with a laugh. Part of the mission of “We’re Speaking,” according to co-host Maya May, is to get engaged without feeling enraged.

Most Americans have never needed to learn how autocratic regimes form and rise to power. We’ve been taught these things only happen in other countries. The Franklin Project aims to reveal the roots of authoritarianism in ways that easy to understand and demonstrate that it can happen here, too.

The Lincoln Project started as a group of reform-minded Republicans, but now includes political leanings from both left and right, Democrat, Republican and independent. The goal is not to advance a political agenda as much as it is to save the core of representative democracy.

Speedy vaccine distribution is just one highlight of the Biden administration’s early work. The American Rescue Plan is another effort worth noting for getting money directly into the hands of Americans, and into the revenue streams of small businesses. While some craved the sugar rush of Trump’s daily drama, it didn’t make for a healthy diet.

While our hosts are hopeful for the future of the country, they’re not so optimistic about the fate of the Republican Party, which seems poised to expunge its most moderate elements and continue its march toward the fringe. But America is a country of generally decent, industrious people of all stripes, and the backbone of its promise.

The priority for today’s Republicans with influence is singular: attain power and maintain power. To that end, they’re willing to follow authoritarian sentiments that undermine democracy. It’s as if, May says, they all went for a hike, got lost, and have learned that only Trump has the snacks for their survival.

Third-party candidate someday? Sure. But if it’s just used as a protest vote, no thanks. It’s more a matter of finding the candidate that’s aligned with practical issues and who can move the country forward, regardless of party affiliation.

Franklin Project aims to decentralize politics and engage citizens to focus on hyper-local issues and institutions — city councils, school boards, county elections — where the bulk of policy decisions that affect daily life happen.

"We're Speaking" Returns: Special Edition And Q&A Previews Upcoming Episodes

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