Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hank: Good morning, John.

  • It's been almost two years since our last big election here in the US.

  • And in Montana, during that election, a weird thing happened.

  • While Donald Trump was winning 70% of the vote,

  • we had a governor who got reelected with 54% of the vote

  • who was a Democrat,

  • and that just seems a little bit like something that I don't understand

  • and that I would like explained to me.

  • I have got coming into my office today an expert on this topic.

  • I think, probably one of the preeminent experts on this topic.

  • Gov. Bullock: (reading script) 'Governor Steve Bullock?! Why are you in my office? This is weird!'

  • Hank: He's reading my script! Stop reading my script!

  • Gov. Bullock: Oh, ssh, ssh, I can't read the script

  • Gov. Bullock: Where do you look, right here or here?

  • Hank: I mean, people won't be able to tell difference.

  • Hank: This is Governor Steve Bullock, the governor of my state. Hello.

  • Hank: How do you like my office?

  • Gov. Bullock: If all of America in the world could see it all.

  • Hank: They can't.

  • Gov. Bullock: Imagine that.

  • Hank: They can only see this back wall.

  • Gov. Bullock: Right here.

  • Hank: So, you recently made some headlines when, uh,

  • Hank: The FCC was poo-pooing on net neutrality.

  • Hank and Gov. Bullock: [unintelligible]

  • Hank: And this is a big deal in my line of work.

  • Hank: And Montana, I was sort of surprised, was the first state to come up and say,

  • Hank: 'Well, no, let's have it.'

  • Hank: You signed an executive order saying,

  • Hank: 'Let's have some protections, at least here in the state of Montana, to maintain net neutrality.'

  • Hank: Why? And how? Does that work?

  • Gov. Bullock: What we did is said,

  • Gov. Bullock: 'If you're going to sell Internet services to the state of Montana,'

  • Hank: Right.

  • Gov. Bullock: 'you not only have to have a free and open Internet for [the state of] Montana,'

  • Gov. Bullock: 'but for all Montanans.'

  • Hank: You're not saying that they can't do it?

  • Gov. Bullock: They can block and throttle all they want,

  • Gov. Bullock: But that just means they can't sell services to the state of Montana.

  • Hank: Right.

  • Gov. Bullock: Or now, the state of New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, ...

  • Hank: Yeah.

  • Gov. Bullock: ...Vermont, as other governors have done the same thing.

  • Hank: Did they base that legislation off of what you wrote?

  • Gov. Bullock: They basically took our same executive order.

  • Gov. Bullock: And we even provided, for any governor,

  • Gov. Bullock: you know, you can just click and fill in the template (Hank chuckles).

  • Gov. Bullock: How this came about though was pretty interesting.

  • Gov. Bullock: Well, my staff came out and said,

  • Gov. Bullock: 'Your daughter is calling through your main switchboard.'

  • Gov. Bullock: And I'm like, [laughing] 'Why?'

  • Gov. Bullock: 'Why would Caroline call my main switchboard?'

  • Gov. Bullock: So, I pick it up, and she called our congressional representatives,

  • Gov. Bullock: voicing her concern, and some of her friends, about repealing net neutrality.

  • Gov. Bullock: And my first answer was, 'I'm sorry, honey.'

  • Gov. Bullock: 'I can't do anything. This is a federal issue.'

  • Gov. Bullock: But that got me thinking.

  • Gov. Bullock: No, actually, the states could take the lead on this

  • Gov. Bullock: when the administration is trying to roll it back.

  • Gov. Bullock: You can thank Caroline for saving the Internet.

  • Hank: Thanks, Caroline.

  • Hank: I've written in my notes here,

  • Hank: 'Montana, red state, you governor, how?'

  • Hank: That's what my notes say.

  • Gov. Bullock: [laughing]

  • Hank: So you know what I mean?

  • Hank: Like, I'm legitimately very curious about this from several angles.

  • Hank: Like, one, I believe in pushing good, progressive agendas

  • Hank: and having you in charge of the state of Montana

  • Hank: really helps with that and, like, functionally helps a lot of people.

  • Hank: Second, I think that we have a problem

  • Hank: with division in this country,

  • Gov. Bullock: Yep.

  • Hank: and it's getting much worse.

  • Hank: And I hope that you can provide me with some hope.

  • Gov. Bullock: [laughing]

  • Gov. Bullock: First of all, how I got there and how I govern isn't all that different.

  • Hank: Those are kind of the same thing to you?

  • Gov. Bullock: Yeah, meaning that I show up, I listen, I engage with people.

  • Gov. Bullock: I don't just try to find people that share all of my same thoughts.

  • Hank: Well, you don't have that luxury..

  • Gov. Bullock: Yeah, you can't go do that in Montana, can you?

  • Gov. Bullock: What do you want?

  • Gov. Bullock: You want a safe community.

  • Gov. Bullock: You want clean air, clean water, good job, roof over your head.

  • Gov. Bullock: So those are actually the values that most people have.

  • Gov. Bullock: That's what we ought to be talking about from a public policy standpoint.

  • Gov. Bullock: We actually have to talk to people.

  • Hank: Yeah.

  • Gov. Bullock: Showing up matters a lot.

  • Hank: Would it be better for all of us

  • Hank: if we were trying to win everyone instead of just trying to mobilize the base?

  • Gov. Bullock: Yes, yes

  • Gov. Bullock: well

  • Gov. Bullock: You're never gonna win everyone Hank: well of course you're never going to but like but try but but like make your case

  • instead of just abandoning whole sections of the electorate say like I

  • I am out here for you

  • Gov. Bullock: and nationally

  • Gov. Bullock: I think that's what exactly what we need to do we need to listen and we need to persuade the idea of winning isn't about

  • Micro-targeting finding this group or this person that fundamentally agrees with everything and dragged them to the polls

  • Hank: Yeah

  • Gov. Bullock: The idea is actually to engage in that public sphere and say

  • Gov. Bullock: Here's why I will be fighting for you

  • Hank: 20% of people who voted for you also voted for Donald Trump Gov. Bullock: That's right

  • Does that seem impossible to you Gov. Bullock: not at all not at all

  • Because I think in this highly polarized system you had too many people say what's wrong with those voters

  • As opposed to what's wrong with us or can if we're not actually speaking to those voters

  • And I know that that 20% that also voted for Donald Trump. They may not agree with me on everything

  • Well my wife are my children don't agree with me on everything

  • But I think they fundamentally believe that I would be fighting for them. I'd be listening to them

  • Hank: I worry a lot about the erosion of faith in press and in government,

  • Gov. Bullock: and I think a lot of people that run

  • For office are running against government same government is a horrible look

  • There are inefficiencies (Hank: Sure, yeah) There are ways to make it better

  • But, you ought to be running to be part of the solution, and I don't disagree. I mean the dele- dele-

  • delegitimization

  • If that's even a word if it's not it ought to be. Hank: I think delegitimization is a word, but I think the thing you said is not

  • The tearing down of the media

  • A hashtag fake news for anything that he might disagree with

  • That's that's not the way we run a representative democracy Hank: so you've run for office a couple of times a few times Bullock: I have

  • It looks from the outside, terrible.

  • Traveling all the time. You're away from your family

  • But also you're being dragged through the mud everything is public

  • Does it suck Gov. Bullock: This isn't the time to launch Hank Green for governor based on the way you phrased that

  • So the best advice I ever got was actually from a Republican. He was guy named Tom Ridge he said

  • You run to win, but you win to run

  • So you run for office to win, but you win to run government.

  • I know that we have kids and publicly funded preschools now because of our work, our health care.

  • Notwithstanding the fact that, yeah, these horrible ads.

  • Your focusing on what you can do

  • It makes some of the challenging parts a little bit less challenging.

  • Hank: It sounds like a kind of unique job that

  • maybe you don't really know how to do when you show up first. Like, is there a training course or

  • Like a like a private discord channel just for governor's to talk about governor stuff

  • Gov. Bullock: Now, this is just between you and I, right?

  • Hank: Who do you call when you're like,

  • 'I don't actually know a hundred percent how to governor right now'

  • Yeah, your peer group is small. When you first get elected there's something called, well, I call it baby governor school

  • they send you down, and maybe, how to stand like a governor or talk like a governor versus...

  • Who's they!? Who's doing this?

  • National Governors Association.

  • Okay

  • So when i...

  • There's a National Governors Association! I was right!

  • And I'm about to become the head, the chairman of the National Governors Association come this summer.

  • You're in your second term (Bullock: Yep) and you're ready to leave.

  • In about six years I got elected to be in charge of it all.

  • So, learn some from my peers.

  • And then what you try to do is surround yourself with really good people.

  • Listen; hopefully as much as you talk.

  • You start out just drinking from a firehose and it's not without a challenge.

  • I'm very interested in having more young people interested in running for office and being part of government.

  • Yep.

  • What would you say to people who might not have considered that, or maybe you're thinking about it, and like advice.

  • I mean there is no magic age to get involved first of all. Like, we have a state legislature in Montana that

  • hadn't graduated high school when he got elected. There are so many things that you can do growing up, but I know

  • that I impact people's lives. Be willing to take that step; you may fail, but I've learned more from my

  • setbacks probably than my successes.

  • you are a Democrat in a gun culture State.

  • We need to have a gun discussion in this country. Bullock: Yeah.

  • Can you give some insight into how to like bring people into that conversation rather than,

  • the sort of the institutions that are trying to control people's perspectives.

  • You know I talked earlier about sort of how we share values

  • There was this group Pew that did this big research project just last year and said that

  • two-thirds of the gun owners, one of the main reasons why they own it is to keep themselves

  • Or their family or their community safe

  • And they don't trust the government's ability to do it. Those folks that want some restrictions

  • They want to keep themselves in their community their family safe. They don't trust the government's ability to do it

  • with all these firearms out there. So I think that there's more

  • commonality than we would think. Now, we're not gonna solve all gun violence,

  • but a public health approach right with cars is 'we put in seatbelts', that didn't quite get there

  • 'We put in airbags' didn't quite get there, but we continued to improve. Like, we know that if we did universal background checks

  • We know that it could make a meaningful difference

  • There's red flag laws the idea that a family member or law enforcement

  • Sees somebody at a point where they could be a danger. The ability to go petition a court to take their gun for a period of time.

  • We know that there are things that can be done.

  • You know, you'd asked earlier about young people getting involved.

  • Parkland, Florida students may actually fundamentally change.

  • And when we saw in Montana, students walking out -

  • just in recognition and protest.

  • So maybe this will finally be the time where the grown-ups are listening to the kids.

  • What are you most afraid of?

  • Like, in terms of, not in terms of like your own personal existential dread.

  • United States always been

  • the place that everyone looks to as a beacon of hope, the beacon of opportunity. In some respects

  • we are advocating our role as the international leader

  • And I can say that from everything from climate to coalition's where we're trying to do peacekeeping.

  • I worry as you had mentioned too about the divisiveness in the system.

  • And look, everybody's life isn't consumed with what happens in government.

  • But if government isn't working it can negatively impact everybody's life.

  • What do you most worry about?

  • Uhm

  • Damn, you're not supposed to ask questions.

  • This is a remarkable opportunity that i got to talk to you.

  • And that you got see my family. And thank you so much for coming by.

  • I know that you're, I imagine super busy.

  • That was very cool.

  • It was my pleasure, for sure, really appreciate it Hank.

  • Bullock: That was fun! Hank: Yeah!

  • If you wanna watch more of my interview with governor Bullock

  • where we talk more about what it's like to be governor, voting, and what we're afraid of. Stuff like that.

  • I've taken some of the bits that I took out of this and put it up on Hanks Channel

  • This was a fascinating and cool thing to be able to do.

  • As the governor was leaving, he said a thing that I've been thinking about ever since. He said that,

  • If you win by writing off everybody who disagrees with you and only pulling the people who

  • really deeply agree with you to the polls, then maybe win the election,

  • but also maybe you lose the ability to govern.

  • We might be seeing what that looks like right now.

  • But if government stops working, yes, that hurts everybody, but it especially hurts the people who need help the most.

  • John, educational videos are exempt from time limits, and I will see you Tuesday.

  • Bullock: i should snap-chat with my daughter. So, i only snap-chat with 2 people. And that's my 2 daughters.

  • So, did you already snap me yet or should I say hi or something?

  • Bullock: Oh? Yeah? What do you say?

  • Hello

  • Bullock: Their names are Caroline and Alex.

  • Hello, Caroline and Alex!

  • This is weird.

  • but we passed one of the most progressive campaign disclosure laws [Hank's phone rings]

  • Hank: Jesus Lord... Are you serious?

  • Travis.

  • Travis!

  • Should i just start swearing a lot if we want to cut that out.

  • Yeah, well what you wanna do - you have to be relatable to the youths. So if you could just like, I don't know, say lit.

  • Person off screen: Lit.

Hank: Good morning, John.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it