Tom Harkin
The Catalyst
Ideas with a spark, energy, range and the ability to start things.
Tom Harkin is a former U.S. Senator known for his long-standing commitment to disability rights and progressive causes. This interview highlights his leadership style as a catalyst for change, emphasizing the importance of empowering individuals with disabilities and fostering collaboration across political divides.
“In fact, I led the opposition to the first one in 1991. I and there's a whole story about George Mitchell, our majority leader yelling at me so loudly that on the first day of the, I just gotten resworn, I just gotten re-elected, and I stopped the Senate floor and Mitchell until we could have a vote on the first Iraq war.”
“He was serious and a serious legislator, and he was a great progressive in that wonderful Wisconsin tradition that Royce. And he was one of the point people on going after big banks and Wall Street. And this is back in the 70s for crying out loud. So I liked him a lot, looked up to him in the Senate.”
“Shortly after that, in the mid 80s, by the time I was running for the Senate, I met Danny Piper, a young man with Down syndrome. And you know, when I was growing up, you made fun of people like that.”
“No, I didn't even believe it then. Did not even believe it then. But what I believed was The more that we can get inspectors in Finance that French had an interesting suggestion at the time, there was never a number limited on how many inspectors we could have there.”
The Axe Files with David Axelrod — Ep. 56 - Tom Harkin
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE