YouSaid · the spoken record

Josh Shapiro

lines on the record: 78
first: 2019-02-04
most recent: 2019-02-04
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Do some real work in order to make sure that that sticks. I remember vividly we were talking about this before. Barack Obama, when he came to Pennsylvania, didn't just go to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He went to places like Beaver County. He went to Scranton. He went to Wilkesborough. He went to these communities that oftentimes don't get to see politicians running for national office. He showed respect to those communities. And we need to make sure we get back to that in this cycle.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Right now, my confidence level is high. But as Joe Biden famously said, compare me to the alternative, not the Almighty. Right now, Donald Trump's being compared to the Almighty, if you will. And in that comparison, he has lost the Philadelphia suburbs, which is a really important swing part of our Commonwealth. It is, I think, impossible to win the Commonwealth without winning the suburbs. And Trump actually performed reasonably well in the suburbs. He's lost a lot right now. So we need a candidate who can appeal to the suburbs, who can obviously appeal to our base in places like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but can go back to places like Scranton and Erie and Johnstown and, you know, Center County where state colleges and speak to those communities and let them know that they care as well. Right now, my money is on Democratic nominee looking at it as dispassionately as I can. Certainly I'll be rooting for and working for the Democrat. I think structurally speaking, Pennsylvania is moving back to where it was as a state that elected Barack Obama twice. But our nominee is going to have to.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You have to be willing to go and listen in these communities where Democrats have historically ignored. You've got to show respect to people. And you've got to have answers to the very real economic challenges that they face. And so I'm looking for a candidate who's going to be willing to commit themselves to doing that hard work. It's not enough just to be against Trump. I don't think that this is an election that's going to be about who can run this far left or that far left. This isn't so much about left-right. This is about who's going to demonstrate an ability to listen, show compassion in their heart, and be able to lead our party forward. And I intend to play a role in making sure that that person is successful in Pennsylvania.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, I've known Kamala for over a dozen years. I think so well of her. I think she's off to a great start. I could tell you in 2007, I was the first elected official to endorse the incentive. I remember Obama. You do. And so I'm not afraid to step out early when I see someone who I think is the change agent that we need. And so I'm taking the time to get to know these candidates. They've been calling, which I appreciate. And I tell them all something very, very similar, which is in places like Pennsylvania, which obviously I know best, but places like Wisconsin, Michigan, I remember our entire presidential election came down to about 90,000 votes in those three states.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I wish I could comment on that in this setting. I can't tell you. Let's go next door. I can tell you that we're making some progress.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It would be my hope that nearly a hundred cents on the dollar would go into treatment and assistance for people who are in need, and the rest should be used by state cities, counties who have had to shoulder the fiscal burden of dealing with this crisis, whether it's through their drug and alcohol treatment centers, child advocacy centers, just simply the ambulance rides back and forth for people who need to get to the ER. There's certain costs associated with this that need to be recovered, as well as most importantly helping people get the treatment that they need.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Due to heroin, fentanyl, and opioids. We cannot tolerate that as a society. And the pharmaceutical companies play a large role in this crisis”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“On the street, you're spending 40 or 50 bucks for the pills as opposed to five bucks for a bag of heroin or sometimes even less. It's very, very easy to make that path, make that jump, if you will, from these pharmaceutical products to heroin. There is a direct link. And I believe that just as hard as we have to go out and arrest these dealers and just as hard as we have to go out and treat those who are in need of treatment, because I do believe drug addiction is a disease, not a crime, we have to pursue these pharmaceutical companies just as aggressively. Massachusetts has opted to file a suit. We have opted to have a multi-state investigation into the pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. And it is my hope that we will be able to recover not only for the people who have been harmed, but the states across our country who have just been ravaged by this crisis. In Pennsylvania, we lose 15 people every single day.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Only thing I can really say in this setting at this time is that Pennsylvania is one of four states leading a 41-state multi-state investigation into the pharmaceutical industry, including Purdue Pharma, for their role in the heroin and fentanyl and opioid crisis. I believe that these pharmaceutical products are the jet fuel to this crisis. Four out of every five heroin users start their path to addiction by abusing a prescription drug. Four out of every five, 80% of them. And 70% of it get it from a friend, a relative, or what's laying around the medicine cabinet. A lot of people don't understand, okay, well, if you're using these opioids, how do you get to heroin? Well, you get a lot of the same feelings from taking one of the pills as you do from taking heroin or fentanyl. And if you go try to buy a prescription drug,”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It is critically important that these truths be shared. And they are truths and they're documented in the church's record and with the direct witness testimony before our grand jury that substantiated these horrors.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Verified it in basically two different ways. Number one, using the church's own records. Because understand after the abuse occurred and someone would show up and tell the priest or tell the bishop what happened, they would write it all down and then they would lock it up in the secret archive and they would lie to law enforcement, they would lie to parishioners. They'd lie to the media and those inquiring, or they would hide it. And they did it for two very simple reasons. Number one, to protect the reputation of the church. And number two, to drag this out long enough that we get outside the scope of the statute of limitations and that no one could then be charged with a crime, either the crime of the abuse or the crime related to the cover-up. And so, you know,”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Public know about this, but hopefully the church can for the first time understand that their job is not just to protect the powerful institution, but to look out for the people that they are supposed to be protecting and helping. People like Carolyn, people like Bob, people like these folks I've gotten to know along the way. It breaks my heart that they have prioritized the reputation of their institution over the needs of these children. And I firmly believe that there is a reckoning going on in this country right now where we have to stand up and say that we're going to put people before powerful institutions, that we are not going to let, whether it's the church or some university or Hollywood or politics or business community ever put their particular interests above the needs of those that they are supposed to represent and care for. And I think this is one piece of that broader discussion.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Powerful parts of this whole experience has been getting to know these survivors. Guys like Bob in Bethlehem who are 83 years old who carried around this secret of abuse for over 60 years. He was raped when he was 12, 13 years old and lived a long life of marriage to a woman never told her about the abuse. And as a result of the abuse could never hug his child. People who have lost their children to suicide because they were abused and couldn't cope with the abuse and turned to drugs and alcohol. A woman named Carolyn Fortney, who I've had the honor of getting to know so many of these survivors who was 18 months old when she was first sexually abused by her priest. These are hard things to hear, but it is important that the survivor's stories be told so that not only can the”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Not my place to tell the Pope what personnel decisions he should make, but I can tell you that no one would ever be working for me if they were involved in a cover-up of this magnitude. The idea that some of these folks can continue in positions of leadership is shocking to me. And by the way, shocking to many parishioners that I hear from in Pennsylvania and across the country, parishioners who are demanding real change, survivors who are for the first time being heard and being listened to. David, I have to tell you, I mean, one of the most”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To recognize as the Pope has these horrors that have occurred. That there was a systematic cover up, that there was widespread abuse, and invite secular authorities in to be a part of the solution together with the church. That's what I hope comes from this large meeting coming up here in a couple weeks.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Here's what I know that the church has enough information available to it from our report in Pennsylvania, from other similar reports that have come out. The church has enough direct information from victims who have come forward to know that this is a serious systemic problem that is not limited to Pennsylvania, but is all across this country and presumably across the world. That's number one. Number two, the church knows that the reforms they put in place back in 2002 are simply not enough. The Pope has acknowledged the horrors that we unearthed and has stated that real serious change must come. I'm paraphrasing those are not his precise words. What I also know from going through this process is that the church simply cannot police itself. And so I believe what has to happen is for all of the church leaders.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't know that it's my place to ever call on the Pope to do something or to say something. I'm just asking you based on what you're doing.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Here's what I can say, and of course, I'm limited in some of the things I can talk about publicly. Since we released the grand jury report in August, my office received nearly fifteen hundred calls to our clergy abuse hotline. Many of those calls represent new information that either we or some other law enforcement agency are investigating. Since our report was released fourteen state attorneys general have opened up investigations, including Lisa Madigan, now Kwame Raul here in Illinois. The federal government has opened up an inquiry just last week in New Jersey, a predator priest was charged. For someone to think that this is ancient history and there's nothing current I think is a false conclusion for people to reach.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, for someone to come along and say that that's ancient history, two responses. One, the leadership still is represented by people who are part of the cover-up. And two, David, I don't think we should treat child rape in 1979 any different than child rape in 2019.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Could only charge two. It changed over time, but for a period of time, it was literally two years. Then it was changed to two years after your 18th birthday. It has since gone past that. We want to eliminate the criminal statute limitations as they've done in 39 other states. Let me get directly to the heart of your question. In addition to the abuse that was uncovered, there was a systematic cover-up. And understand that people who participated in that cover-up, documented in the church's own records and confirmed in the grand jury, they are still in positions of power. One of them is Cardinal Wurl in Washington, D.C. There are bishops in Pennsylvania who are named in the report because of their conduct in enabling the cover-up who are still in positions of power.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I haven't read that report that you're citing, but based on your accounting of it and the other accounts I've heard of it, it is simply not true. It is demonstrably false and it is demonstrated to be false by the church's own secret archives, by the witness testimony.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We learned through the course of the investigation that the church under canon law was required to keep records of abuse and other sort of quote-unquote personnel matters. And once we discovered that those records existed and that they were literally under locking key controlled by the bishop in the individual diocese, we thought it was critically important to get our hands on those documents and to be able to comb through them. And those documents, combined with the witness testimony in our grand jury, ultimately made up this earth-shattering report that we released in August.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Not at all? Not at all. In fact, it became apparent in like a lot of different stages. We had no idea early on the scope. I mean, this ultimately was probably the largest scope in the history of, you know, this country at least, maybe throughout the world in terms of what we unearthed in Pennsylvania. So we had no idea. It wasn't probably until about a year or so later that it all became clear that what we were about to unearth was really extraordinary. You know, the church fought us every step of the way. Under seal, they went to court to try to stop our investigation when they failed at that. They tried to stop our ability to release a report. And when they failed at that, they've pushed back on our findings. Our findings, though, are based on the church's own secret archives.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A little over 900. It's a significant part of our staff, of our investigators, and of our attorneys. I just thought it was so important. I think it is so important period to protect children. But in this case where you had priests who were weaponizing their faith and using it as a tool. abuse children, the grand jury ultimately found thousands of children who were abused by 301 Predator priests, and a systematic cover-up by church leaders that stretched all the way to the Vatican. It was something that we simply couldn't walk away from, but instead had to walk from, where you were...”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My first week in office, I was briefed on our outstanding grand jury investigations, which of course by law are secret, so I would have had no way of knowing what was going on. I learned that it was in its very, very, very early stages. You know, a handful of people in our office were working on a case involving the abuse of children by clergy. And I had the opportunity to either continue the investigation or sort of move in another direction. And not only did I think we ought to continue it, I wanted to put the full force of my office behind it. At its peak, we went from two or three people working on the case to 150 people working on this case just in my office. How many people do you?”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Again, guys like Scalia have espoused over time, will find that what President Trump is doing, whether on the environment, whether on individual rights, is outside the bounds of the law. And so my answer to your question is, David, if these conservative justices are in fact conservative, are in fact going to strictly read the Constitution and follow the law, they will have no choice but to rule against President Trump on a number of these fronts, on some of the suits we filed on rights, on the environment, and others. And so I'm actually cautiously optimistic. I know it's a little crazy for a progressive Democrat like me to be quoting Scalia, but at the end of the day, if they adhere to starry decisives, if they follow those principles, you will see that these conservative justices at the end of the day will stop President Trump from doing some of the unlawful things that he's trying to do.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Interesting. I gave a speech out at the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival about the issue of federalism and how even as a progressive Democratic Attorney General, I believe in states' rights, notwithstanding the horrible history those words have, I do believe that a strict adherence to the rule of law in states allows us to be a sword to advance the rights of the individuals within our respective states and a shield to protect them from unwarranted federal overreach. And what I rely on for so many of the findings and the holdings in history are conservative opinions written by guys like Scalia because a strict adherence to the rule of law”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, we brought a suit early on on the first travel ban where what the president was doing was not only unAmerican, was unlawful. And that was in my first week in office just last week, we filed a suit against the president's policy to take away women's access to contraception, something you and President Obama fought so hard for to have incorporated in the Affordable Care Act. And while the president doesn't like the Affordable Care Act, while the president has tried to change it, it is the law of the land. And he can't simply ignore the law. And so we filed a suit in federal court. We won. And not only did we protect access to contraception for women in Pennsylvania, but access for women all across the country. We've had other wins where the president has decided to interrupt you.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I do believe that the rule of law is under attack nearly every day by this White House. And by the way, separately, I think there are a lot of good people in the Department of Justice who are just as concerned about this as I am, folks who we work with every day who have great respect for. But the rule of law is under attack. And I think it takes people like me and other attorneys general to stand up and fight to protect that. And understand, David, this isn't just a reaction to differing from Donald Trump or having different views or being from different parties. If I sue Donald Trump every time I disagreed with one of his policies or disagree with something he said, I'd have sued him probably thousands of times. Instead, I've sued him just over a dozen times. And I would point out that I've won each and every time.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think being an attorney general is the most impactful job in government today, especially given who the occupant of the White House is and our ability to uphold the rule of law to protect our citizens and do some real good for them.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And so I wrestled with it for a few more days and finally called Senator Schumer and Senator Reedback and said, you know, I'm going to run for Attorney General instead of United States Senate. I realized most of the sort of political pundits are going to think I'm crazy, but I really want to get things done. I really think this is the most impactful job in government, say, being an attorney general. Schumer told me, oh, you're one of those guys who, you know, you want people to listen to you. You want to do stuff. I said, yeah, exactly. That's what I want to do. And so it was a difficult decision, but it was the right decision. I've never looked back. And while I have great respect for a number of United States senators who do really important work in that role.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I said, What are you talking about? Being a United States senator, who wouldn't want to do that job? And I still think it's one of the neatest jobs around, certainly. But Lori understood something that was burning inside of me that I'm not sure I fully understood at that moment, which is, you know, while I do want to do public service, my desire is to see real direct impact. Yeah, you”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Her name is Lori. You know, after four weeks of back and forth with Chuck Schumer, who is one of the most convincing guys you'll ever meet, I came home on a Thursday night on the train from Washington, D.C. excited to tell my wife that I was going to run for the U.S. Senate. And we have younger kids, and at the time, even younger kids, four of them. And this was not a decision that could be made lightly given our family dynamics. And I told Schumer that I was going to talk to my wife that night and then call him back the next morning to just give him the okay sign. Lori asked me a simple question that night. She said, Why do you want to do that job?”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“What happened? They did, and I think he came to that realization that realpolitik as well. I'm not sure anyone else subscribes to that view, and so we'll leave it at that.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It hurt. It hurt because it's a guy that I cared a lot about and frankly someone who gave me opportunities and someone who I helped. I was his chief of staff, but I made it clear I'd never run against him, he ultimately stood down and I had that opportunity. I would point out, David.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was very hard, and I made it clear that I could never run against him, and I said, look, if you're running, I won't challenge you, but if you're not running, I want to do this. And ultimately, he decided to stand down and not run. And it gave me a great opportunity to step up and lead our county. And again, bringing into Democratic hands for the first time in 150 years.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, basically being the mayor of our county. It's a big county, over 800,000 people. And the reason I left to do that was because I had gotten somewhat disheartened by the legislative process. I felt that it was slow. I think as a lawmaker, you're an incrementalist. You espouse views and you're trying to move the needle a little bit. I wanted to be an executive. I actually questioned for a period of time, do I even want to be in public service? And I ultimately decided I did want to be in public service and I do want to be in public service for a good part of my life. But I wanted to be an executive and I thought this was an opportunity to be an executive. And I became the first Democrat to lead Montgomery County in 150 years, a county that Ronald Reagan famously said was one of the three most important Republican counties in the country.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There was a little bit of hutspah there, but you know what? I just felt that we could do better, and I felt that, you know, maybe this was an opportunity for bipartisanship to take hold in Harrisburg. Where we could get things done. And by the way, bipartisanship took hold, but we didn't have to abandon our values. I didn't have to abandon being a progressive Democrat and getting things done that we wanted to get done. And I'm really proud of what we accomplished there. And I think it can be a model for other state legislatures around the country.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I did, and I think they all were sort of shocked that this freshman lawmaker was putting this together. And I think in the beginning”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A one-seat difference in that house, and I think we accomplished more in that session in terms of reform and policies passing than has been accomplished in modern history there.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Republican time, quite objectionable to both Democrats and Republicans, actually, in many ways. But I had this idea maybe we get this moderate Republican. All the Democrats could vote for him, and a few Republicans could too. And we could have the first ever bipartisan speaker. And the Democrats could preserve their majority as chairman of all the committees and manage the flow of bills in the House. So we could preserve what the voters wanted, which was for Democrats to set the agenda. And it was a secretive effort over the next 48 hours. Much of which, you know, at the last possible second was concocted in the basement of the governor's residence when Ed Rendell was our governor. And we went to the floor of the House of Representatives where I knew and a handful of other people knew what was about to happen. And for the first time ever in Pennsylvania, the majority party voted for a minority member to be speaker. And we had a bipartisan speakership.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“She is my hero. She's my friend. Let me tell you. She said, Well, do something about it. Well, that night, because of how exciting we are, I went to pick up Chinese food so we could hang out on New Year's Eve at home. And on my way to get Chinese food, I had a thought, you know. What if the Democrats could support a moderate Republican? There were a few of them back in the day in the State House.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“At the end of the election of 2006, so it was my first re-election to the State House. I was a one-term member, the Democrats enjoyed a one-seat advantage in the State House 102 to 101. Yet right before the vote for Speaker, which comes from the floor of the House, you know, the majority of the 2030 votes. A few of the Democrats said they would not support the Democrat who had been nominated by our caucus to serve as Speaker. I learned this on New Year's Eve day. The vote was to take place two days later. And I was really concerned about it, told my wife about it, who again sort of kicked me in the butt the way she always does in a very direct way. And she said, well, go do something about it. I said, well, what am I supposed to do about it? I'm basically a freshman lawmaker. How am I supposed to make this happen? She goes, I'm your wife.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It shouldn't be. And look, in the city of Philadelphia, which is our biggest urban democratic base in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Josh Shapiro. We all got upwards of 80% of the vote in the city of Philadelphia. I mean, we are getting close to maximizing our vote there. You can't just go there and ignore the rest of the state. You've got to be able to talk to people in Fishtown, which is in Philadelphia, in Johnstown, which is in southwestern Pennsylvania, a community that's ravaged by opioids and struggling economically. And I think there's a way to do that. And the most important thing we have to do is go and understand the community and listen to them and let them know we care. They don't expect us to solve every problem that they have, but they do expect us to listen and to care about the challenges that they face.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Or relate to. And I think too often times we're getting caught up in these policy discussions and getting mad at folks when they don't agree with us on policy instead of understanding where they sit and how they interpret that. So I'm no less a supporter of equal pay for equal work than I was the day before that rally, but I can understand where people are coming from, even if their logic is flawed and try and tailor the work we do to helping them. You don't have to abandon your principles, but you do have to listen and you have to appreciate where they're coming from.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And these two guys who were there in front of me, and they said, that Shapiro guy seems all right, I'll vote for him. And all right is great. I'll take all right. But then they said, but I'm not voting for Clinton because of that whole equal pay for equal work thing. And they used a couple expletives. And then they said, you know, if they pass that equal pay for equal work bill, what's going to happen is my taxes are going to go up and some woman's going to get a job instead of me. Now, David, I was ready to jump on those guys and strangle them and say, okay, first off, equal pay for equal work is a great thing. Second, you're completely wrong on the policy. And third, you're wrong about the effects of that policy. But instead of jumping all over them and telling them how wrong they were, I tried to put myself in their shoes and understand the pain they were feeling because one of those guys hadn't had a job in 10 years. And they felt that the message from our party was not one that they could understand.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The discussions I was having with people. And I think too often times we as a party focus on the left, right, progressive, liberal, whatever the label is that you want to put on it dynamic as opposed to getting back to basics, which is showing up and listening and trying to understand where people are coming from. And I'll never forget the story. I came out of a rally in Wilkesborough, Pennsylvania, which is up in northeastern part of our state, you know, hardworking, great community, but a community that's lost a lot of its economy over the years. And the message at this big rally from Joe Biden on behalf of Talked about the opioid crisis because that was something that was huge in that area. And I'm leaving the event”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it is so important to just listen. And when you listen, you show people respect. And when I learned that in that experience knocking on those $18,000 running for state rep and then, of course, running for attorney general in 2016 when Trump carried our state is that showing up and listening matters and showing respect matters and putting yourself in their shoes and trying to understand the challenges people face matters. I was shocked at, you know, I'd have these long days on the campaign trail listening to people, talking to them, going to their VFWs, listening to them in their communities. And then, you know, you turn on late at night, the cable news, and the focus is all on the left-right divide. And Slicing and Dice in the population in ways that are focused on the sort of like minute policy differences that never came up.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I still have that poll in my office. I was losing 6521 on Labor Day, David. But we persevered and worked hard. And the most important thing I think I did in that race was just listen to people. And I learned a lot from showing up in their living rooms and hearing their stories.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So the next day I put on a pair of these sort of comfortable running shoes and personally knocked on 18,000 doors in my district.”
2019-02-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 305 - Josh Shapiro · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source