YouSaid · the spoken record

Will Hurd

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2019-07-29

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2019-07-29

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1. “I've won with unpopular people at the top of the ticket. I've won in a blue wave. And you know this better than most. The strategy is real simple. ID your voters turn them out. And we've proven ability to do that. And like I said, I feel good about my chances.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

2. “I'm going to keep talking about and continue to get me elected. And so it is something that I'm going to continue to fight for.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

3. “Here's what I would say to that. Yes, a president is the biggest mouthpiece for the party, but the party is bigger than that. And what I'm focused on is building the Republican Party of the future, right? It's got to be a party that women and minorities are interested in. It's a party that supports empowering people, not empowering the government. It's a party that believes the way people can move up the economic ladder is through free markets, not socialism. It's a party that thinks that the way you achieve and maintain peace is, as I said before, be nice with nice guys and tough with tough guys, which means strengthening our alliances. So I actually think the party has enough room for a number of different people. And those are the things that I believe in. Those are the things that continue.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

4. “And I was appalled. It's okay for my brother not to know that because he sells cable in San Antonio, Texas. But for a person who's making decisions on sending our boys and girls places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, for someone who's making decisions on billions of all hurt earned taxpayer dollars, to me that's unacceptable. And so I have many, many experiences like that. And my mama said, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. So I left a job I was good at and loved and moved back to my hometown of San Antonio and ran for Congress. No, I lost that first election because I don't tell that story anymore. But it was a decision to try to help the intelligence community in a different way.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

5. “Between a Sunni and a Shia. And he had been on the committee for multiple years, and I thought he was getting ready to make a really inappropriate joke. And who am I to deny him this opportunity? And I said, I don't know, Congressman, what's the difference? And I'm getting ready to go, but um, bump, bump, bump, right? And his face goes bright red. Didn't know that difference in Islam.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

6. “I was frustrated with the caliber of our elected officials. So, in addition to being in the back alleys at four o'clock in the morning, collecting intelligence, I had a brief members of Congress. And many of the members of Congress I briefed. I was disappointed in. I've told this story many times about being in the briefing in Afghanistan after a bomb went off our embassy took out a section of the wall, killed some of our local guards. And later that evening, we had members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which I now serve on. And I was asked a question about why was Iran not supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan the way they were supporting other groups in Iraq? It's about 2007, 2008. And I started explaining the Sunni Shia divide. And this member congress raises his or her hand and says,”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

7. “Is this type of engagement going to get us where it needs to go? We're going to see whether they continue tests. We're going to see are they trying to use those tests as a way to it's like the old sales trick if I show you a jacket that's $1,000 and then I show you a second jacket that's only $300, you'd be like, man, that second jacket's not very expensive. And his continued test a way to go back to where he was in 2017, I don't know, but we have to continue to stay firm with him. And a key entity to help with that is going to be China. We're never going to see a denuclearized Korean peninsula unless the Chinese government is involved in making that happen. Happen, and that's why we've got to continue to engage China on this topic.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

8. “Look, human rights are important. And if we don't advocate for our values, then we don't stand for anything. And so it is difficult. And making sure it's known that you have those conversations on human rights is something that has been a hallmark of our diplomacy for a number of years. I've been involved in a number of tough and difficult conversations with presidents potentates and kings by delivering that message on human rights. And so we can engage and we can fight for human rights at the same time. I think it requires us to articulate that. But it's in everybody's interest for a denuclearized Korean peninsula.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

9. “And they have it. And I can make the same argument with Iran, right? The Iranian government for three decades have been the largest state-sponsored terrorism. They've lied to the IAEA. They've lied to the United Nations. And so engagement with Iran, I thought at the time was, are they going to change their opinion or what they've been doing for three decades? I don't know if Kim Jong-un is willing to do that.”

   2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

10. “Years ago, there were little conversations of people saying, Do we need to start having duck and cover drills because of a potential nuclear war with North Korea? If you're talking, you're not fighting, right? And so I learned when I was in the CIA, be nice with nice guys, tough with tough guys. And so a dialogue is always preferred. Nobody wants to go to war. But are there going to be outcomes from this other than just photo ops? And that is the question. And the goal should be a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. And can Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, get to a point where he recognizes that to stay in power, the best way to stay in power is to get rid of his nuclear weapons. South Korea has to be... That's what they're doing.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

11. “That's my crystal ball doesn't look that far. But why are we there? We are there to prevent this place from turning into a location where terrorist groups can train and equip and ultimately attack us. Al-Qaeda has Is on the run, but they have metastasized to other parts of Northern Africa, other parts of the Middle East. They are still interested in trying to attack the homeland ISIS is on the run, but they have metastasized to other parts of the world. And this is still a threat. Even though it's not a daily conversation like it was years ago in terrorism is like influenza. You can inoculate communities against it, but it's never going to go away. And so this is why we have to continue to make sure this is fighting an ideology. And it's, again, it's a fraction of the cost to solve the problem there before it gets here.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

12. “Look, we should always be evaluating what our presence is there. I think in Afghanistan, we need to be helping to grow their Air Force more and quicker than what they are now, because that's going to what is going to be allow the Afghan government to engage.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

13. “They're a long-term presence is going to be necessary. Now, the size of that footprint, what that presence does is what can be debatable. But until the country is able to continue to grow their economy, they're going to need some support. And especially when you have groups like the Taliban being supported by outside groups, they're going to need some support. The one thing I could say is after 17 years in this debate about have we spent too much money or not, over 4 million girls and women have been in school. That didn't happen. That wasn't going on before 2001. And I think that's ultimately what's going to help transform that country when half their population are being to be educated and get involved.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

14. “I actually did think we would still be in Afghanistan because one of the mistakes that led to the Taliban coming back into power was the civil war that ensued after the Mujahideen were victorious over the Russians. You go back to the history of Afghanistan.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

15. “Runs away. It takes about 10 steps, turns back, gives me the biggest hug I've ever gotten. and then kisses the helicopter crewman on the hand and then she runs away. And for me, that little girl's face is staring into my brain because at that moment what we did that day was an example of how the United States government has the resources and the willingness to help people even if they're 7,000 miles away. And that's one of the things I learned during my time in the agency and that that is one of the things that I try to bring to my time in Congress.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

16. “Ambassador Crocker wanted to figure out how the American government can show their support to the Pakistani people. And he said, Heard, take a team, get up there and figure out what we need. And we figured out we needed Airlift. We needed people that were, because Muzafrad is about 14,000 feet. And there were other villages that were cut off. And so I'm directing these air leaf to get these people to safety. And we stop at a village that had been without food, water, power for four days. And it was negative 20 degrees at night. And we're having the villagers pile on. And this one village elder picks up this little girl who was about six or seven years old who lost both her mother and father in the earthquake. And he thrust her in my arms and I hold her through the flight. We land. I set her down.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

17. “Absolutely, and learning and understanding how that has an impact on a culture, on a person, on an individual, on a thought process was incredibly invaluable. And the other thing that I learned and saw was that the reason the United States of America has become an exceptional country is on what we have given, not what we have taken. And I saw that time and time again, and another person who's an amazing person, Ryan Crocker, that you probably know that name. He was my ambassador when I was in Pakistan. And this was 2005 when there was an earthquake. Musafrabad, which is the capital of Azad Kashmir. This is one of the regions of India and Pakistan are fighting over. And it ended up killing 80,000 people.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

18. “Pakistani for 75 years. You know, Pakistan, as we know, is a young country. I've been a Muslim for 1,230 years, but I've been a Pashtun, which is an ethnolinguistic group in that region, for 3,333 years. And it's hard for us as Americans to, you know, 230 years old from Costa Coast.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

19. “They're not going to clap back anytime soon. So, yeah, so I'm proud of the organization. And look, it helped me and educate me on things that have been valuable here in Washington. I'm able to talk. We started this conversation off about disinformation. I had to deal with this when I was in the CIA. I saw what the Russians were trying to do to us then. You learn about different cultures. There was a guy that I was meeting that was helping us in the global war on terrorism and he once told me he goes, Mr. Willie. Everybody in South Asia always called me Mr. Willie for some reason. I've been a”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

20. “Look, I know them and I disagree with him a lot, right? And here's what I've learned. The men and women in the CIA specifically, they're going to do their job regardless of who the occupants of the White House is, right? There have been presidents that have completely disregarded intelligence briefings and not participated in those things and thought ill of the CIA. So this is not a new thing. But the men and women that I know that are working there are going to go out, put themselves in harm's way to collect intelligence to advise policymakers. And that doesn't change because they're professionals. And so I know that. And that's why I try to speak on their behalf when I can. Because it's the CIA. They don't talk back. I know they just got on Twitter.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

21. “I made my opinions pretty clear on the Helsinki comment because I think it was another attempt by Vladimir Putin to do misinformation and disinformation by standing there and he claimed lies about what was going on in places like Ukraine. And to do that with the leader of the free world next to him. And I said something to the effect that I never would have thought an American president would have been duped by the... My strategy is real simple. I agree when I agree, disagree when I disagree. And continue, you know, I left the CIA a job I was good at, a job I loved, in order to help the intelligence community in a different way. And that's why it's great that I'm now on the house permanent select committee on intelligence working in a different capacity on some of those same issues I dealt with when I was in the city.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

22. “If on September 12, 2001, you told me that 18 years later there would not have been another major attack on the homeland, I would have said you were crazy. And the reason there hasn't been another major attack on our homeland is because the men and women in our intelligence services are still operating as if it's September 12th. And the men and women are military are doing the same, our diplomatic corps as well. And so it was an honor to be associated with that group of folks. And so you learn about the issues. Let me just interrupt.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

23. “I knew them, and there was a couple months after I left. And so. Best job on the planet These are men and women that the answer is always yes. What is the question? I was in, I joined October of 2000. And then when September 11th happened, that night, I got a phone call about 0400 that said report to the basement of the old headquarters building at the CIA headquarters at 0700. And I became like the fourth or fifth employee of the counterterrorism center special operations division. We were the entity that ultimately oversaw the prosecution, the war in Afghanistan.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

24. “Hold he's amazing stories. And the next day I did something I had never done before. I went and knocked on his door and was like, tell me more. And that began my interest in the CIA. And then when Dr. Gates knew I was interested in the CIA, he started talking to me about the director of operations, which was we call now the National Clandestine Service. We were the undercover spies. We were the ones in the back alleys at four o'clock in the morning collecting intelligence on threats to our homeland. And he inspired me to go the operations route and has been a friend and mentor a lot. He actually tried to convince me not to run for Congress, not to leave the CIA. Yeah, he was very explicit about...”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

25. “So I was a computer science major. I thought I was going to go work for IBM and write code. And my sophomore year, I had really at that point never been outside of Texas. And I'm walking across campus and see a sign that says, take two journalism classes in Mexico City for $425. I had $450 in my bank account, so I go to Mexico. Fell in love being in another culture, seeing things I'd only read about in books was awesome. And I added international studies as a minor. The first class I took in international studies, I had a guest lecturer who was a former CIA tough guy named Jim Olson. He was the former deputy director of counterintelligence. So he ran all counterintelligence operations for the CIA. He was involved in catching Aldrich Ames, who at that time was the worst spy in the CIA's history.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

26. “Get ready to help win the emergency responders tell you to. And so it was, and the 12 kids that passed away, I've been to many of the funerals and you would have those mothers come up to you and say, don't ever let this happen to someone before again. And so early on, I think about one of the students that died was a poet, right? Would he have been A&M's first poet laureate? I don't know the answer to that. One young woman was an architect. Would she be designing buildings right now that made people feel inclusive? I don't know. And so, you know, I think about what those folks would have been doing had they had the opportunity to still be here and have the opportunities that I've had. And so it's something that was impactful.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

27. “Well, look, you know, I've lived in India two years, Pakistan two years, New York City two years, Afghanistan for a year and a half. I've traveled to places like Yemen and hotspots all around the world. And when I think of an image of a catastrophe, the first thing that comes to my mind is bonfire. It was something at 21, 22 years old. You show up and you see your friends under a bunch of logs. And your first instinct is to run and go save them and move the logs. But then you do that. You make an unstable building even more unstable. And so having to be told, stop, don't help. And you hear your friends crying and screaming was pretty crazy, but then also having to get all the other students that were there that want to help to calm down.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

28. “You know, look, I had the opportunity present at Texan Am and before that I ran the memorial student center, which was a big programming organization, about 1,600 people we put on a number of programs. It was a $5 million organization. And so it was a great opportunity at TechSAM, we call the other education. Those things you learn about how to, you know, who you really are, why you're in school. And I had my serve at a time in probably one of Texas AM's darkest moments. Yeah. When our bonfire collapsed, bonfire was a 20-story bonfire that weighed a couple of times, log tower that we would burn. And it was to signify our burning desire to beat the hell out of University of Texas, right? That was our major rival. And it had gone on for 100 years and it collapsed and ended up killing 12. Yeah, it was huge.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

29. “Because of social media. And so when you look at the angst and the drama that this is creating for our younger generation, it's something that I remember from my time. But I also think it has helped me have tough skin, and you know in politics you can't have soft skin in order to win. And so look, I wouldn't change anything in my experience because all those things have led me to who I am today. And so it's seeing that for my family, my mom and dad and the love for one another, my dad teaching me to have a PMA. My mom teaching me to don't care about what other people think, just about what you think about yourself. To always be honest and treat people with respect. These are things I learned at a young age, and I was lucky to have an oldest sister and older brother who made Mistakes that I got to learn from as well.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

30. “Look, I probably cried in school multiple times a day because of the bullying and such. But the one thing my mother always taught me is other people's opinions don't matter. The only thing that matters is how you think about yourself. And that was a message that, you know, I soaked in middle school-ish, right? And is kind of been part of who I am. Another reason why I don't like bullies and will always speak up. And it's also an opportunity for us. When I was a kid, it stopped at 330. Now it continues 24 seconds.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

31. “Party. And so if we need to be focused on those issues rather than talking about some of these other things I think we're talking about now.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

32. “Well, I think at the end of the 2018 election when Republicans lost 40 seats in the House of Representatives, when a lot of the conversation was focused on some of these topics, I think electorally that was not a didn't prove that. It didn't work. What the intention is, I can't speak to that because I'm not involved in those conversations, but I would say this. What I've learned representing a 50-50 district, a district that Hillary Clinton won by four points in 2016, that Beta Will Work won by five points in 2018. I've continued to travel to outperform people in this way more unites us than divides us. And when we focus on that, we're going to be better off. And for us as a Republican Party, we actually have an opportunity with independence and conservative Democrats because of the debate that's happening within the Democrats.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

33. “This current crisis, they had 700 children. That place is not designed for that. Why was there a backlog? Because ICE didn't have the resources, HHS didn't have the resources to do this. And so, you know, many of my colleagues voted against funding to give to ICE to take care of more children. You can't criticize when you're not giving the resources and then show up and be like these places. They're terrible. These are places that people should not be staying in for any length of time, let alone having children there. And so that's why going back to we got to stop the root cause because the crisis that we're seeing is a symptom of the broader problem. And until we start really addressing the root causes, we're going to see this problem continue.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

34. “Well, snatching children out of the arms of their mothers is a terrible idea. And that, you know, a number of people spoke up about that when that was happening. And so you have to address root causes. You also have to make sure that Department of Homeland Security, ICE, HHS have the resources that they need in order to deal with this crisis. Some of my colleagues have gone to these facilities and are outraged by how terrible the conditions are, which Border Patrol has been saying. The Border Patrol has been saying it, the Inspector General Department of Homeland Security is saying it. These facilities were not designed for what they have to do. And there's been a place in the news recently, Clint, Texas. That's actually in my district. It was designed to temporarily house 107 people at the height.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

35. “Absolutely. And I've disagreed with that policy. What I think we should do is we should, the Secretary of State should select a special representative to the Northern Triangle, those three countries, to coordinate the efforts within USAID, State Department, OPIC, all those federal entities that are involved in that kind of aid. They should be coordinating the efforts with the NGO community. We should be coordinating efforts with all three of those governments, but also working with the Organization of American States, the International Development Bank, to come up with an essence a Marshall Plan for that region. And so that is where we should go. And I've seen these programs, right, that have worked. And it's a fraction of the cost to solve the problem there than it is to try to solve it once again to our border.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

36. “Yeah, look, my staff has learned recently that the speed limit is not 80 in all the district the hard way. And so this is, to me, and it's a 71% Latino district. The unfortunate thing right now, we're not addressing the root causes of the crisis, the root causes is violence, lack of economic opportunity, and extreme poverty in the Northern Triangle. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. We should be strengthening aid programs to those places.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

37. “When you're at 3.2% unemployment in parts of my district, you're at 2% unemployment in the western area where the energy renaissance is happening. You need workers at all levels. And the one thing where if our economy is going to stall because we don't have the workforce to take advantage of the opportunities that we have. And so that's where the conversation should be going. And I have more border than any other member of Congress, 820 miles. I represent 29 counties, two time zones. It takes me 10 and a half hours to drive from one part of my district to the other at 80 miles an hour, which is the speed limit in most of the districts.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

38. “Absolutely. Let's continue that and let's continue. Let's benefit from the hardworking drain as well. So if you're going to be a productive member of our society, let's get you here as quickly as possible. But let's just do it legally. Most people agree with that. And so I want to see, this is why I think we need to be streamlining legal immigration. We should be having conversations about how do we attract the best artificial intelligence researchers from China and other countries that come to the United States. How do we attract the best entrepreneurs from Europe and Africa to come to the United States and build their companies here? This is where the conversation should be.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

39. “Here's what I know about immigration. The United States of America has benefited from the brain drain of every other country for the last couple decades. You're talking to the son of an immigration.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

40. “The Democratic Party between the four individuals and the speaker and other members of that party. And so it just didn't make sense politically as well. And if the Republican Party, I've always said, I say it's when I'm in Texas. If the Republican Party doesn't start looking like Texas, there's not going to be a Republican Party in Texas. And so I've spent time going to communities that Republicans don't go. I've spent time going to communities where I'm the first Republican they've seen. And those kinds of statements make it harder to try to appeal to the minority community and talk to them about how our principles and theories are things that can actually help them move up the economic ladder and help them take care of their families.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

41. “Latino college and high school kids, and I asked them, you know, raise your hand if anybody's ever told you to go back to X country. Two-thirds of them raised their hand, right? They're all like half my age, and this is still going on, and it shouldn't, right? Number one. Number two, it's also bad politics. Instead of talking about the differences between socialism and free markets, instead of talking about the differences on our policies, on empowering people and not empowering the government, that's where you ultimately win campaigns is by talking about those ideas. That's the opportunity for us to appeal to independence and conservative Democrats. And instead, we're talking about where someone, you know, where someone did or didn't come from. And that is unfortunate. And also it's unfortunate at a time when there was a growing civil war within the”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

42. “Why we say the president's not my boss, the speaker is not my boss, the majority leader is not my boss, my bosses are the people that I represent. But yeah, I said those tweets were racist and xenophobic because I can't tell you how many times I've been told to go back to Africa. I'm not from Africa. I've never been to Africa. five, six, maybe seven generation Texan. And it's hard for people to understand that. And what does that mean? That means you are implying that because someone doesn't look like you, that means that they are for some reason not American or that they're ultimately subhuman. And that is the crux of this. I spoke recently to a group of about 300.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

43. “But what we saw as kids growing up is that the love they had for one another, despite all this other outside drama was strong, and actually I think made their relationship and their love even stronger.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

44. “For sure. Look, in 1970, 1971, it was not in vogue to be an interracial couple in South Texas. My mom would go look for a house when they first moved there. And she loved the house. And my dad was a traveling salesman and he was gone. They're like, you know, we need to wait till my husband gets back for us to see to make sure we're comfortable. And when my dad would show up, the salesperson would be like not available, right? And that happened a lot until the place that my parents still live in right now, which was kind of on the outskirts of town. It was the Burbs back then beyond the Burbs, really. And so you saw that, right? It wasn't in vogue.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

45. “My dad always tells a story about how his boss said, take care of this account, Heard. And then a year later, they were married. And his boss was like, I told you to take care of the account, not to be ridiculous about it. And then they moved to Texas, to San Antonio in 1971”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

46. “Or he said the reason he was successful was because he had a PMA, a positive mental attitude. And that's something that has always sucked with me. And over the years, he worked with another company that sold textiles and moved to California. And that's where you met my mom. My mom was raised in Indiana and kind of an industrial town. And she moved to California after she graduated high school. And she worked at a, she was a retail sales manager. And my dad, my mom was one of my dad's clients. And the people at my firm didn't like calling on my mother because she asked 100 questions. And the salesmen never knew how to answer the questions about the product. My mom was asking questions. And so when he was a rookie, they gave her this account. They gave him my dad the account.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

47. “High school coach called Salm and said, Hey, Hurry, do you want to go to college? You got to get $31 together and you can come to college. And that's why my dad went to college. And when he graduated in 1950, he was one of the first salesmen for the American Tobacco Company. And he was selling a lucky stripes to gas stations and places all over East Texas. And my dad would always tell stories about he would show up in a press suit and a company car and walk into one of these gas stations. And the attendant who was usually always white would curse out of Adam column names, the N-word, you name it, get out of here. But by the end of the sales call, the guy was shaking my dad's hand, embracing him, asking him when he was coming back.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

48. “Yes. And I've tried to, you know, my brother and sister and I were learning more about our family. Marshall was a hub for the train, several train lines. And so my father's father was a mechanic and fixed trains. And he didn't know much about his grandfather. And so that's one of the areas that we've always been trying to find out. But my dad graduated from college in 1950, and the only reason he went to college was because this was Wiley College, which was the second historically black college and university in Texas, needed a manager for the football team. And my dad played football in high school in his old school.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

49. “So, my dad was born in Texas. I think I'm fifth or sixth generation Texan at least. It may even go further back. But my dad grew up in a place called Marshall, Texas. It's in East Texas. You talk to most Texans. They wouldn't know where it is. But what was interesting, it was probably the second most important city in the Civil War to the Confederacy. And it was when Jefferson Davis knew that time was running out, they were thinking about moving from Richmond to Marshall, Texas. This is the backdrop of where my dad grew up. My dad right now is 86 years old. And he went to, you know, when he graduated high school,”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

50. “I did. And ultimately, I think I don't think anybody's positions changed. If you came in one position before the hearings, you left those hearings with that same position. I think a director Mueller had a lifetime of service to our country. And I think he did a good job of not looking like he was on one side or the other. He was trying to call balls and strikes. And so I think it was, I don't think anybody was happy after the hearings, but that shouldn't be the way we look at it. I think for me, the biggest takeaway from all of that was this is an ongoing threat that we need to be focused on. And I hope the same level of intensity that we've put into the last couple of months we put into developing that strategy on countering this threat.”

    2019-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 342 — Will Hurd · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source