Rick Kennedy: Follow the Money
Today, it’s time to talk to Rick Kennedy, the Democratic representative for Texas’ 17th Congressional District.
It’s unusual to meet a politician that’s as open as Rick is, and he left me feeling like I’d just had a chat with one of my buddies.
He is a self-described optimist, even though he’s campaigning in a Republican area and against an opponent with considerably more funding.
He doesn’t have any big corporations to answer to, and instead gets all his campaign funding from regular citizens. And this is what Rick prides himself on.
He describes the Republicans as too fixated on short-term solutions and pleasing their donors. Instead, he wants to shift the focus to health, security and prosperity.
After interviewing Pete Sessions in the last episode, it’s nice to hear the other possibilities, and being a Democrat I have to say it seems like a closer option to me...
“Nobody owns me, all of my contributions come from individual people, and if you want to know who you’re representative in Washington is going to work for, look where the money’s coming from.” - Rick Kennedy
Time Stamps:
01:27 - Who Rick Kennedy is and how our conversation went.
07:01 - Why he decided to move to Texas and what he thinks of the state.
13:00 - Rick’s thoughts on the most recent Presidential debate.
17:05 - The rigged nature of American politics and the problems with private campaign funding.
23:11 - Rick's position against the status quo.
27:21 - Why he got involved in politics.
30:10 - What it was like when he first ran for the Congress.
35:40 - How to inspire trust in voters and the problems with using short-term fixes without considering the long-term costs.
40:14 - Rick's position on America’s healthcare system and policies.
52:39 - The chances there are of Texas turning blue.
56:01 - How the pandemic has affected Rick and the ways he’s had to adapt his campaign because of it.
1:01:57 - The most important things for voters to know about Rick Kennedy.