Vice Chair of the DNC Rep. Meng

[music]

Joe Biden: But while I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president. I'll work as hard for those who didn’t support me, as hard for them as I did for those who did vote for me. That’s the job of a president. To represent all of us, not just our base or our party. This is not a partisan moment. This must be an American moment.

Brian Lehrer: Now that the DNC is over, with me now is Queens Congresswoman and vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, Grace Meng, whose district covers much of Central and Eastern Queens. Hi, Congresswoman. Welcome back to WNYC.

Grace Meng: Hey, Brian. Thank you for having me.

Brian: Listeners, we can take your phone calls for Congresswoman Grace Meng, 646-435-7280. You can give her your thoughts on the DNC in her role as a vice-chair of the party. You can ask her any question that you want. 646-435-7280. 646-435-7280. I'm also curious listeners. I'm not sure if we'll get anybody like this, but at the beginning of the week, we took calls from people who were undecided going into the convention weeks. Did anybody get swayed who was undecided, whether you were undecided between Trump and Biden or undecided between Biden and not voting? We had some of those. Did you get swayed by the convention this week? We'll ask again after next week since convention season is a competitive sport and both sides go. On being undecided at the beginning of the week and where you are now, anything you want to ask Grace Meng. 646-435-7280. 646-435-7280. Congresswoman, I'll just start with a question that came up twice from listeners in our last segment. That was from some frustrated Democrats who wanted to see Senate candidates featured along with all the stuff that was presented at the DNC. They think the Republicans are going to do that. They know the Senate's in play. There are a lot of competitive Senate races. Where were those people and related to that, where was any central message about the Supreme Court?

Grace: Hi, Brian. Thank you for having me. I appreciate those questions. Look, we just came off of a few days of somewhat of a celebratory program, but also of a reality check of what this administration has done to the American people. We need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to get our country back on track. Look, we had an obstacle here because of the coronavirus pandemic. Our programming went from a usual six hours per day down to two hours per night. There were candidates that were featured from Georgia candidate Reverend Warnock to South Carolina candidate Jaime Harrison. One thing that I know that has been a priority for us in this DNC under Chairman Perez is that every race counts. Whether you're running for the school board in an off-year, to the United States Senate, to the White House, every election is important. Of course, we would have liked to showcase so much more. The reality is that time was short and we really wanted to highlight the stories of everyday Americans.

Brian: It was such an act of invention as I don't have to tell you, obviously there's never been a virtual convention before. How do you feel that the act of producing it evolved over the week as you saw what worked and didn't work early on if there were any midcourse corrections?

Grace: You know what? I was nervous going in. I didn't know if there would be anything from technical issues, to how the American people and Democrats across the country, how they would receive the convention in this very unconventional format. I will say, I have been flooded with messages from people who love Democrats, to people who hate Democrats. They've been telling me that they'd liked this format and they want to continue it in this way and future election years as well. One thing that they especially mentioned that I get the most feedback on even from people who are not hardcore Democrats was the roll call. I think they really appreciated seeing folks across the country in all 50 States and territories and see the issues and learn about what fellow Americans are going through.

Brian: I think we have a caller on the roll call vote. Let's take that caller first. Georgia in Chelsea. You're on WNYC with Congresswoman Grace Meng. Hi, Georgia.

Georgia: Hi. I'm wondering how New York State came up with 44 votes on the roll call vote. 44 electorate votes for Bernie Sanders. As I understand it, they're still counting the absentee ballots for the primary. I, myself, collected at least 44 signatures one Saturday in Madison Square Park for Bernie on the electoral petition. Maybe Congresswoman Meng can tell us a little more about that.

Brian: Just to be clear on the terminology. The electoral votes per state or in the general election, what the roll call at the convention is, is how many delegates to the convention and those are allocated like electoral votes based on the population of the state may be in a more democratic-- Without getting into the problems with the electoral college, maybe in a more democratic way at the convention, a more fair way but basically on the population of the state that's how many delegates each state gets to the convention. What was it? Was it 44 for Bernie Sanders and a couple of hundred-something for Joe Biden? Is that the way it was Congresswoman?

Grace: I don't have the exact breakdown in front of me, but as to her question. First, I want to say thanks. I wanted to thank her for getting involved in the electoral process from collecting petition signatures, getting out on the streets, talking to folks. I'm glad that New Yorkers had a choice in the primary. I think that was a very important statement, a Democratic priority. Yes, ballots are still being counted. I do not believe and I'll have to double-check that there would be significant or different impact on the cumulative results of the delegate numbers.

Brian: There were questions raised by the Sanders camp after the 2016 campaign and convention because of ways in which the number of delegates was not really democratic. There were many super-delegates in the system, the old way. Controlled more by the party leadership. They weren't elected in the primaries and there were fewer super-delegates this year as a reform in response to that. Do you think that-- Though it was clear Biden won. He ran away with it in terms of national primary results. There's no question about the outcome. Do you think it was a more representative, more democratic process this year?

Grace: Definitely. I want to thank Senator Sanders because he was such a class act at the convention and in the past few weeks. He is doing as he said everything he can to make sure that we return the White House back to the American people. Our process as you know, Brian is different than the Republicans. It is more democratic. We use this proportional allocation of delegates and I'm glad New Yorkers were able to have a choice and to speak up in the primary.

Brian: Gloria in Brooklyn. You're on WNYC. Hi, Gloria. Gloria are you there?

Victoria: Oh, hi. Hi. Sorry. It's Victoria. That's what [crosstalk]

Brian: Oh, I apologize. Sorry. We got that wrong. I'm sorry.

Victoria: No worries. I'm a huge fan so you're totally forgiven. [chuckles] I guess on your show 11 years ago and it's still the highlight of my career. Obviously, as a speechwriter, I've looked at the last four nights and had many opinions. I don't know where to even focus, but just talking about Kamala and Biden's speeches, I was really nervous about both of them. I think what Biden's achieved was that he was able to outline choices and make the stakes really clear. The sentences were short, the language was quite simple. It allowed him to emote, which I think helps him actually annunciate and deliver really clearly. I think that's a strength of his, is that when he's emotionally behind the words, it's easier for him. I thought what was really interesting is that he set out the stakes by picking concepts that cover every aspect of our lives. Light and dark, which is quite biblical. Democrat and American, which speaks to the political. Generous and selfish, which talks about our moral compass. He talks about workers and the privileged, which covers the social. I think the way he unified everyone was really just saying that we've got a choice to make between these two things. I personally, I listen to the speeches with a particular ear . There were a couple of points I would have loved a little bit more of like the inflection point that he talked about and that's such an important theme. I would have loved him to create a metaphor around a personal experience he'd had. Something that sprung to mind and it might be irrelevant, but I know he was a lifeguard and I was thinking about the diving board and what happens when it bends down before it flips off and is there something there. Those moments, I think, are just really important to emphasize. Those anecdotal framing device has really helped, especially with four more years of Trump. What's he done in four years? Before he was in politics if that's what you can call it what he does. Four more years, what did he do in four years when he was a businessman? Let's see, I bet you could really chart a course where he drove a casino into the ground. [crosstalk] Using that anecdotal material to back up the points. I think he could've done that bit more, but I really was pleasantly surprised. [chuckles]

Brian: Victoria, thank you very, very much. Very interesting critique from somebody who's done speech writing. I guess to her point Congresswoman, what he did emphasize a lot this week and what the convention emphasized a lot this week was that Joe knows grief. That part of his personal story was quite centered so that listeners to this show who might be in a New York political Democratic bubble, being that we're in the Bleu Northeast here, I watched reactions on Fox this week in the 11:00 PM hour every night. I've been bringing some of those on to the show just so people could anticipate what it's going to be like next week and until Election Day. Central to their rebuttals was the idea that "Yes, Joe's a nice guy." Yet, look at all the things he did not talk about. Mostly the rise in violent crime, they mentioned over and over again this week and the economic and other threats from China. Are you worried at all about what might have been errors of omission that give the Republican's openings for next week to say, as they've been saying all week on Fox News, "There are big issues facing this country that the Democrats don't even care about and are so bad at that, they won't even let the name of the issue come out of their mouth."

Grace: No, I don't believe that there were errors of omission and of course, we could have always gone more had we had more time. Joe has talked a lot in his campaign and his surrogates, whether in person, virtually or on news outlets about his substantive plans. That's on the website. Let's be clear, this week's convention was not the end or the culmination of the campaign. It's really just the middle. We have so much further to go. Empathy is important regardless if you're Republican, Independent, or Democrat, regardless of who you supported in the primary. When you watched Joe Biden's speech last night, when's the last time that this president made you feel like he cared about you? Imagine having someone in the White House who wakes up every day thinking of ways to improve our lives and a president who doesn't embarrass our country. This is a president. Empathy is not just about making people feel understood, it's about taking that pain and turning it into purpose, into policy changes. He takes his own suffering. He doesn't just wallow in suffering. He uses that to empower people like we saw with the young man Brayden. People across the country were inspired by how he takes that empathy and uses it to help us heal this nation, which is so desperately needed right now. Yes, of course, there's always time to talk more about policies and we have been and we will continue to do so.

Brian: Sam in Scotch Plains. You're on WNYC with Congresswoman Grace Meng, who's also a vice-chair of the Democratic Party. Hi, Sam. Thanks so much for calling in.

Sam: Hey. Thanks, Brian. I just wanted to talk about how the DNC felt cutesy to me. It didn't really seem to speak to some of the hard-hitting issues that seemed to be hitting a majority of the country today. I'm a recent college grad and I know that my generation tended to lean towards more progressive candidates like Warren and Bernie. It just felt like very much like he was playing to this symbolic message of like, "We're going to make a better America. Things will be better under Biden and Kamala." It didn't really seem to acknowledge enough for my taste, at least, how such a large portion of the country is facing evictions and unemployment and how a previous caller alluded to. Not everyone can get out to vote be it because of economic factors or because of voter suppression in some cases. Also, I think on a related note, having Bloomberg speak was really frustrating for me because, again, so much of the country right now is struggling. Having this very wealthy white man speak when they could have offered that slot to many other people, it very much felt like the message was, "We're here to help," but there didn't really seem to be much substance to it.

Brian: Congresswoman.

Grace: Thank you. I appreciate that question Sam and look, our goal whether it's for this convention or in winning back the White House is unity. We have one goal at this point in time and that's to win back the White House. I've heard lots of feedback from people about how they wanted certain people to speak, how they didn't want certain people to speak, and again with the time limitations of a mere two hours per night, our focus wasn't necessarily just political people but to showcase the heartfelt stories which leads into substance and stems from our systemic inequities. Of course, there is so much more we could talk about but as to talk about how Joe Biden will help heal our economy, bring us out of this moment, increase the number of jobs, prioritize climate change. We talked about real impact on everyday people like how there are still children being separated at the border, how people need health care. At this point in time and this leads into people unable to pay their rent and mortgage which is how this president has mishandled the coronavirus pandemic. As someone who represents Queens, I've witnessed firsthand how this president abandoned my constituents and refused to help save lives when he could have. Of course, that leads into many issues whether it's unemployment, whether it's people who are unable to pay their rent and mortgage and a whole host of issues. We're right. There are a lot of problems that have been exacerbated because of the pandemic. That's why we need an executive who is responsible and who will put our country back on track.

Brian: Sam can I ask you with the ways that you were disappointed in the presentation, will you vote for Biden in November or are you unenthused so much that you won't even do that?

Sam: I'm going to vote for Biden. I definitely don't want Trump and I know that things will be better if Biden is president post-November, but I guess my fear and it seems like the fears of many others is that we're picking the lesser of two evils here. Things were definitely better, say four years ago, when Obama was in office but there were still a lot of groups of people suffering. I think just the promise that-- It seems like we've been settling for a really long time. What was promising about Bernie and Warren was that it felt like the groups who have just been struggling for so long that now-- Again, just with Biden it seems like maybe they'd struggle less but ideally, this is quixotic of me, but ideally no one would be struggling with the elected president.

Brian: Sam, thank you so much. Please call us again. We've got a couple of minutes left. Do you want to give her one more response? Go ahead.

Grace: Yes, if I could just add a little bit until you need to cut me off. Sam is absolutely right. We need to do everything we can to make sure that-- Ideally, that's what all of us want. That no one would be suffering. I'm thankful to the young people, to the folks who supported Bernie Sanders or to Elizabeth Warren and everyone in between. We really learned how to become better listeners and more effective Democrats through this primary process. Now, our number one goal is to win back the White House. Then it is even better and more effective if we can be at the table. These policies that Sam is talking about, the changes that we need, that doesn't end on Election Day. We will continue to push. We will continue to voice our concerns and work with Biden-Kamala administration. There's no better place to be than at the table. We've seen Joe Biden being willing to work with Bernie Sanders starting from the Unity Task Force, working on policy positions together which is really just a roadmap as to how they'll continue to go forward and help solve these problems. Sam, I appreciate your feedback a lot.

Brian: In our last minute or so, and listeners we have our weekly Ask The Mayor segment with Mayor Bill de Blasio, coming up next after the eleven o'clock news. Today and Monday as you know, Louis DeJoy, Trump's Postmaster General is sitting for congressional hearings. I know you're talking a lot about this issue. What do you see happening in your district? What do you hope will come out of this hearing now that he's already promised not to take any more sorting machines out of post offices or mailboxes off the street until after Election Day? We have literally like 30 seconds.

Grace: I called for the guy to be removed days ago. That's nice that he finally agreed to do his job, but we want our mail sorters put back. We want our mailboxes put back. How do you in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic make it harder for people to mail their ballots? Make it harder for veterans. Most of their medication comes through the US Postal Service, and for senior citizens to receive their checks and people to receive their payments. That's unacceptable. It's unAmerican. It's our constitutional right to be able to depend on the Postal Service.

Brian: Queens Congresswoman and vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, Grace Meng. Always a pleasure. Thank you so much, Congresswoman.

Grace: Thank you, Brian, for what you do.

 

Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.