Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The Politics Chicks is a progressive politics podcast and politics news show hosted by Christy Branham and Monica Healy.
Every week, we sit down with candidates, elected officials, journalists, historians, policy experts, advocates, and everyday Americans shaping the future of our democracy. We go beyond the headlines with thoughtful interviews, fact-based analysis, and candid conversations about the issues that affect our lives—from elections and public policy to healthcare, education, civil rights, and the economy.
Whether we’re interviewing members of Congress, first-time candidates, medical experts, or community leaders, our mission is the same: to inform, challenge, and inspire.
If you’re looking for a politics podcast that values evidence over outrage, curiosity over division, and hope over cynicism, welcome home.
New episodes every week.
Follow us:
Substack • Threads • Bluesky • Instagram • TikTok • Facebook
@ThePoliticsChicks
Doug Chapin: And if you don't show up, I think that says what you think about your voters. I think Tom Emmer has gotten to the point where he treats the voters of the 6th District like it's their job to send him back to Washington rather than it's his job to represent them in Washington. And that's what we're trying to change.
Monica Healy: Hello. Welcome to the Politics Chicks podcast. I'm Monica Healy.
Christy Branham: And I'm Christy Branham.
Monica Healy: When a congressional race gets called a long shot, what happens to the voters who still have a decision to make? Who tells them what their choices would actually mean for their lives?
Christy Branham: We're welcoming back Doug Chapin today after months on the campaign trail. He's the DFL nominee challenging Tom Emmer in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, and he wants this race covered on the issues. Today, we're going to give him that chance to make the case.
Monica Healy: Doug spent years working on how elections function, including leading elections work at Pew and founding an election administration program at the University of Minnesota. Doug, welcome back to The Politics Chicks. We're so glad to have you.
Doug Chapin: It's great to be here.
Monica Healy: And it has been a while. And you have talked about how a lot has changed in the campaign. And you were running the campaign long before we talked to you last February. So tell us a little bit about how things have changed.
Doug Chapin: Wow. Has it really been February? Time flies when you're running for office, huh? Yeah. Yeah. So I've been at this for more than 19 months. But yeah, a lot has happened since February. Formally got the endorsement from the 6th District DFL. Went to the state convention. Turned out I was the only Democrat to file for the primary in CD6. And so I was unopposed on primary night. Got 48,395 votes, only one of which was mine. We've picked up some big endorsements from AFL-CIO, the teachers, the electricians and others. Indivisible. The momentum is growing across the district. But we definitely feel the difference in running for endorsement and running for office.
Monica Healy: Yeah. Those are some pretty big endorsements that are impressive. And for our listeners who might not be familiar with this congressional district, it's the district that wraps around the West Metro of the Minneapolis area. And it is currently held by Tom Emmer, who is the majority whip, who has a lot of power in Congress. So this is a big seat to flip.
Christy Branham: And we're going to try to behave when we talk about him today and be as professional as possible. Yeah, no promises. So, Doug, before we even start talking about the nitty gritty that we have planned for this episode, I'd kind of like for you, because you are an elections expert, I would love for you to weigh in on what the SCOTUS ruling that came in semi-late last night regarding the executive order and the United States Postal Service means for American voters.
Doug Chapin: Yeah. I mean, first of all, it's remarkable and not in a good way that we were all waiting with bated breath to see what the Supreme Court would do, both as an attorney and as somebody who understands elections. This should have been a slam dunk. What the federal government is proposing to do is simply outside the scope of what the federal government is allowed to do when it comes to elections. Those things belong to the state. And whatever the federal government is trying to do is basically overriding the state power over elections. And even if that power were somehow legitimate, the fact that they are trying to do it with seven weeks until election day, 49 days until election day, should not be allowed to fly. And so the fact that we had two justices, yeah, the fact that we had two justices willing to let it happen, and one, Kavanaugh saying, well, maybe it could happen, but it's too soon before election day, is something I never, ever would have expected in this country.
Monica Healy: Wow. I think that's something that all of us in our generation, we grew up thinking that the Supreme Court was, you know, they were the be-all, end-all, and they weren't going to overturn prior decisions, and they weren't going to go against something that the Constitution said. And I feel like we can't trust that anymore. And so I think we all were waiting with bated breath to see what that decision was going to be.
Doug Chapin: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I think the problem with the current court is no longer how are they going to apply the Constitution, but if they're going to apply the Constitution, and that's not what the court should be doing.
Christy Branham: Exactly.
Monica Healy: Since you brought up, since we brought up the issue of the mail-in ballots, we were talking before we started recording about some issues with mail-in ballots, and I mailed in my ballot because I'm in California temporarily, but I still have Minnesota residency, and I still vote in Minnesota, and I mailed my ballot for the primary. I am going to make sure to be in person in Minnesota, and you brought up a story that maybe you'd like to share with us.
Doug Chapin: Yeah, absolutely. So I was marching at a parade in Carver County, which is in the southwest metro, and met a mom whose daughter has actually volunteered with us, who is a student up north. And she had gotten her mail ballot for the primary, filled it out and sent it back weeks before Election Day, and then tracked it, as you're allowed to do now. It didn't get back to her home county until a week after the election. Now, look, lots of people are saying that the post office is slow-rolling ballots. I don't think that's the case. I think the post office is just underfunded and overwhelmed, like many other federal agencies in this country. Right. But this notion that somehow that's the same agency that's going to suddenly be the gate keeper for mail ballots across the country boggles the mind and defies explanation.
Christy Branham: Like I said, the chaos is the point here, and I think that they're just trying to sow as much chaos as possible so that they have the ability to just throw everything into question, because clearly they are afraid of what's going to happen in November. We can already see by the numbers in the polling, and I understand polling is a snapshot in time, but they can see the writing on the wall. When we have Republicans and independents saying who voted for Trump three times, saying they're not willing to vote for the Republican in this upcoming midterm, that is a problem for the Republican Party.
Doug Chapin: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and I say this all the time. I may have said it here. My grandmother had a great saying that it's more important to admit you walk through the wrong door than spend the rest of your life in the wrong room. And we have lots of neighbors, independents and Republicans, who voted for the current administration, who are clearly experiencing voters' remorse and ready to walk through a different door in 2026.
Monica Healy: Well, we're hoping they walk through that door for you. And the endorsements that you have received really speak volumes. Yes. You got the DFL endorsement nomination in August. Beyond those milestones, what have you built on the ground with volunteers, voter conversations, local organizing that wasn't there when we last talked?
Doug Chapin: Yeah. So we've actually gone from an idea to an entity. I'm actually coming to you from an office that we have set up in Monticello. It's an old warehouse office with lots of space, not just for our campaign, but for all the DFL campaigns in the area. We have a staff of about a dozen people, field organizers and the like, who are helping us coordinate door knocks. We're working with the DFL on the so-called coordinated campaign that shares efforts, knocking doors, making phone calls. Just mail 10,000 postcards were about ready to mail another 10, 000 this week. Got about 1,500 signs going out into the district. We are now, as I used to say when I worked on the other side of elections, we're shooting with real ballots now. And we're having conversations not about whether or not I'll be the candidate, but whether or not I'll be the member of Congress come November 3rd.
Christy Branham: And at the state fair, you described meeting voters as kind of a reverse doorknock. We had the opportunity to see you briefly at the state fair, and you were just the whole, every time we passed by the booth, you were talking to someone. So tell us one conversation that changed how you talk about an issue, and what did you hear that the DFL really needs to start taking more seriously?
Doug Chapin: Yeah, I think that the one thing that I'd heard, I knew child care was important to people. I met a couple from Blaine who told me that their monthly child care bill is twice their mortgage. Twice their mortgage.
Christy Branham: Oh, my gosh.
Doug Chapin: And so the notion that that's what it takes to be a working parent in the current environment is absolutely staggering. We talk about the need for reliable and affordable child care, but that put a number on it that was absolutely unforgettable. I think the thing that we heard time and again from voters, and I don't know that it's something the DFL needs to change, but it needs to emphasize. People are looking for Democrats to stand up and fight against what's going on in the administration. It's not enough to talk about affordability. It's not enough to talk about reforming health care. It's to basically stand and say, no more. This has to stop. No more strongly worded letters. The confusion. Yeah. I mean, we need I think that that we don't need violence, but I think we need to be more muscular in the way in which we respond to what's going on in Washington and state capitals across the country. And I think. Almost independent of the political positions on the issues that we take, they want people who are willing to call it like it is and stand up and fight when something is wrong.
Christy Branham: I would agree. I would agree. I would agree. They need to get off their back foot and start even this morning. I was watching the first part of Kash Patel's hearings in front of the Judiciary Committee, and I wanted to strangle Amy Klobuchar. Seriously, I was frustrated with her and her. I don't know if she was just trying to maintain civility, but there were so many opportunities for her to go for the jugular in that in what she was talking about, because a lot of it was related to the violence that happened here in Minnesota. And she was so Minnesota nice. It was just I found that extremely disturbing watching.
Doug Chapin: Well, do remember, you know, she's running for governor. And so she's probably focused on not just the folks in that room, but folks across Minnesota. But I think you're right. I think that when the new Democratic majorities in both chambers, which we're going to have arrive in Washington next January, that we need to embrace a much more muscular approach to governing than we have seen from Democrats in the minority. Once we get that majority, we have to use it like we mean it and as quickly as possible.
Monica Healy: We've talked to many, many candidates over the last few weeks and months, and when we ask them what they are hearing from potential voters, many of them talk about how Congress is broken. Like they have abdicated their power. They aren't doing anything. Congress doesn't function the way it's supposed to. And, you know, I long for the days when I could just not even think about the government because the government just worked. The government is not working for us. And your opponent is a big piece of that. And so let's talk about Tom. And you were at Farmfest. And for our audience who doesn't know, DFL is the Democrat label in Minnesota. And the F stands for farmers. And you were at Farmfest. And you kind of had a moment in the sun there. Tell us about that.
Doug Chapin: Yeah. So I was I was I was at Farmfest. They do a regular candidate forum. And I was on stage with candidates from both the sixth, seventh and eighth districts. Both of my Democratic colleagues were there with their Republican incumbents. Tom Emmer was not there, just like he hasn't been there anywhere this summer. And I called that out. And the funny thing is, is that a Democrat calling a Republican out for not showing up is kind of ho-hum these days because Republicans seem to be playing rope-a-dope when it comes to engaging with their constituents. But then Tom's colleague, Pete Stauber, who is the incumbent in the 8th district, made a big deal about how if I knew what Emmer was going through, he was having health issues, he was fighting for his damn life. And and he came up to me afterwards and basically tried to shame me. And I said, Pete, he's never around. He never shows up and he doesn't tell us why. And if there's something going on that we need to know about, then tell us. But otherwise, if Emmer is not in the community like he hasn't been for not only the last two years, but like the last four terms, then I'm going to make that an issue because people deserve a member of Congress who shows up not just on the floor in Washington, not just in committee rooms in the Capitol, but literally in our streets, in our communities, in our restaurants. And if you don't show up, I think that says what you think about your voters. I think Tom Emmer has gotten to the point where he treats the voters of the 6th district like it's their job to send him back to Washington rather than it's his job to represent them in Washington. And that's what we're trying to change in this campaign.
Christy Branham: And just to be clear, fighting for his life in Pete Stauber's eyes was Tom Emmer had foot surgery.
Monica Healy: And he had been on Fox News that morning.
Doug Chapin: Yes. I think that, again, I mean, I don't know Mr. Emmer's health situation. I don't know if Mr. Stauber knew something he wasn't supposed to say and they had to walk it back. But as of now, today, September 15 th, Emmer is on his feet in the Capitol doing all the things that Tom Emmer usually does. So if he's fighting for his life, he's looking pretty good doing it.
Christy Branham: Standing behind the president, falling asleep, nodding his head.
Monica Healy: Well, and he's not just at the Capitol. He was in Dallas this last week for their midterm convention, which is a totally new thing. And he had some pretty inflammatory things to say there, which he is a repetition of things that he has said about people in the community that he represents. Do you want to address that?
Doug Chapin: Oh, absolutely. I mean, so I think one of the most amazing things about this new version of Tom Emmer is the absolute heel turn he has taken on immigrants generally and our Somali American neighbors in particular.
Christy Branham: Did he partner with Ilhan Omar in the beginning about something? Keith Ellison.
Doug Chapin: Keith Ellison. He and Keith Ellison co-founded the Congressional Somali Caucus in 2015 in a town hall, you know, when he still had them. He actually said that Somali Americans were some of the most, the fastest assimilating immigrants in Minnesota and that criticism was invalid. And all of a sudden now they're not assimilating. And he's using language like get the hell out or deportation. He has pretty much wrapped his arms around this hateful language that the president and the administration, I think with the encouragement of Stephen Miller. And it's not just immigrants, though. I mean, he has accused the people rallying on streets, either resisting ICE or just expressing their First Amendment rights as anti- American. He has now decided. And domestic terrorists. Yeah. He's now decided that those of us who actually want affordable prices or a better health care system or higher taxes for people who can afford it are somehow communist and dangerous to this country. That's the kind of language that I studied as a Russian studies major about Stalin in the immediate post-war era. The kind of language we're seeing out of Washington and especially out of mouthpieces like Tom Emmer is really, really disturbing. And we need a change.
Christy Branham: It's pretty clear that the Republican platform is built on fear and fear mongering because they don't have any legitimate policy to stand upon, nor do they have any legislation other than the Big Beautiful Bill and the Housing Stabilization Bill that's come out of this Congress. So they've got nothing. And it's clear that fear has worked with the MAGA base in the past. And I think they're banking on that. But I think a lot of people, that facade is starting to crack and people are seeing through that. Would you agree after being on the ground? Oh, absolutely. Door knocking?
Doug Chapin: Oh, absolutely. I think that what's really interesting to me, I feel like Emmer and the Republicans are like a band that just wants to keep playing the hits. I feel like Emmer thinks that the same message is going to work the same way it did in 2024. And that's just not true. Yes, there are people out there who are still eating up that red meat. But way too many people are seeing gas climb to, you know, 425, 430, 435. Diesel is over $6 a gallon here in Minnesota. Prices are through the roof. Farmers are dealing with a drought year, sky-high diesel prices, challenges in their markets because of these nonsensical tariffs. And so, you know, people are hurting, and rather than address that, rather than acknowledge what's happening in the community, Emmer is continuing to parrot anti-immig rant, anti-communist, red meat cultural issues that might make some people mad, but make most people roll their eyes and think about a different choice in November.
Christy Branham: You know, my husband works in the transportation industry. He works in logistics, and he is a truck broker. So he works for companies that don't have their own internal transportation departments. He finds, he moves their freight for them and obviously makes profit off the margin. And when I asked him about this the other day, he said the worst thing that has happened is the unpredictability because it used to be that they would have a rate chart that they could kind of go off of based on mileage with the rate of, with the cost of diesel. That's not possible anymore. Right. Because every day it's, there's no consistency. Um, and rates for freight have effectively doubled over the past month. And what that's going to translate to is a higher cost for everything for Americans and the stores, because everything that you buy in a store travels in a, um, long haul truck across the country powered by diesel fuel.
Doug Chapin: Yeah, I mean, and people talk about the cost of farmers. There was a report from, um, Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee this week that talked about how farmers in Minnesota, I think, paid something like a hundred million dollars more in diesel costs just to plant their crops. Um, I mean, they're probably paying more than that to harvest their crops. And then pretty much that entire, that food's entire journey, you know, from the field to a processor, to a grocery store, to a kitchen table is powered in large part through diesel, whether it's trucks or trains or what have you. Um, and so not only is the cost of the food itself going up, but the cost to transport it is also going up. And for whatever reason, this administration and folks like Emmer are treating it like it's a blip. I believe he said it was a short duration event a couple of months ago. Um, I don't know what short duration means to him. Um, but we're on like six months and counting. Um, and diesel's only going up.
Christy Branham: The entire planting season for the farmers and at the end of this planting season, the market has been closed because of the tariffs and these soybean farmers no longer can sell to China because China's buying their soybeans from Brazil and Argentina now.
Doug Chapin: Yeah. I mean, so it's, um, it, it's hard to grow. Um, it costs a lot. Um, and once they get it out of the ground, um, the market isn't there anymore. And some of our most reliable customers, um, are folks to the north and those markets, um, if not closed have been, um, really hampered, um, by this administration's, um, I call them tantrum tariffs, um, against Canada. Um, I think that, um, that, that, that somehow the fact that they won't willingly accept becoming a 51st state suddenly makes them, um, an enemy. Um, Minnesotans are hurting because of what Congress is doing and what the president is doing. And our member of Congress, um, um, seems to be on the side of the people doing the hurting, not the people being hurt.
Monica Healy: So much of the, the uncertainty and the, the rise in costs is due to the tariffs and due to the war. And this is another example of, of the president exerting power that he doesn't really have that should be checked by Congress. And one of the things I like about you is that you have called that out on social media. When there has been a vote or a lack of a vote, as the case may be, you will say directly, this is how I would have responded. So let's talk about some of your proposals. Um, you have ad, advocated for, advocated for Medicare for all as a public option or a public option. There, those are different approaches.
Doug Chapin: approaches yeah i mean you pursue first i i i to be honest i mean at this point what i'm most about is breaking the grip of for- profit health insurance um far too many people are paying way too much for health insurance are getting way too little um you know there's a new thing i'm seeing um in talking to people where people go to the doctor for a wellness check um and the doctor says do you have anything you're concerned about and you're like well i'm concerned about this mole or something like that well all of a sudden you're not just getting charged for the wellness visit you're getting charged for a whole not her visit and people are like well wait so the wellness check is i'm paying 200 so somebody can you know weigh me take my blood pressure and send me on my way um people are paying too much and getting too little and so i'm for whatever it takes to break that um you know universal health care medicare for all um anything is better than what we're doing right now um i would like to see us go to some sort of um medicare for all like option i think senator kim in new jersey has a really really interesting proposal to put all kids 26 and younger into medicare he calls it medic kids i think and and look and and you know that's not just good for the kids i mean you know those of us who've had adult children who stayed on our health insurance until they turned 27 you know those of us who've had kids you know you're here when you're single your rates are here when you're um married and then when you have kids it's you know somewhere up here you know bringing that back down and taking that load off of families would be huge but eventually i think we have to get to a place where receiving care and making sure that care is paid for aren't solely the province of a private insurer who is more focused on their bottom line than they are on people's health
Christy Branham: agreed and when we look at health care the people who consume the most health care are children and the elderly usually if you're a healthy adult you go for your annual physical you maybe you get the flu or you've got you know you get a ear infection or strep throat and you've got to go into urgent care so you know the two groups that would need it the most the elderly who get medicare currently and children would be covered and that would take so much stress off of american families not to have to worry about their children's health care
Doug Chapin: right and and not to mention all of those employers i mean you know i've had the really good fortune in my career to work for employers who take the idea of benefits for their employees really seriously but that's expensive that's money off the top um that that that um and and it costs more to be more generous um getting that economic monkey off the back of small business big business all business in this country i think is a huge first step we have to put patients and their providers first and break the grip of for-profit health insurance companies who really get you coming and going and everywhere in
Christy Branham: between absolutely let's shift
Monica Healy: gears a little bit because we can't talk to a candidate for congress in Minnesota without talking about ice because what we saw in operation metro surge was devastating and will have long-lasting impacts and and people around the country who think it's over it's not really over there are still deportations happening there are still arrests happening every day it's just quieter so one of the things that that you call for is dismantling ice as opposed to your opponent who you often refer to tom go get him ice uh emmer but you also support clear immigration rules and a path to citizenship so what would replace isis functions and who would enforce the law and how would you protect due like these are these are big questions yeah i think i i
Doug Chapin: think that you know the thing is that that ice was created as part of the new department of homeland security and and ice in its original conception um had a very narrow purpose you know if there were a a criminal undocumented immigrant who had a judicial removal order um so somebody did something truly heinous criminal um ice was responsible for um finding them um and removing them from the country that always had a warrant that always had judicial process attached um what this administration has done with ice is turn it essentially into um little more than a secret police um terrorizing people grabbing people who are um already citizens who have the paperwork they need who have followed the rules simply on suspicious of suspicions of um candidly being brown um and what's been done to those yeah what's what's been done to those folks in terms of um deportations or um detention um that the appalling lack of um human rights um for people who are sick people who are hungry women who are either pregnant or have small children um is abominable we would consider those human rights violations if another country did them and so what what i think we need to do is i think we need to rip ice and candidly all of the department of homeland security down to the studs and start again we have to make it clear that there is a place for immigration enforcement in this country um but it doesn't include harassing people who have followed the rules over the years there are dozens of different ways to be a quote unquote undocumented immigrant in in this country um most of which are completely legal it's not like you somehow crossed a river or snuck into the country you're waiting for your citizenship um you are applying for a specific kind of visa um immigration is way too complicated it's way too expensive it's way too time consuming in this country and what we have to do sooner than later um as my dad used to say immediately if not sooner um is create comprehensive straightforward immigration reform so that people who come to this country and the people who hire them know what the process is what their responsibilities are and what the path to citizenship looks like um far too often we pay for ambulances in the valley when we should be building fences around the cliff and comprehensive immigration reform in this country is the ultimate fence around the cliff and i'll do anything i can to make that happen as soon as i can when i get to congress
Christy Branham: well let's talk about some accountability then because we've interviewed cedric frazier who's running for hennepin county attorney a couple times and we've talked about ice accountability both times what the government has effectively done is establish concentration camps in the united states and the the private prisons like core civic that are running them the conditions are depl orable they obviously they get paid to house these prisoners and so it's cost it is making them money every single day these prisoners reside within the walls of these concentration camps and things horrific things are happening there their food quality there's there's rotten food the drinker the water's not drinkable um we've heard recently of some very disturbing cases of hunger stri kers having gastric feeding tubes forcibly um forcibly inserted into their noses and also i i saw one where they did an abdominal procedure a surgical procedure that that as far as international law is considered is considered torture so we and children they're they're incarcerating children what does accountability look like once this is over because i looking at this as a person who has compassion and empathy i am utterly disgusted and mortified at what my country is doing in the name of american national security yeah i think i think
Doug Chapin: you attack it in several different ways i think number one um there needs to be actual accountability in the form of compensation. We've all seen that sign, if you break it, you buy it. The federal government has broken Minnesota and other states. Not our spirit, not our will, but they've broken our windows, our doors. They've shuttered our businesses. They've crippled our schools. People are literally sick because of either the conditions they've endured or the stress of what ICE is doing in their community. And so one of the things I want to do as soon as I can when I get to Washington is force the federal government to pay up for economic damages, for other damages that Minnesota and other states have suffered as part of Metro Surge and other ICE enforcement across the country. Second, I think that we need to have really aggressive oversight. Incarceration has always been big business in this country. One of my favorite trivia things is that when Minnesota became a state, the three biggest cities were Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Stillwater. You know, Minneapolis got the university, St. Paul got the state capital, and Stillwater got the prison. And Stillwater thought they were the winner out of the three. It was big business. It was lots of jobs. It was an opportunity to build. That has continued until today. And companies like CoreC ivic are like the worst mixture of private equity and for- profit incarceration that exists. They get big bucks to house people, and then they do whatever they can to cut their costs, no matter what that means, both for the people working there or for the people housed there. We have to have aggressive oversight into what's happening in those prisons and the people making the decisions to spend the money to build those prisons. And then finally, we need accountability. We need something like truth and reconciliation in this country. I often talk about the idea of Whipple trials, and I think that makes a lot of sense. I think that people need to be held to account for what they did. I mean, it's good to see some initial efforts to hold ICE agents accountable for what they did. You know, Agent Castro, the shooting and lying about it. I'm still waiting for the killers of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy to be brought to justice, but you can better damn believe that when Democrats are in the majority, we're going to find a way to make that happen. But I think if nothing else, we have to bring the people responsible here to explain why they did what they did and make them face the consequences of their actions, whether those are legal consequences, whether those are economic consequences, whether or not that's just good old- fashioned shame. But we have to, have to, have to bring the people responsible to account for what happened here in Minnesota during Metro Surge and what's still happening in Minnesota and around the country.
Christy Branham: And find a way to compel governors like Abbott to not let the clock run out like he did on Castro for the extradition. We talked to Cedric Frazier about that as well. And one of the biggest fears is that Castro is going to flee to like Mexico and then he's beyond reach. And then we're working with an international government to try to get a fugitive back. So hopefully you guys are going to jump on that as soon as possible. The
Doug Chapin: level of game playing going on right now, a long time ago, when I was a young attorney, I had a partner who was also a friend who used to say, Douglas, the two things was that law and politics abhor a lack of subtlety. And the lack of subtl ety we're seeing in many legal arguments these days is ridiculous. This notion that it took beyond the deadline to determine whether or not Castro was indeed a fugitive, so much so that he was then allowed to leave custody. And go free. St aggers the imagination and defies credul ity. So I think that we have to find a way to bring the rule of law back to law enforcement in this
Monica Healy: country. I'm so glad to hear you say all of that about the accountability. And I think Minnesota especially is waiting for that accountability, but really the country is too. And looking at Minnesota, but also in other areas of the country that it has happened. And I saw something. I'm sorry,
Doug Chapin: go ahead. No, go ahead. I saw something on social media the other day that said, I don't think people understand how blindingly, face meltingly angry people in Minnesota still are about what happened with ICE and Metro Surge. There is, you know, sometimes it manifests itself in whimsical things like crop art. But the undercurrent of anger and determination in this community to make that right is something that politicians of any party ignore at their peril.
Christy Branham: Well, there's trauma there. It was traumatic for us to see people like Monica who witnessed it firsthand. And even people like me who witnessed it via videos online, there's a certain amount of PTSD that's attached to that. And that's not something that you get over. You know, that you, you have to be able to have some sort of reconciliation internally to be able to heal that trauma. And until there is justice, I don't think Minnesotans are going to be able to get past that.
Doug Chapin: Yeah, there's a concept, I think it's called moral trauma. When you see something happening to somebody else that you know is wrong, even though it didn't happen directly to you, you are still traumatized from having witnessed it and knowing that it's wrong. And it sounds sort of vague, but I think lots of people here are deeply traumatized by what happened, even if they weren't the ones who were beaten or pepper sprayed or detained or whatever. I think we're, we're all, we're all in the blast zone right now. And I think a lot of the energy that we're seeing out in the district across the state right now is a function of having been in that blast zone.
Monica Healy: I think the, the trauma that the children experienced can't be overstated either. I don't teach anymore, but I still have a lot of friends that are teaching. And I hear about students that are missing their friends that, you know, now that the new school year has started, so many friends are not back. And the worry that those children must carry is like, makes me heart sick. We shouldn
Christy Branham: 't be having our children. Yeah. Yeah. And I did see a report. Yes. It was either yesterday or the day before that ice operations may seem like they're, they've been wound down, but we are in, in the summer of 20 or what was it? August of 2026, they deported twice as many people as they did in August of 2025. So it's actually still ramping up.
Doug Chapin: Yeah. Yeah. That again, I mean, it's, it's gotta stop immediately. It's just not in
Christy Branham: your face because Kristi Noem's no longer there and she doesn't want everything to be a social media post where she looks like a glamor shot version of herself being a dressed up as cosplay.
Monica Healy: Well, Mark, Markwayne Mullin said as much when he took over is that he didn't want to be in the headlines every day, but he was going to continue the, to carry the mantle of the, the president's demands that X many people get deported every day. And they're trying to carry that out.
Doug Chapin: And, and, and he's continuing, he's continuing his campaign against fearmongers across the country.
Monica Healy: Mongolers. Mongolers. I love
Christy Branham: that. Oh, okay. Let's shift
Monica Healy: gears a little bit. And we, we talked about, um, the, the detention centers being run as prison for profits. And we're seeing so much of that where Trump and his cronies are enriching themselves. So there's this huge wealth gap and you have called for reversing tax for billion aires. So what specific changes would you prioritize? And would you, uh, answer a small business owner who worries your tax agenda will reach them too?
Doug Chapin: I, I, I, I think that, that we have to, I think the ugliest thing about the bill that I refuse to call beautiful, um, is that tax breaks for the super wealthy were made permanent and tax breaks for just about everybody else were temporary. Um, we have to reverse, um, HR one and not just the tax cuts for billionaires, but the benefit cuts for, um, for just about everybody else. I think to a small business owner, I think what I would say is that, um, what we're looking to do as much as anything else is to make, make life better for your employees. Um, give them quality healthcare, give them quality childcare, um, give them an opportunity to buy a home. Um, but then also lessen your load in terms of having to cover their healthcare and their childcare, um, allow you to, um, make the money you want to make, um, but also make even more money because you've got well-paid, um, and happy, um, employees. Um, I don't think there's anything wrong with contributing back to your community. We all drive on roads. Um, many of our kids go to schools. We all benefit, um, from law enforcement, um, and on and on and on. Um, we certainly don't want to, um, bury small businesses, but at the same time, I think that we need to make sure that, that folks are paying their fair share, um, for the benefits that they take. Um, I do think one of the things we can do is look for ways to make government work better for small businesses, whether that's streamlining, um, you know, regulatory enforcement, whether it's, I think the trick is not exempt ing them, but making regulations work better, um, so that, that employees are being cared for, but small businesses aren't, um, carrying that weight.
Christy Branham: Yes. And if states like New Mexico and cities like New York city can figure out a way to create free universal childcare for people who are within reasonable income brackets, it does not seem so far-fetched that the federal government couldn't do that. And maybe we just don't need a ballroom.
Doug Chapin: Yeah. And again, yeah. And again, and, and, and, you know, I, I, I mean, I already talked about the, the, the couple in Blaine, you know, I, I've also heard stories about people where, um, the stay-at-home home parent, usually the mother, um, did the analysis and determined that, um, the net from working and then paying for childcare was something like $21 a day. And so you've got women who are not in the workforce who want to be in the workforce, um, because quality childcare isn't available. Um, I got the endorsement of the DFL feminist caucus, um, in part, because I talked about, um, the invisible tax on women. And I think that making childcare available to families will help us grow the economy, will help businesses do better. I think that will, it'll create a rising tide that lifts all boats. Um, but setting the economic argument aside, we just need to watch out for our kids. I mean, they are our most precious resource, um, in this nation and anything we can do to make sure that they are well cared for and ready to learn, uh, when they get to school, um, we have to do. As a
Monica Healy: teacher, I had three young kids that were all preschool age for a stretch, and it did not make sense for me to teach during those years because I would have had to pay more for childcare than I took in as a teacher. So I think that's a piece to look at too, both the affordability of childcare and what we're paying teachers. And, and you talked about getting kids ready for school and then, okay, what about when they're at school? We need to attract and retain qualified educators and the gutting of our institutions is, is pretty appalling too.
Doug Chapin: Oh, absolutely. I mean, and I think, you know, I, we, we talked earlier about, um, um, dismantling ICE. I, I, I, to be honest, if we're going to get rid of a cabinet agency, um, it needs to be Homeland Security and not the Department of Education. I mean, we can move the functions of DHS back to other agencies. It was built after 9/11. Um, we can redistribute those things outward. Um, and, and given that this administration has abandoned so much of that, but back to education, I mean, we have to invest in education in this country. I mean, even before this administration declared war on learning in this country, um, schools at the state and local level are, um, dramatically underfunded. I think even the best funded schools are something at like 40% of what they should be. Uh, and so if we're going to pour money into something in this country, um, instead of doing it with ballrooms or gilded statues or, um, other big programs, I think we should pour it into our teachers, uh, and our kids, um, because that is the way we build a strong nation. Kids, kids who can read become kids who stay out of trouble. Kids who understand the world become kids who are involved in their communities. Kids who have exposure to lots of different cultures are the kinds of people, um, who are able to get along in society. Schools, um, don't make money. You know, they are a loss leader for our communities, but they're a loss leader for a good reason. They are the foundation on which everything else in this community is built and we need to start spending money like that's the case.
Christy Branham: And schools are a lifeline for children who may be living in poverty or have, you know, abusive home situations where I've heard so many stories of, of people who've succeeded despite the adversity that they faced because a teacher believed in them. And that is, that's so important to remember is that teachers have such an impact. If you think of, think back to your childhood, the people that I remember most as having an impact on my life were my teachers. So I think we need to, to keep that in mind as well.
Doug Chapin: As my kids would say, retweet.
Monica Healy: Yeah. Yeah. We're all big fans of, of Paul Wellstone, the three of us here and his tagline about, we all do better when we all do better. I just, I keep coming back to that. If the society is fed and housed and closed and their, their health is taken care of there, they are educated as a society, we all do better. And I think that's one of the things we can look for from you. So we appreciate that. And we appreciate you taking up the mantle. Uh, and we know that it's a, it's a challenging race to run any race, but this one, especially. So thank you for what you're doing.
Doug Chapin: My pleasure. And we talk a lot about, I, I, obviously I quote that, um, all the time. Um, our tagline in this campaign is ready for better. Um, I think people are ready for better. Um, you know, they're ready for something better than tax cuts for the wealthy and benefit cuts for the rest of us. Um, better than what we've been getting. Um, the energy that we're feeling in this district feels like a coiled spring. Um, just waiting for November 3rd to happen. Because I think people are tired of the chaos, the cruelty, um, the corruption, um, they want to be proud of their country again, or at least not ashamed of it. They're ready for something better than what they're getting.
Monica Healy: I'm ready.
Christy Branham: And let's switch directions a little bit because we need to talk about Congress. And you mentioned in the beginning, the Congress has basically decapitated itself and capitulated to the litany of executive orders that the president has proceeded to put out, um, since he took office and you want Congress to reclaim authority over spending tariffs and war. What would you do if a president tried from your own party to bypass Congress and give us a specific boundary you would enforce? Because this goes both ways, right? So if we, if we were in the majority and your party's president did this, would you be reacting the same way and give us an example? I,
Doug Chapin: I would. I think that if there were, um, that, that if Congress, the biggest thing that we've seen, um, is, um, in spending, um, this administration has repeatedly, um, taken legislatively enacted, you know, fully, um, signed into law, uh, appropriations, funding streams, and essentially clawed them back and said, never mind. Um, that's what they did to USAID. That's what they've done to other things. Um, I think that, uh, even a president of my own party, um, who, um, looked at something that, um, say this administration did, um, and wanted to claw back a legislatively enacted appropriation. Um, my view would be that I might not agree with that appropriation, but we're going to undo it our own damn selves because we are the people's branch. We are the ones who are made, um, um, to, um, to make spending decisions. I also think it's really important. The war power has been a huge bone of contention for presidents of both parties over the years. Um, and that, you know, there's the, and, and the nature of war, you know, has changed. You know, it's not like we, you know, you know, we line up in long lines and march on each other anymore. You know, you do have, um, uh, you know, bombing campaigns or other things. And so there is some leeway, but if a president of the United States, no matter which party elected them to office is going to try to go to war without the approval of Congress, I, as a member of Congress, even if I am of the same party, um, I'm going to fight like hell to make sure, um, that they obey the constitution because the president leads the country regardless of party. The president is the president of the United States, not the president for their party. And so Congress needs to look out for Congress and the people and not just the, uh, the interests of their own party. So whether it's spending, whether it's issuing an executive order, which oversteps the legislative power, um, whether it's a declaration of war, I think we have to have to have to have Congress stand up to the president and on occasion, the Supreme court to make sure that the people's branch is being respected. I think that might be the most shocking thing of all of this in Trump 2.0 is the GOP members of Congress completely laying down and abdicating all of their power. And it was set up in place so that they had all those powers, the powers of the purse and the powers of, of declaring war and they just laid down and it's shocking. And I, and I will say that I, I, I knew things were bad enough, but when we got to the debate over extending the affordable care act subsidies and you had something like a dozen moderate Republicans sending a letter saying that, you know, we don't really like this. We really think they need to be extended and then all of a sudden to have them be shut down and be silent and let it happen over their objection. Um, I don't know if it's fear. I don't know if it's promises of something else. Um, but members of Congress defying their own party, um, especially if they're in swing districts is part of what the constitution is supposed to do. And the fact that it's not happening in the current Congress tells me that something is very, very badly broken.
Christy Branham: And I think Trump said the quiet part out loud in Dallas, um, during Trump, uh, loser or whatever the hell they're calling it when he had the audience take an oath of loyalty to their favorite, favorite president. I think that's one of the things that there were so many things about that that disturbed me. I did watch parts of it. I did not want to, um, waste a whole lot of my time on, on it, but that was one part that I did pay attention to. And the fact that he did that, that is, that is so illustrative of what is happening right now. Congress is loyal to the president and not to the constitution. And that is where all of this stems from.
Monica Healy: Yeah. And I, I've been to tons of naturalization ceremonies. I would always go and help register new Americans to vote. And part of the oath that you take is an, uh, is an oath to, um, obey the constitution and not any leader or, you know, or king or plenipotentiary, I believe is the word they use. But the notion that you swear allegiance to an individual rather than to the constitution, um, is something that would be criminal if you were to do it to another country. And the fact that we're doing it to our current president over and above the constitution, um, is an absolute warning sign for, um, what else might go wrong down the line. Agreed. Doug, I think we could talk to you forever and, and we're so looking forward to hearing more from you. Um, and before we let you go though, I just have to ask about the, the state fair contest that you won because you, you won an animal calling contest with a cow moo and we all need to hear it. Yeah. You need to
Doug Chapin: hear it. Yeah. I, I, I'll be honest. I did it. I, I got pulled in. The DFL was part of something called the Agrolympics. Um, and, um, and you could do any animal. Um, and so, um, I did a cow and apparently it was good enough that I got invited back. So, um, hope, hopefully, hopefully this will come through. You ready? Okay.
Christy Branham: That's quite good. Actually. Yeah. I don't know what, what time of the year is that cow? Is it during the spring when it's mating
Doug Chapin: season? Who knows? Who knows that that's your people's choice winning cow moo right there. If I didn
Monica Healy: 't see you doing it right in front of the camera, I would have thought there was cow walking through
Christy Branham: your office. Yeah. For those of you who are listening and not watching, there was a whole prep that included doing this through his hands. So clearly Doug had, has some experience with cow calling. Um, I'm not sure if that's just something from your childhood or, but that's like a talent that we did not know that you had. I mean, dad jokes, we knew about your dad jokes, not cow calling. I'll, I
Doug Chapin: 'll be honest. It's it, it, it itself is a joke. Um, growing up, um, going to one of my favorite stadiums, um, we always had to walk through a tunnel. Um, and people as a joke would always moo. Um, and I just, apparently I learned how to do it. Well, I have a Minnesota quality moo. Who knew you do. You do. Did you win like a glass of cold milk from sweet Martha's for that?
Monica Healy: I did not. I got some really sweet ribbons. Oh, cool.
Christy Branham: Awesome. Well, Doug, we're, we are less than two months out. Um, but there's still lots of work to be done. So where can listeners, um, find your campaign, uh, find out where to volunteer, learn more about
Doug Chapin: your work. Sure. Yeah. We're, we're online as we always are at chapinforcongress.com. Um, we're on all the socials. You can go to Linktree Chapin for Congress. Uh, we're on Instagram, Facebook threads, TikTok, probably two or three more that they've invented that I don't know about yet. Um, but we're out there, um, all the time, um, making the case that, um, it's time for something different here in the sixth district. We love that. Thank you so much
Christy Branham: for coming back and taking our questions. Full disclosure, Monica and I have, um, now consider you a friend. We reached out to you at the beginning of the campaign season a couple of times on Facebook. It took chiding and apparently one of your, one of your, uh, voters and volunteers for your campaign to get you to react to us, but we're so grateful for the opportunity to having gotten to know you during this campaign. And it is so refreshing to see someone running who is built for the position intellectually and education ally, because you are an elections expert, but also to have such, um, high integrity. And I think that's what Monica and I admire the most about you is your integrity and the fact that you don't see Congress as a career choice because you were planning on retiring. Um, and this brought, this changed your plans and that you're doing this because you realize this is the time that your country needs
Doug Chapin: you. Yeah. Everybody seems to pick up a retirement, uh, hobby in retirement. And I guess mine is running for Congress. That's a
Monica Healy: hell of a hobby. Thank you, Doug. To our listeners, if you are finding meaning in the stories we're sharing, if something moves you, challenges you, makes you see the world a little differently, please like, comment and share. It helps more than you know. And follow
Doug Chapin: us everywhere at The Politics Chicks on Substack threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
Monica Healy: . Thanks for being a part of our community. Keep shining your light so we can find each other in the dark
Doug Chapin: . And remember we're stronger together. Doug, we know that this is not the last conversation that we will have with you, um, prior to the election. And we're both excited, um, to root for you, um, on election night on November 3rd. And it's going to be awesome to have a congressman on speed dial once you're elected.
Monica Healy: Well, we won't abuse it though. Promise. We won't use it, but yeah. So we won't abuse it. We might use it. We won't abuse it. Yeah. Yeah.
Christy Branham: Thank you, Doug. Thank you.