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Left Out Loud is a progressive political podcast breaking down the biggest stories shaping our democracy. From up-to-the-minute political news and midterm election coverage to in-depth interviews with grassroots Democratic candidates, the show spotlights the voices and movements fighting for real change. Smart, informed, and unapologetically loud, Left Out Loud pairs sharp analysis with humor and plain-spoken commentary, cutting through the noise to focus on what actually matters. If you care about elections, organizing, and the future of the Democratic Party—and you like your politics with a little personality—this is the podcast for you.
Ally: So we have a special guest today.
Again, another congress person
or potential congressperson.
This is Tim Suski.
He's running for Congress in
Virginia's, Virginia's first district.
Um, I saw him on my TikTok, FYP,
and was immediately hooked, became
immediately obsessed, stalked his
website, looked at all of his videos.
There's something so.
Refreshing about this guy.
I don't even know if I
can put it into words.
Maybe after we're done talking with
him, I'll be able to articulate it,
but I'm super excited to talk to him.
Seth: Yeah, I'm pumped too because I
mean, he's a, uh, millennial and, uh,
we, and we love that over on this side.
Uh, you know, just a. An engaging guy.
Um, I, I watched a couple
videos of his as well and, uh,
so, so excited to talk to him.
A young, millennial,
progressive candidate.
That's what's gonna get
things to change in America.
Ally: Absolutely.
Alright, let's talk to Tim and I
will see you on the other side.
Seth, we have a really
special guest today.
I'm so excited to talk to this guy.
His name is Tim Solinski.
Tim, are you there?
Tim: I am.
Thank you so much for having
me on here, Alison, this is a,
this is a real pleasure for me.
Ally: Thanks for joining.
So, Tim, you are running for Congress
in Virginia, and when we spoke
briefly, you said there was some
stuff going on with your district.
So explain kind of what district
you're in and what district, what's
going on with your districts?
Tim: You got it.
So, um, I'm in Virginia, which is in the
middle of a redistricting battle because
it's a response to what Trump is doing
in Texas and North Carolina and Florida.
And I'm sure some states that will
try to pull some stuff off by the
2026 election because they're gonna
try to undermine the sanctity of our
democracy and the values of our voices.
That's just, we know
this is going to happen.
So Virginia's responding by trying to
take our maps from a current six Democrat.
Five Republican to 10
Democrats and one Republicans.
Uh, there's gonna be a referendum about
it and on April 21st where voters get to
decide if we want the new maps or not.
And I can tell you that, um, I'm voting
for it even though it, even though
it disadvantages candidates like me
who don't have a lot in our coffers
because we refuse corporate money.
But when you mess with our co, with our
democracy, there has to be consequences.
It doesn't matter if it's gonna make
it harder for me to win a primary.
So we'll see how that plays out.
'cause GOP is spending millions, millions
of dollars to, to try to stop it so
that the playing field can't be equal.
Because they know.
And I think everyone here knows,
you know, listening to this knows if
it's an equal playing field, we win.
We win 10 outta 10 times.
What we do with that win
is what I'm running for.
And uh, that was longer answer
to your question than you
probably were expecting, so I'll
Ally: show effect.
No, I love that.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Um, not everybody's from Virginia, so
it's nice to know what's going on with,
you know, in other parts of the country.
So tell me about who your
current congressman is and how
that's working out for you.
Tim: Oh, how long do you have?
'cause this guy's the worst.
So it, the current congressman, his
name is Rob Whitman, he actually
ran for Congress the first year
I could vote, which was in 2008.
The fir?
Yeah.
Can you imagine?
My first time I could
vote was for Barack Obama.
I was all optimistic and
hopeful in retrospect, naive
about what we could accomplish.
Uh, and this guy came in as like a
nice guy Republican who's willing to
do anything, you know, for any people.
And he has done nothing but
sell out his constituents.
Ever since he has had power, he has
done nothing but enrich himself and
kissed the ass of his party ever
since he's become a congressman.
And he gets away with it because he just,
like a lot of the Republicans just engage
in, look over here, not overhear politics.
It's, you know, look at this person
who's from a different country than you.
They're the reason that you have problems.
Look at this person who
has darker skin than you.
Look at this woman, you know,
fighting for her rights.
That's the reason that that our
problems exist, and I think it's the
lowest form of politics to blame the
people with the least amount of power
for all of the issues that we face.
Because if we do that, if we look
horizontally and not vertically,
we won't see him and realize
that he's not doing his job.
He is so bad that he voted for the
big, beautiful bill, even though.
It closes our only rural
hospital in his district.
Wow.
And it's gonna raise the healthcare prices
of tens of thousands of his constituents.
Does he does, he doesn't care.
No, because he's enriched himself
with, with insider trading.
And he has been a darling for the
Republican party with committee
assignments and lavish fundraisers.
The day the, the government shut down,
when I think about 90,000 people in
our district lost their SNAP benefits.
He went to a fundraiser
and look, I wanna say that.
This is only a problem on the right.
It's not that we have people who
aren't necessarily in tune with
the lies, uh, with the lives and
livelihoods of everyday people.
And I just decided that I was gonna
run 'cause I wanted to impact that
part of our political culture.
So it's not just him, he is the poster
child for everything that's wrong with
our politics, but it's also the political
system itself that needs to change.
Ally: Yeah.
I couldn't agree more.
Seth: One thing I would,
you know, one I one.
The first thing I wanted to ask you,
man, is, so, you know, in Virginia,
obviously we saw what happened in the
special elections just a couple of
months ago, and what I would like to know
is, did you decide to run before then?
If so, did were, did those results
really encourage you and make you
think, I've got a real shot at this,
or did, did those elections may maybe
sway you to say, I think now I can
run and make something really happen?
Uh, especially for people who are looking
for young, progressive leadership.
Tim: Yeah, thanks for bringing this up.
I actually announced my candidacy in
September or so way before those, those
elections where you saw like this big
blue wave type style election, which
was definitely a response to Donald
Trump's first year in office, which
is marked with failure and cowardice
and corruption and terrible things.
You know, again, we don't have that kind
of time right now, but um, I actually,
my background is in community organizing.
I do organizing in environmental justice,
mostly in rural America, but also in
some suburban and urban areas as well.
I work with communities regardless
of who they voted for, because.
Whether it's big tech or big
pollution, these people just deserve
to have someone who has their
back, who understands the political
system and why it's strategically
designed to disadvantage them.
And I have a lot of Ws in that area of
help stop data centers from being built
literally 50 feet away from neighborhoods.
I've helped stop landfills that would
poison an area that DC and Richmond
had forgot about, um, in southwest
Virginia where they don't even have a
fully functional waste system in place
and they all rely on well water, but.
One of my more recent things was now, and
it was a group of people in Cumberland
County that nobody's ever heard of trying
to fight a landfill from being built
literally, uh, 600 feet away from one
of the first black schools in Virginia.
And this type of landfill
is a, is a shell landfill.
So it's above ground.
So it's literally going be
casting the legacy of racism.
A shadow of the legacy of racism
will be casted on that school.
And the thing is, they did
everything they were supposed to do.
They said, if you have
opposition, go this way.
If you wanna make an argument
about the evidence, send it here.
You can show a big force of opposition.
Come to this meeting.
They did everything they were
supposed to do and it wasn't enough.
They did everything the system was
asked them to do and it wasn't enough.
And it's not because the,
they failed the process.
It's the system that failed them.
And it was that moment, literally
when I was sitting in that.
In that audience, and I gave a speech
about how they have this opportunity
to say, just because those people
have more money than you, doesn't
mean that they mean matter than you.
But when the book came across,
that's exactly what happened.
That is exactly what, what came down.
And that was the moment I saw, I just
gotta run for Congress because we have
to shape this political system in a way
that works with people, not against them.
And it shouldn't matter how much money
you make, your voice matters to me, and
it should matter to everybody in Congress.
The House of Representatives was
designed to be the most accessible
part of our federal government.
That sounds like a fucking joke right now.
Sorry, I cursed.
But that's what it's, you know, like
you can't call up your congressman
and get a meeting with them, but if
you're a lobbyist, you certainly can.
If you're a big donor, you certainly can.
And if you have a system like that.
The economic system itself
is prime to breed hatred.
It is prime to cast, uh, polarization
and, and spread division.
And that's how Trump came to power.
That's how people like my
congressmen stay in power.
It's because everyone's looking
for someone to blame except for
the people who are responsible.
And that is what needs to change.
And the only way that changes
is if we give people more power.
I fully believe that.
Ally: I love that.
That's great.
Um, and kudos to you, you know, for
meeting the moment with, you know,
I'm sure that vote must have been so
discouraging, um, not just for you
but the community and to take that
and turn it into an opportunity to
hopefully an enact change for your
community members is really admirable.
Thanks.
So.
You popped up in my TikTok, FYP.
That's how I found you.
And the first clip I saw, I
think is your most recent post,
which we will put up here.
Tim: We have to be the part
party that fights hard.
We have to be the one
that fights for people.
And fighting means that we, we are bold
and we are brash, and we are obnoxious
about the truth that Trump and his
MAGA acolytes are about misinformation,
half truths and missing context.
We have to understand, and I think
this is true throughout the entire
history of our country, that the road to
progress is not run through politicians.
It runs through people.
And this is a moment when
people are ready to do something
Ally: and you hooked me.
And so of course I had to
stalk you a little bit.
I went to your website,
the reformist agenda.
Tell me about that.
What does that mean?
Tim: Thanks for bringing that up.
And I call myself a reformist
Democrat because when you're in
the public eye, people are gonna
provide labels for you regardless.
You know, someone's gonna call me
a socialist or a communist or what.
They can call me whatever they want.
This is fine.
This is what I signed up for, but if I get
to call myself anything, I believe it's.
Or we believe in anything it's performed.
Right?
So I wanted to just talk about
not the de the typical issues
that Democrats always talk about.
You know, a, a fair economy,
dignity, rights, justice.
These are things and
values that I believe in.
That's why I continue to vote
for the Democratic Party, but.
As someone who's worked inside and outside
of politics, including leaving the United
States Senate because I did not like how
the balance, uh, or how the, the scales
were imbalanced towards people with
money and got into community organizing
and political advocacy from the outside,
there are things that are very specific
that keep people's voices stifled.
And so the reformist agenda, which
I may be changing to a fair shot
agenda 'cause I think everyone in
this country deserves a fair shot,
um, is chose to address those issues.
The number one thing.
I say this with every bit of
respect that I have, but also every
inch of conviction in my heart.
If you are not willing to fight big
money in politics, you are not willing
to fight for everyday families.
Full stop.
I will never be ever convinced
otherwise because I've seen it
happen too much time, too many times.
Um, the second thing is our economy is.
Our economy's unfair.
You know, every time there's an economic
downturn, they always ask everyday
families to tighten their bouts.
They always ask our schools and our
hospitals and people who are the lifeblood
of this, of, of this country who make sure
that we have essential services and who
had to stay home or who couldn't stay home
like me during COVID, and were out there.
Those are the same people who are
impacted the most by these Medicaid cuts.
By the way.
Meanwhile, all we did was make a tax
cut for corporations, and that's been
our economic system since the eighties.
We actually tax corporate greed.
And hoarded billionaire wealth
less than we tax hard work.
So it's time to flip the script.
One of the best ways to do that is to is,
is to make sure that we actually provide
a 4% tax reduction in income tax that
will affect 82% of Americans, and we pay
for it by taxing corporate greed more.
And I want it to be
Democrats who push for this.
I wanna be able to go to rural
areas and say, I'm the one
trying to increase your pay.
The price of everything else is going.
But not your paychecks.
And that's 'cause these greedy
corporations who I want them
to pay their fair share.
And I know what'll happen.
The only times I've ever gotten death
threats on social media is when I
talk about taxing the rich more.
It's kind of wild to think about.
And so I know that the Republicans will
are just conditioned to flex into place
and say, no, no, no, we're against this.
I want that contrast
to be on full display.
And then the third thing is just
ethical reform and incentivizing
good behavior by elected officials.
Bid stock, stock trading.
There's no question we have to do that.
Or insider trading.
Excuse me.
We have to ban insider trading.
We have to put in mandatory town halls.
For example, the guy I'm running
against, Rob Whitman, he hasn't
done a town hall since 2017.
Ally: Ugh.
Tim: Because he thought people, yeah,
'cause people were mean to him, right.
People were mean.
This is the most controversial
thing you can do.
This is the hardest thing we have to
do, and that is what we signed up for.
And if you wanna be a public servant,
you have to do things that are hard.
I don't understand why that's such
a big deal for some people in power.
Um, and the, the most, I think,
unique idea that I have is
something I call democracy dollars.
This helps us compete with big money.
'cause I think, again,
level playing field, we win.
We win every single time.
That is $500 of your taxpayer money being
dedicated to you that you can send to
any federal candidate of your choice.
So, $500 to Allison, where
the first time in your life.
You get to say exactly where
your taxpayer money goes.
You could say, I have
$500 dedicated to me.
I wanna send 50 to Tim Zelensky.
I don't wanna send a hundred to this
candidate, or $500 to this candidate.
And what that does is incentivize
candidates to go into communities and
hear what it's actually like to struggle.
Instead of being on the phone 12
hours a day, calling people who
can give you the max donation.
Those people, I'm sure have concerns that
are legitimate, but they don't struggle.
Like the people who
can't afford a lobbyist.
Yeah, I want more politicians to
be incentivized to go to them.
And if we do that, I swear in two
elections, we'll have completely
different political culture.
So these are the the underlying
issues that I'm trying to address
that allowed Trump to come to power
that has allowed the erosion of
our democracy, and that will make.
You know, our future just
a little bit brighter.
I, I don't know about you guys,
but I am, I'm tired of looking
up and being disappointed.
I want to just feel
something hopeful again.
And if I can do that by changing
our system even just a little bit,
then that's worth fighting for
every time it's worth fighting for.
Seth: That's a beautiful thing, man.
Yeah.
And you know, as a millennial, as a fellow
millennial, uh, I get really excited
when I see guys like you because this,
the change isn't gonna come unless we
have a youth movement, because right
now it just feels like a bunch of
old people are yelling at each other.
You know, BB and Trump are old.
They're yelling at a 78-year-old.
I told Khomeini, I mean, it's
just a bunch of old men yelling
at each other, trying to.
Keep what little power they
have for as long as they have.
So, uh, it's great to to see
you come out and do your thing.
What I would like to know is, you
know, who politically inspired you.
You know, in your, as you've been, you
know, educating yourself, maybe some
politicians that, uh, that inspired you
to come out, um, and, you know, and,
and put action behind your words, and
then, you know, how does that inform
the race that you're running and kind
of, uh, separate you from your primary
candidate or primary, pardon me?
Your primary opponent?
Tim: Just, you know, it's a great question
and I just kind of think in being inspired
by politicians is just not my thing.
Um, I was, I was raised by my mom who's
a historian, and so I grew up hearing
about stories of peak pivotal moments
in our country, and the people who
showed up to be truly transformational
we're always underdogs, I think of.
Fannie Lou Hamer, which a lot
of people don't think of in
the Civil Rights movement.
Mm-hmm.
You know that phrase, I'm sick
and tired of being sick and tired.
Ally: Yes.
Tim: Came from her and she did not
even have a high school education, and
yet she became a voice of an entire
generation of people fighting for basic
dignity and rights in our country.
I think about.
People, um, in the labor movement
who were just told they have
to work seven days a week.
Their kids have to work seven days a week.
And even though the odds were
against them, they fought
back and they won anyway.
I mean, you know, since my mom
is very much a, a very prideful
feminist, like I heard all about the
women's suffrage movement, not just
in America, but across the world.
And that's the thing, it's, I think
that when people without the pa, the
power that's on paper realize that.
Just because everything else in
our system tells you that if you're
not rich enough, therefore you're
not powerful enough to stop them.
The best moments in our history that
have benefited the most of the majority
of us, they have come from people
who prove that mentality wrong and.
That's what I'm trying to do right now.
I don't take corporate money.
I am the poorest candidate by far
in my primary, and that's okay.
Uh, because I'm not wealthy and well
connected, so I can't just have a
house party with 20 people who can
give me $5,700 max out their donation.
I could, I'd win this primary right
now, but it's supposed to be hard.
They're supposed to be
the people with the least.
And doing something for them.
That's the true measure of
progress in our country.
The people who are, uh, left out
in the cold, that's how strong,
strong we are as a country is if
we're making sure that their voices
are a part of the process too.
So, you know, FDR maybe just because
he thought that the government should
be part of making sure we can lift
people up, and he also believed
that if we didn't do that, our,
our system would fall into fascism.
I mean, that's what happened.
The same time that he became President
Hitler and Mussolini came to power.
He knew.
That if America didn't deliver for the
American people, we would have a situation
like we are having exactly right now.
Mm-hmm.
So the the, this is not just
me trying to act like, you
know, I'm pushing some agenda.
There's a reason I call
myself a reformist.
That's not just about my policy,
but that's the way we think
about how government works.
And if we don't do that, we're gonna
continue to slide into a dark period that
I'm afraid we won't be able to get out of.
But if we do, and if I don't win my
primary, because I know I'll beat Rob
Whitman a thousand times over, but.
I'm still gonna fight.
And that's the moment we need
to think about right now.
'cause everything is under attack.
Everything's on the line.
People's dignity and
rights is on the lines.
And if we're gonna respect that 2026,
not 20 28, 20 26 is the time to do it.
Ally: Yeah.
Seth: And since we are in the primary,
you know, because you know the Democrats
right now, we get to, we get to kind of,
uh, pick our, our dream candidates, right?
So yes.
Given that you, right now you're running
against your fellow Democrats, what,
what makes you different, uh, from the
people that, that you're running against?
Tim: So, uh, you know what, if
I could be petty for just one
minute, was that okay with you?
Ally: We
Tim: love petty.
The Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee, um, has already
endorsed somebody in our primary.
Hmm.
They've already made sure that
she could fundraise $3 million.
Um, this is five months before our
primary, and this is the thing, a lot of
people don't realize this, but because
I've worked in politics for so long,
primaries in the abstract to most everyday
people is like, this is the time to have a
battle of ideas, a confluence of policies,
and an outreach that helps build the base.
And if you have a lot of primary
candidates, that's exactly what happens.
But if you don't, that's how we get
politicians who are out of touch.
So the D CCCs already endorsed someone,
um, who lost her last election because
she took over, she took over a million
dollars from our state's biggest
polluter and energy company that has.
Raised our bills to in
an unaffordable amount.
I mean, this is the reason.
And look, she, she might be a very
good person and she might be able to
take some bad money and do some good,
but the reason I won't do it is if I
ever get in a position where I believe
in something and I wanna vote for it,
it happens to benefit a corporation.
And I tell you, no, believe
me, you shouldn't believe.
Yeah, you shouldn't.
I wouldn't.
Um, so the what makes me
stick out, I don't know.
That's struck me people to decide.
I don't believe in assuming that
people are gonna like me 'cause of
my community organizing experience.
I don't think people are gonna
hear my words and think, oh, this
is exactly what we should, uh, we
should just take this at face values.
I have to earn this, I have
to earn this every single way.
And that's the thing.
I'm not asking for people
to give me a lot of money.
I am not asking for people
to just take me for my word.
I'm asking people to
let, to give me a chance.
If you want to talk and you're my
district, or even if you're outside of my
district, if you're just somebody who's
struggling with something and think that
the federal government has a role to make
sure that when you are knocked down we
can stretch out our arms and pull you
back up, then I want to hear from you.
That's not noble, by the way.
I think this is just the standard
we should be used to, and it's gonna
take people trying to redefine how
campaigns are run, and that's what
I'm trying to do and it's harder.
Just stop giving a shit of what's
politically convenient a long time ago.
You don't stand in arm, in arm with
communities that I will fight with and
the people that I talk to and think,
you know, it's, it's never gonna change.
We have to do it ourselves.
We just have to do it ourselves.
Ally: Absolutely.
And so you said no corporate PAC money.
What about foreign interest?
What about APAC money?
Tim: No, God no.
Ally: Okay.
I have to
Tim: ask.
I have to ask.
I totally understand.
It's, and thank you for asking the
question, but No, I, I and I, I, I don't
even, I, I have a, I don't even think
I'll be in the opportunity to take money
from specific organizations that I like.
I want this to be truly grassroots.
Yeah.
And I have enough money
to file for the ballot.
I, and that's enough.
'cause you know, I'm
a community organizer.
I know how to get a volunteer
network and I want to compete
one-to-one with big money.
That's what I want.
I, I, it would be nice to
have a little bit more.
Pay people, but this is it no matter what.
I will not drop out.
I have enough money to pay for
the ballot, which is $4,000, by
the way, and not a lot after that.
But that's okay.
'cause I'm, we just gotta deal, we gotta
do what we can with the cards we've been
dealt, but, and we're gonna get there.
Yeah, go ahead.
Sorry.
Ally: We're gonna, we're gonna
get you how people can help you.
Um, 'cause I have a feeling
people are really gonna like you.
'cause I really like you and I
can see Seth's face over there
and I know Seth really likes you.
You are saying all the things.
We've been waiting a long time.
I am Gen X, I'm 53 years old.
I've been waiting a long time for these
types of candidates to pop up in my party
and get away from establishment Dems.
So.
I'm, the more you say, the more I like.
Um, now in terms of your
primary opposition, any debates?
What, how does that play out?
Tim: That would be nice if we had them.
Uh, but so far, I mean, there's an
excuse not to do it, I guess right now.
And that's because the
districts might change.
So right now there's nine of us in this
district, and then after April 21st, we
might get split into different districts.
Um, I'm a paycheck to
paycheck guy who is a renter.
So it's kind of choose your own
adventure for me, whereas everyone
else owns their houses and which
I'm happy that they are, by the way.
I'm not, I'm not, I don't
think that's, that's a problem.
But I have a little bit more
flexibility to go, hopefully, where
Rob Whitman goes and expose his record.
Um, but that's kind of the, the deal.
But I do think.
You know, if we're serious about
democracy, the only way you can do that is
by making sure that we are presenting our
candidates to as many people as possible.
And that has not been the
case so far in this campaign.
And you know, one of the reasons, and
I don't think that this is unreasonable
saying, is that there's been a lot
of rallying in one, one candidate
that the D Triple C told us that's
the person that they wanna support.
That's okay.
That's part of the process.
I think it's part of the, of the process
that expose how broken our politics is.
This is so what I'm what?
Me and some other candidates
we're friends, by the way.
I'm friends with a lot of the
other millennial candidates and
I'm not rooting against them.
I'm just rooting for myself more.
We're trying to set up our own town halls.
We're trying to set up our own
forums so that people realize
that or people see on full display
how politics is supposed to work.
Um, you know, sometimes that
costs a little bit more money than
we're willing to shell out, but.
Again, this is, if there was ever
a time to be insurgent about away
campaigns run, it's this time
because the stakes are too high.
If we don't do enough to elect
the right people in 2026, I'm not
convinced we're gonna get 2028.
I'm really not.
Ally: I, I feel the same way.
I know Seth does as well.
So you talked about kind of
the, um, the vote that that.
Ignited in you a desire to,
um, to run for Congress.
Tell me what are the challenges that your
district is facing in general and how
do you plan to serve your constituents
and help them in those challenges?
Tim: 90,000 of my, of my constituents
or the hope to be constituents, uh,
go to bed, hunger every single night.
This is the richest country in the world.
I'll never be able to square
those two things at the same time.
Um, I think about.
16,000 are going to lose healthcare
and another 30,000 are going
to have healthcare skyrocket.
Um, in the coming months, I call
every single donor regardless
of how much money they give me.
And the people who give me $25 or more,
they're usually like, I just like you.
I don't need you to call me.
People who gimme $25 or less, I
get a lot of $5 donor donations.
Um, they would just wanna talk
because they've said that this is
the only time opportunity I've ever
had to someone who is seeking power.
I think right there is a testament
to how bad our political system is
at treating people with dignity.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and oftentimes I hear the
story and I just refund the
$5 because they could use it.
Ally: Yeah.
Tim: The, the things I hear most
about is hunger, taking care
of their kids in healthcare.
Um.
I think that the only reason we
have this healthcare system that we
do is because healthcare companies
spent a billion dollars in 2024 on
lobbying and campaign contributions.
Mm-hmm.
They also get.
Almost a trillion dollars of our direct
taxpayer money that goes straight to
private health insurance companies that
they just take and then turn around and
raise our healthcare prices every year.
There is nothing about our healthcare
system that isn't a, a scam and it's
not very hard to make it affordable.
One, we, you know, we could.
Have single payer Medicare
for all conversations.
All we want, and we should, but if we
just had a public healthcare system
right now, costs would go down.
'cause the first time a private industry
will have to compete with a, excuse
me, a for-profit industry will have to
compete with a nonprofit industry that
literally lowers prices right up the gate.
And these solutions are known
to our elected officials.
These, these.
These problems can be solved very easily.
I, I say this all the time.
The the things that we need
to do, they are not predicated
on possibility or technology.
They are simply matters of political will.
I just wanna take all those same
people that I talk to, the $5 to
$10 donations and I wanna bring
them to Capitol Hill with me.
I want our elected officials to have
to look them in the eye and say,
sorry, there's nothing I can do.
And if we do that and
dare them to ignore us.
I think then you're gonna be able to
grow the base of the party of people who
talk a lot more like me than people who.
We'll spend all their time just
ignoring the, the, the voices and
the struggles of everyday people.
So that's, that's how I went.
I wanna be, you know, I'm not just doing
this for activism, for activism's sakes.
I have, I have a plan for almost
everything, but as a political
communication strategist, I know that
the only way to get people in power
to do things is to make them look
like assholes for disagreeing with us.
Ally: Right?
Tim: And so I think I bring that
unique perspective to do that
on behalf of my constituents.
Ally: That's great.
That's really great actually.
Um, okay, so before we get to how
everyone can support you, Seth, do
you have any more questions for Tim?
Seth: I don't, I don't, I think,
I think we good because I just
wanted to hear, you know, what, what
Ally: kind of separate
Seth: you from your Oh,
Ally: I have one more.
I have one more.
Seth: Sure.
Ally: Okay.
Tim, obviously you have a background in,
um, political communication strategy,
so you have access to a lot more
information about the process of becoming
a candidate, running for office, for
people out there that share a mindset.
Like yours?
Like ours.
What?
How do people run for office?
I, you know, I know that there is on
a local level, you know, you can go to
their website and you can find out how
to submit your name and all of that.
Then what, like, how does
that play out for most people?
Because I think a lot of people
don't know, and it creates a barrier
between wanting to be involved at the
political level and being scared because
you have no idea what that entails.
Tim: I would say if anyone listening
to this show who wants to run for
office or has flirted with the
idea of running for office, please
do it because that's exactly the
kind of candidates that we need.
You always get business
executives and lawyers.
That's the vast majority of
people in in office right now, and
especially at the federal level.
Um.
Navigating it is tough, uh,
but it is also Googleable.
You just have to look
in order where to look.
I mean, so it's not, and some of it is
kind of chicken and the egg, but stuff.
So for me example, um, I don't use any
big businesses for any of the things
that I do, including my bank account.
My campaign bank account.
And, uh, you can't get certified as a
candidate before you have a bank account,
but you can't get a bank account unless
you get certified for as a candidate.
And then you also have to navigate
different things by the state.
So like in Virginia, in order to
get on the ballot, you need to
pay $3,700 just to get your name
on the ballot, which I think.
It's purposely designed.
Yeah.
It's designed to price people out.
Yeah.
I mean, this is another reason why I want
my democracy dollars planned to do it.
I don't think it just
strengthens our democracy.
By incentivizing your typical candidates,
I think you get people who aren't
typical candidates to be able to now
have access to run for office, right?
So they can just go to their
family and friends and say,
can you give me your $500?
And now I got enough money to just
navigate these simple structures.
Um, and.
Like there's, I wanna give you like a
universal easy approach to how to do this.
There's some organizations that
specialize in it, in particular.
But it's, it's different based
off where you are, where you live.
Yeah.
I would say that the
same, yeah, e exactly.
Where you live.
Exactly.
The, but it is possible, it is
possible for anyone to do it, but
some things are more expensive, you
know, like if, if I'm those people
that I organize in Southwest Virginia,
they're not gonna have the money, just
the startup money to get a website.
You know, and to be able to pay for
that $4,000 right out the gate and
also know the things you're supposed to
know in order to be in a bank account.
Yeah.
And which took me three months, by
the way, before I could even get one.
Wow.
Because of those things.
And you know, this actually speaks to
another part of our political system,
is we have over complicated it.
We have made it so that you have to
have some foundational knowledge in
order to just get your foot in the door.
And because that is designed to exhaust
us, so many people who would be good
at this will never get a chance to even
entertain that notion in their mind.
Ally: Right.
Tim: So I just, if you know,
that's perfectly thing.
If there's anyone who wants to
reach out to me via my website
and wants to know how exactly they
can do what I'm doing right now.
I will be happy to do it.
And after this campaign, I've been
flirting with the idea of writing
a short book about how all the
things that I went to and, and how I
Ally: got there.
I would love to see that.
I would love to see that.
But also I want you to win your
campaign, so maybe the book will
have to be on the back burner.
Um, okay.
Tim, honestly, what a pleasure.
You are a breath of fresh air.
Thank you.
I mean, you are exactly the type of
candidates that we have been seeking
for this podcast series, and I really
appreciate you taking the time to
meet with us, tell the people how they
can support you and your campaign.
Tim: Thank you for saying that.
So my name is Tim Solinski,
reformist Democrat running
a Virginia's first district.
You can find me on vote tim va.com.
And all of my socials are Vote Tim Va.
Um, if you wanna send my campaign a direct
email, it's just contact@votetimva.com.
And that is not an empty offer.
I try to respond to everyone that I can.
I try to call everyone I can because
that's not just for you, that's for me.
It makes me a better candidate so that
that offer is genuine and it is open.
Ally: I can attest to that, uh, audience.
I reached out to Tim this
morning and we are now on this.
Podcast recording this conversation.
So Tim is not fucking around.
If you reach out to him, I feel very
confident you're gonna hear back.
Seth: Um, my man is Give is giving
you a call with a $5 donation.
Like it doesn't get
realer than that y'all.
Seriously it.
Seriously.
And so please, you know, please give
Tim a look, uh, you know, help out
however you can, money donations.
But if you're on the ground in
Virginia, you wanna give Tim a call.
'cause not only is he a good
candidate, but it sounds like
he's a great grassroots organizer.
And so I, I think that gives him a great
advantage over a lot of candidates.
'cause a lot of candidates don't
have that experience on the ground.
So if you're thinking about, you know,
if you don't have the money, think
about volunteering your time as well.
Tim: Absolutely.
That would be, that would be the best.
Thank you.
Thank you both for saying that,
and this has been an honor of mine.
Seriously.
I love, thank you.
Anyone who's trying to platform grassroots
candidates, I, I feel indebted to
for the rest of my life, honestly.
Ally: Oh, well we
appreciate you saying that.
We hope to be doing a lot more of this
between now and primaries at midterms.
When is your primary, by the way.
Tim: August 4th now fourth it, August
4th to be in June, now August 4th.
Now they're moving to August 4th.
So yeah.
Okay.
But yeah, I'd love to be
considered a friend of the show,
so if there's any time that meet
Ally: there, I would would too.
Let's keep in touch.
Tim, I, I'm digging you man.
I like your vibe.
I like everything you have to say.
I think you have a very promising future.
Um, thank you.
In politics.
For the right reasons, which is exactly
the type of people that we get jazzed
about, and that's who we're looking for.
I really appreciate you coming and meeting
with us today, and I wish you the best
of luck and please, let's stay in touch.
Seth: Yes, thank you.
Absolutely.
Good luck, Tim.
Thank you, man.
Tim: Thank you both.
Thank you both so much.
Ally: Well, that was our
conversation with Tim Solinsky.
I. I am even more obsessed.
I didn't know that was gonna be possible.
Um, wow.
I have not heard a candidate like him.
I haven't reacted to a candidate
like him in a really long time.
What did you think, Seth?
Seth: Yeah, I mean, it was, it
was just everything that we,
that we hoped for and more.
I mean, this guy is, he's a millennial.
He's a progressive and uncompromising.
Progressive, uh, he, you can
hear the passion in his voice.
Um, you know that, that moment where
he was talking, where I asked him
who politically, uh, inspired him,
like, what politician inspired you?
He didn't, he didn't mention
a, a. Uh, politician.
It was so refreshing to hear
something like mind blowing.
My, my mom was, is a historian and
she informed my politics and then
talking about, uh, you know, an
old school civil rights leader.
I mean, that was even more genuine.
So, yeah, it was, it was just
great to hear from a guy like
that who's not gonna compromise,
who's going up against big money.
He's not taking any corporate PAC
money, no money from apac, I mean.
What else do you want?
America?
I mean, this guy, he is got great hair.
What do you want?
What do you want?
I mean is,
Ally: and he knows, you know,
with his background, he knows the
behind the scenes of politics.
He knows how dirty it can be.
He knows how ugly it can be,
and he's taken all of that
knowledge and formulated.
Um, a campaign to be just the
antithesis to all of that yucky
stuff we want out of our politics.
And to me, um, that, that's just,
that's everything we could wish
for and more in a candidate.
Seth: If you're a Republican, uh,
you better watch out For a guy like
Tim in the next 10, two, good luck.
He's got, he's got community
organizing experience.
He's not new to this at all.
So I think that gives him a huge leg up
as far as just knowing how to organize,
that's one of the biggest things is just
getting people to come to your side.
And Tim is already very versed in that.
He helps other candidates
do those same things.
So, uh, I, I, I know that.
You know, he's a good candidate now.
He's gonna be a good candidate for
decades to come, and you better watch
out because a guy like Tim, he's
going to be able to change a lot
of things in the state of Virginia.
Ally: Unbeatable, unstoppable.
We're gonna keep our eye on Tim.
We promise to stay connected.
Hopefully we'll have more things
to bring to you about him and
his campaign as it goes on.
His primary is August
4th, I think he said.
Tim: Yeah.
Ally: Um, so still a ways away.
Um, and that's the guy, that's
the guy to keep your eye on.
So absolutely love that conversation
and, um, can't wait to see what happens.