A Blue Man in a Red State

Talking Feds

Harry Litman

Election, Government, January 6, Politics, Merrick Garland, Law, Harry Litman, Trump, News, Legal

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Harry sits down with Greg Casar, the youngest member of the Texas delegation in Congress and an unapologetic progressive in the some-time hostile landscape of Texas (albeit the famous enclave of Austin). A charismatic campaigner, Casar made his mark in Congress by leading a nine-hour thirst strike in 2023 to advocate for workers’ protections from extreme heat. Cesar discusses his against-the-tide electoral success and his work in Congress for immigrant rights, abortion rights, worker’s rights, voting rights, and other signature progressive issues.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Talking Fed's One-on-One, One,
0:09.2	Deep-Dive discussions with national figures about the most fascinating and consequential issues
0:16.2	defining our culture and shaping our lives. I'm your host, Harry Littman.
0:22.6	Hello, everyone. Welcome to another talking feds one-on-one. I'm really pleased to be here with
0:27.4	Representative Greg Kassar. He is the representative for the Texas 35th Congressional District.
0:35.6	He was elected in January, 23, and I think it's fair to say he's one of the few recent successes in a state not known for its warmth to progressive politicians.
0:48.0	I'll also just say right up front so you know how important a new figure in Congress is, he is the fastest man or woman in Congress
0:58.6	having won the 5K race in the deathless blood match that they have in Congress every year.
1:07.9	And you arrested it from Republican rule after how many races? I think something like 16 or 17 years ago. And you arrested it from a Republican rule after how many races?
1:12.0	I think like something like 16 or 17 years. There you go. So he's he's an up and comer for sure.
1:17.4	Okay. Let's just start with this idea of you as progressive politician and what most people think of as an
1:27.1	erid territory for progressives. I think of there's, well,
1:32.8	just at the state level, you were in Austin City Council before, but at the state level,
1:37.7	dominance really perennial in both legislative chambers, usually at the, all the state office holders, and then a whole series of
1:49.4	difficult issues to sort of push back against or fight for as a progressive abortion access and
1:58.2	gun violence and voting laws and the like.
2:01.8	So pretty challenging environment.
2:05.6	What's your, besides your raw speed, what factors do you think contributed to your winning the seat?
2:14.4	Well, the face that I see a lot of people make when I introduce myself as a progressive
2:18.7	from Texas. I recognize the faces. You're usually thinking about Ted Cruz or Greg Abbott and
2:24.4	they make that face. And it's not a great face. But when I think about Texas, I don't think
2:31.5	about Cruz and Abbott. I think of Barbara Jordan and Ann Richards and
	...

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