Hello friends, always delighted that you are joining me and today I have a

fantastic conversation that you are not going to want to miss. I have two members

of Congress with me today, one Republican and one Democrat, and we are going to talk

about matters that divide us and what we can do about them.

So let's dive in. I'm Sharon McMahon and welcome to the

Sharon Says So podcast. Thank you both so much for being here. This is

absolutely delightful. I'm joined today by

Representative Dean Phillips and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. Thank you.

Great to be here Sharon. Thanks for having us. Yes so so Dean, I'd love to start with you.

Tell everybody where you're from and how you ended up in Congress.

It's a lot easier to tell you where I'm from than how I ended up in Congress. But I'm a lifelong Minnesotan and born in St. Paul. I lost my birth father

already Pfeffer in the Vietnam War when I was just six months old and was adopted a couple years later into a remarkable family and the Phillips family.

I've lived on both sides of advantage which very much illuminates my work in Congress and I was watching the 2016 campaign, the

presidential campaign, watched election night with my daughters and it was an

epiphany that night, not just the results of the election for me personally but the tender and tone of the campaign,

how we've devolved into such rank or and division and disrespect.

And I thought rather than be a complainer, I taught my daughters to be participants.

And I decided I would try to do something. I promised them the next morning that I would try to do something.

That became a run for Congress and I was successful.

And now I get to work with dear friends like

Brian Fitzpatrick on the other side of the aisle to try to bring a little bit of that respect

and decency back to a place that needs it.

...