And the Hi, I'm Bill Crystal. Welcome to Conversations. I'm very pleased to be joined today by

Vin Weber, an old friend, 12-year congressman from Minnesota, 1980 to 92, and in which role he was a key

player in the Reagan Revolution, both in legislating it and picking it through, I would say,

and from the beginning beginning and then in the

laying the groundwork for the Republican takeover of the House a couple of years after you left and

then now a general eminosc Greece in Washington, conservative thinker, strategists,

on the board of many philanthropic and not-for-profit organizations,

including the National Endowment for Democracy,

which I think you're chair of, which is a good organization of which is a good organization.

It is a good organization.

Provoting liberal democracy.

An organization proposed by Ronald Reagan.

Rosa Ronald Reagan, a little not quite inconsistent maybe with Donald

Trump's foreign policy we can get back and talk about

that's actually a big question in my mind but let's talk about that at some point.

Okay so I think let's begin with you came to in 1980 you were elected at the same time.

I was wrong. I always say I dragged Reagan in on my coattails.

How did you, just curious, had you been in elective politics?

I can't remember.

No, I'd managed a Senate campaign for Rudy Boschowitz in Minnesota who was the first Republican elected

in 25 years in the state and who's still doing very well in Minnesota, a great friend of mine.

And I thought that I was probably going to either work for him

...