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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. Let me start today with a clip from maybe the surprise hit speaker at the Democratic convention last night, Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the NBA and of the US Olympic men's basketball team, which just won the gold in Paris.

A lot of buzz about this speech afterwards for it coming, not just from any celebrity, if you want to call him a celebrity, like someone from Hollywood, say, but from someone who has experience in leadership, interestingly, similar to Tim Walz in the realm of sports, and for describing leadership, not in terms of bossing people around or being the big dog in every situation, but in terms of humility. Listen to this.

Steve Kerr: I believe that leaders should be able to laugh at themselves. I believe leaders must care for and love the people they are leading. I believe leaders must possess knowledge and expertise but with the full awareness that none of us has all the answers, and, in fact, some of the best answers often come from members of the team. And if you look for those qualities in your friends or your boss or an employee or your child's teacher or your mayor, and shouldn't you want those same qualities in your president?

Brian Lehrer: Then he went on to say he would be working every day to get people to vote for Harris and Walz. Steve Kerr at the Democratic convention. Of course, as they sometimes say critically about basketball coaches, the DNC kind of mismanaged the clock last night. Things ran late. They had to cancel James Taylor's scheduled musical performance and one or two political speeches to get to the headliner, Joe Biden, very late as it was, around 11:30. Did you stay up and watch it?

Among other things, he got a second shot at the line he bungled so badly at the June 27th debate that it became the symbol of why he had to drop out of the race. This time he made the point, and to go back to an Olympic analogy, he stuck the landing.

Joe Biden: And, yes, we both know we have more to do, but we're moving in the right direction. More Americans have peace of mind that comes from having health insurance. More Americans have health insurance today than ever before in American history. And after, as a young senator beginning to fight, beginning to fight for 50 years to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, we finally beat Big Pharma. And guess who cast the tie-breaking vote? Vice president, soon-to-be-president Kamala Harris.

Brian Lehrer: President Biden last night. This time he didn't say, "We finally beat Medicare." Remember that from the debate? He said, "We finally beat Big Pharma," a very important point to deliver cleanly if the Democrats hope to convince America that they are the party of fighting the real sources of inflation in our lives, and that, of course, referring to finally getting the right for Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies.

Here's one more before we bring on Errol Louis, politics host for Spectrum News NY1 and a New York Magazine columnist. AOC got a speaking role last night. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from the Bronx and Queens, and though often a voice of dissent from within the party, thanked President Biden for his leadership and said this about Kamala Harris.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: I am here tonight because America has before us a rare and precious opportunity. In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class because she is from the middle class. She understands the urgency of rent checks and groceries and prescriptions. She is as committed to our reproductive and civil rights as she is to taking on corporate greed, and she is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing hostages home.

Brian Lehrer: Bronx and Queens Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the DNC. We'll play more clips as we go. With us now, Errol Louis, political anchor of Spectrum News NY1, host of Inside City Hall there on Monday through Thursday nights at 7:00, and his national show, The Big Deal with Errol Louis, Friday nights at 8:00. He's also a New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast You Decide. Errol, always great to have you. Welcome back to WNYC.

Errol Louis: Always great to be with you, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, if you watched or listened on WNYC to the Democratic convention last night or have seen or heard moments from it on social media, wherever, anything you want to comment on or ask a question about with Errol Louis, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Call or text. Errol, there are lots of places we could start, but how about with Joe Biden? Did you find it a poignant moment as well as an important policy-focused one when he reminded viewers about finally winning the right for Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices with Big Pharma and decades of Republican-- fighting decades of Republican obstruction?

Errol Louis: Well, it's interesting, Brian. I thought it was, yes, poignant. There was an undeniable emotional content to it, but just the fact that you could have a discussion that really takes into account some of the broad sweep of history from somebody who personally embodied a decades-long fight, I thought that was really, really important. Without having to say it, it really underscored that this is something that Democrats have been working on for a long, long time, that things like the Affordable Care Act, the Child Tax Credit, that the building blocks of what the party has tried to fight for for families is something that he personally was involved in.

You're hearing it straight from the horse's mouth. This is not an academic exercise. This is not some allegiance to principles that one read about in a book. This is a guy who, from before he even turned 30, was thinking about these issues, fighting for these issues, and it's been going on for a long, long time. I thought that in itself was really quite remarkable. You don't normally hear that at these conventions.

Brian Lehrer: At another moment, Biden referred to his decision to withdraw and support Harris, saying, "I love my job, but I love my country more." I talked about Steve Kerr describing the humility inherent to good leadership. Maybe that line from Biden was an example, you think?

Errol Louis: Oh, yes, sure. Look, this is an act of political self-sacrifice on his part that when the moment came, I think we were all caught off guard because it really could have gone either way. We've seen political leaders in the past say, "I'm going to tough it out one more time. I can do this. I can fix it. I can turn everything around." He did something really quite different, a sharp strategic move, the political value of which is being proved every day.

Kamala Harris may not make it to the finish line, but he put her in an unbelievably strong position and he didn't have to do it. He was the most powerful person in the world, and he decided to walk away from it for principles that he clearly believes in. That's really profound. If you think about it, Brian, you and I have watched a lot of these and attended many of these conventions. The last time you saw somebody over 80 years old take the stage in a keynote slot was when? Never.

They might bring out some veterans or something like that or some civil rights hero for a quick wave, and then they shuffle them off the stage. This is somebody who just embodies and has led this party for so, so long. It really, really was very powerful.

Brian Lehrer: Well, do you think there was a political purpose to Biden's speech last night, a strategic, campaign-focused political purpose to make Harris more acceptable for some of his more conservative supporters or any other election-focused strategy, or was it basically just to close the loop that began at the debate and pass the torch?

Errol Louis: Yes, I thought it was more of a, we've heard this phrase used before, more of a me note than a keynote. This was Joe Biden defending his record, his career, his ideals, his family. Undeniably, it was in the framework of a passing of the torch, but he didn't spend a lot of time talking about his private moments with the vice president and how much he loves her family and that sort of thing. It was a defense of his record and of his policies, not all of which are going to get the same emphasis from Kamala Harris, as far as I can tell.

This was him defending what he did, why he did it, why he decided to run. That was the way he set the whole thing up. He said, "Look, four years ago, this is where we were. This is why I decided to run." I thought it was him justifying it, and the tone of it, Brian, a lot of it was shouted. A lot of the speech was shouted, not to stir up energy as-- That's an oratorical trick that he didn't need in an arena of tens of thousands of people screaming his name, but he yelled it out anyway because he wanted to emphasize it. That's how he makes his point.

I thought it was genuine outrage at the things he doesn't like and genuine pride about the things that he believes his administration has done well.

Brian Lehrer: Although I will say, listening to a lot of convention speech clips and host speeches in the last week to get ready for this week, some historical clips for the history series that we're doing around the convention this week and the ones from last night, everybody shouts at convention speeches. It was one of the things that I noticed. The AOC clip we played, she was shouting. Steve Kerr was not shouting. I think that's one of the things that actually distinguished his speech.

We'll hear Hillary Clinton later. She was shouting. We're going to hear later in the show with another guest, Hubert Humphrey in 1948. He was shouting in defense of civil rights. They shout at convention speeches, I will say that.

Errol Louis: Point well taken.

[laughter]

Errol Louis: I talked to a number of people who have delivered these kind of addresses, and they say that no matter how long you've been in politics, no matter how much public speaking you've done, there is nothing like standing on that-- I've heard that from Al Sharpton. There's nothing like standing on that stage and hearing 25,000 people scream your name. It's very hard to go back to waiting in line at a restaurant after that. It really does something to people.

Brian Lehrer: Here's Chris in Astoria, who wants to say something about the Steve Kerr speech. Chris, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Chris: Hey, Brian. How's it going? I just wanted to make a comment on that speech. I thought it was a great speech. I'm a big fan of the NBA, and I really noticed around 2020 during COVID, during the George Floyd protests, during the Black Lives Matter, him, Steve Kerr, and Gregg Popovich, who was a coach for the Spurs at the time, who's still a coach, they really became outspoken, and I thought they were using their platform in a great way.

They would give these talks before and after games, during times when coaches are usually just asked about the basketball game. That's when they would espouse on what's going on in the world, what's going on in the country, Donald Trump, COVID, and a lot of the topical issues of the day. I was kind of surprised that Steve Kerr showed up at the Democratic National Convention. I didn't think that he would go that far besides the speeches that he gave after games. I thought it was a really, really big platform for him to go to.

Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the Golden State Warriors when they were winning all those titles, I thought he was a great coach, and it's really important, the things he was saying last night. I thought him using his platform is kind of risky because it is such a big stage, but again, I think with him, and especially Gregg Popovich, another coach, what they were doing, especially during 2020, like being so outspoken, I think it's just really important.

Brian Lehrer: Chris, thank you very much for that call. Yes, and he referred in the speech, maybe a little bit obliquely to the reaction from the right that some others in the NBA got when they were speaking out after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, when Kerr said he was sure that he would have critics telling him to shut up and dribble. Remember that line? But there he was talking about leadership in ways that run counter to Donald Trump's style.

He was certainly making that point explicitly and implicitly, and he identified Harris and Walz with humility and with listening rather than commanding, and of course, Walz was also a coach. I don't know if that moves any votes, Errol, but right after the much-watched Paris Olympics and with how appealing a speaker he seemed to be, maybe a few, any thoughts on Steve Kerr last night?

Errol Louis: Yes, no, I think it does move some votes. Look, this is somebody who he didn't have to do this. Sports at the level that he operates is more entertainment than anything else, and entertainers famously will shy away from exposing themselves in this way. There are a lot of Republicans who love basketball and you don't necessarily want to alienate them. There are a lot of different reasons he could have just chosen not to do it. If they called him, he could have said, "No, thank you."

On the other hand, you never know. He might want a second career that's more public-spirited, maybe more publicly-oriented. We all remember Bill Bradley, one of the Knicks who went on to become a US senator. Who knows what's in store for Steve Kerr? He knows how to win. That was the subject, and the whole point of a convention is about victory. This is a guy who knows about winning. This is a guy who doesn't have to shout because those medals and those championships speak for themselves.

I thought it was very powerful. I know enough people who are either athletes or love athletes to know that it really speaks to them in a way that a lot of the rest of us might miss.

Brian Lehrer: Listener writes, "They are shouting because they can't hear themselves over the crowd." Someone else writes, "It seems Biden stepping down is being framed as self-sacrifice, but clearly, we've seen the decline." Someone else writes, "I felt like Biden seemed very spicy and defensive. I'm so tired of staying up to see him." Eliza in Bed-Stuy is calling in about the AOC speech. Hi, Eliza. You're on WNYC.

Eliza: Hi, Brian. Thanks for taking my call. I was just following up on the ceasefire comment that AOC made, and I wanted to see if Harris or anyone else elaborated on that, on the commitment to a ceasefire arms embargo.

Brian Lehrer: Errol?

Errol Louis: Well, look, she's-- We're going to see this come up again and again. AOC delivered the line that I think is going to be where the Harris campaign lands, which is, "We're doing everything we possibly can. We desperately want peace. We desperately want to ceasefire and for all of the hostages to be returned." I think they go there and no further. AOC was really there. I thought that the lines that she gave in her speech were more kind of a validator's lines saying, "I trust this administration. I think that they're doing the right thing. I think they're going as far as I can be comfortable with. I'm not going to be critical of them."

That may not satisfy the thousands of protesters who are in Chicago urging a different course of action, but I think that's really where both the convention as a whole and the campaign are going to end up.

Brian Lehrer: Right. The protesters outside were demanding for the most part-- the most specific policy-oriented thing from the US that they were demanding was an end to US weapons shipments to Israel. AOC did not take that position in her remarks as we heard but instead said Harris is working on a ceasefire. She's walking a line there with different Democratic and progressive constituents on behalf of herself and on behalf of the Harris campaign on this topic.

Errol Louis: On this topic, we have seen the goalpost move. It went from ceasefire and Ceasefire Now. It's been evolving more toward cut-off investment, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. It's moved toward cut diplomatic and cultural ties, and on and on and on. AOC, like, I think many Democrats are saying, "Well, we can talk about ceasefire. We're not going to get further into how badly we want to try and damage US relations with Israel in order to achieve that goal."

Brian Lehrer: By the way, on Steve Kerr, I guess we should mention, as a few people are pointing out, that his father, Malcolm Kerr, was a very distinguished Middle East scholar. He wrote a book called The Arab Cold War, which is considered a prominent book in the field. He was president of the American University in Beirut, and he was also killed by an Islamic Jihad gunmen from that group in 1984 when Steve was just 18.

There's a political background in his family, a terrorism victim background in that family, an intellectual background in that family, and currently, 58, who knows if he might not have a next chapter in politics if that's what he wants to do? Maybe he doesn't. He's not just a basketball coach. He's also got that tragic intellectual and political pedigree.

Errol Louis: That's really interesting. Clearly, the last person you want to say shut up and dribble to. This is somebody who can do a lot more than that.

Brian Lehrer: Absolutely. All right. More clips from last night, more Errol Louis, your calls and texts, and a congressional candidate from a swing district in New Jersey after the break. Stay with us.

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Hillary Clinton: I know her heart and her integrity. We both got our start as young lawyers helping children who were abused and neglected. That kind of work changes a person. Those kids stay with you. Kamala carries with her the hopes of every child she protected, every family she helped, every community she served. So as president, she will always have our backs, and she will be a fighter for us. She will fight to lower costs for hardworking families, open the doors wide for good-paying jobs, and, yes, she will restore abortion rights nationwide.

Brian Lehrer: Hillary Clinton from last night as we discuss Democratic convention Night 1 with Errol Louis from New York Magazine, NY1 and Spectrum News nationally, and you at 212-433-WNYC, call or text, 212-433-9692. Also joining us now for a few minutes is Democratic congressional candidate Sue Altman, who's hoping to unseat Republican Congressman Tom Kean, Jr., in what's considered New Jersey's most competitive congressional race. That's in New Jersey's 7th congressional district. It's sort of an I-78, an I-80 district from about Hopatcong in the Northeast down to Lambertville in the Southwest, Hackettstown, Warren, Bernardsville, around there.

According to her bio page, Sue Altman grew up in Clinton, attended and played college basketball at Columbia and then some basketball professionally, got two graduate degrees at Oxford in the UK, that Oxford, and these days is executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, which calls itself a nonprofit organization focused primarily on combating political corruption in Trenton. Ms. Altman, thanks for giving us a few minutes. Welcome to WNYC.

Sue Altman: I am so glad to be here. I just want to be clear, I'm the former state director. My colleague Antoinette Miles is now the state director. I am so thrilled basketball is having a moment. I was listening to this segment right before. How exciting. Steve Kerr was amazing last night. I love it.

Brian Lehrer: Do you relate at all to how he approaches leadership and did in that speech?

Sue Altman: Oh, absolutely. I've long been a fan of Bill Bradley when I was a little kid, and being able to connect basketball and scholarship and public service and then to see Steve Kerr repeat those things last night, it's really inspirational. I think the connection to the Olympics, the patriotism, the reclaiming of patriotism, sports has always been something Americans can gather around and feel good about. We're so good at the Olympics, and there's so much American pride that I think liberals, conservatives, unaffiliated alike feel American pride right now.

It's exactly that joy that I think Kamala Harris and the rest of the Democrats are capitalizing on right now. I feel like it's reverberating through our campaign here in Central Jersey.

Brian Lehrer: You're not physically at the convention-

Sue Altman: No.

Brian Lehrer: -but were there any other moments from last night that you would want to point out as highlights for you?

Sue Altman: Well, I loved Raph Warnock. I thought he was excellent. He was inspirational. Hillary Clinton's always got something very interesting to say. Then the surprise appearance by Kamala Harris was, of course, wonderful and I think, very well anticipated. I only watched bits and pieces of it because I was actually at events here in New Jersey, prioritizing the people here. I really, really am excited overall by the vibes of this moment, this campaign, and to be running on a ticket with both Kamala Harris and Andy Kim for the US Senate position is just such an honor.

Brian Lehrer: New Jersey is not a swing state for president, but New Jersey 7 is a swing district for Congress, very important this year to helping decide control of the House one way or another. Why do you think your district elected Tom Kean, Jr., in 2022?

Sue Altman: Well, look, the Kean family, I think they've been in power since the 1700s in New Jersey. They're this political dynasty and they have great name recognition. Tom Malinowski was a wonderful US congressman, and he was the one who was in this seat right before me. He only lost by a tiny, tiny, small number of votes in a midterm year, and now, it's the presidential year. In a presidential year, the turnout for Democrats is better. The electorate leans bluer.

Also, Tom Kean, Jr., ran as a moderate, and ever since he's been in office and he's been in Congress, it's been such a dysfunctional mess up there. Mike Johnson, the speaker, doesn't stand for anything that New Jerseyans believe in, whether it be national abortion ban or he's against gay marriage, which to me is just settled law. Tom Kean, Jr., continues to snuggle up with those extremist positions and is not being a moderate in Congress.

I think we have a great path to victory. I know we do. It's a toss-up district. Taking back the House, believe it or not, will run right through the Route 78 corridor here in New Jersey. That's really exciting because New Jersey oftentimes doesn't get to be in that swing district conversation, but NJ 7 is, and we have some incredible volunteers. I think we have the best volunteer and grassroots infrastructure in the entire country. It's been such a joy to work with them every day.

Brian Lehrer: You said a couple of times in that answer that Tom Kean ran as a moderate, isn't a moderate. Do you consider yourself a moderate, a liberal, a progressive? How do you label yourself on that spectrum?

Sue Altman: You know what? Those labels are so 2016. I have views that--

Brian Lehrer: You just used it about Tom Kean.

Sue Altman: Well, about Tom Kean, Jr., because he ran as one, but now, I think he's run as a conservative and as someone who stands for the Trump agenda. On the Democratic Party side, I'm a pragmatist. I did run an organization that was progressive, but look at the types of progressivism that Kamala Harris is talking about in her speech and in her platform. Things like housing, affordability, fairness, education, climate. These things that were once considered very far-left things are now a central part of the Democratic Party platform. That's pretty incredible.

I don't know exactly what box I fit into, but I'm a pragmatist. I fought corruption, I fought for democracy, and I will always put New Jersey first. What I see from Tom Kean, Jr., is him putting his donors first and the National Republican Party first, which is increasingly out of step with New Jersey values. It's, quite frankly, very disappointing.

Brian Lehrer: You were executive director of the Working Families Alliance in New Jersey, as we mentioned. Is that affiliated with the Working Families Party, which is part of the left flank of, or considers itself allied with the left flank of the Democratic Party?

Sue Altman: New Jersey Working Families is affiliated with it, but we're not a party in New Jersey. There's a lot of major differences between the national Working Families and the state Working Families in New Jersey here. It's different than New York. When I was in Working Families, we worked a lot on getting rid of the line. You might know that Andy Kim's lawsuit ended the line this past spring, which was a huge victory for democracy in New Jersey and how we run primaries. We worked on a lot of anti-corruption stuff.

I worked pretty closely with organizers in Camden to bring out what was happening along the Waterfront, which has been well documented by this radio station, and George Norcross, who's since been indicted. My work in New Jersey has been very consistently anti-corruption, pro-democracy, and that's against both parties. I was the second person in Jersey to call out Bob Menendez needing to resign. I fought against George Norcross, one of the most powerful Democratic Party bosses in the entire country. I've fought against Chris Christie when he was trying to close schools and cut school funding and he was bullying teachers.

I think my brand of politics is something that I hope is refreshing to New Jersey. I will stand up and fight for what's right for New Jersey, no matter what party you happen to belong to. Whatever politics that gives me, I don't know, but it's certainly what I think people are ready for here in the 7th.

Brian Lehrer: We've been talking on this show a lot about inflation and general affordability as an issue. You just mentioned it a minute ago with respect to Kamala Harris. She gave that speech on Friday. I see you have an affordability section off your campaign website. What do you think are the biggest affordability challenges for people in your district?

Sue Altman: Oh, my gosh. This is a pretty affluent district and very well-educated district, but it does not mean we don't feel the pain and the pinch of bills going up. Look, I'm a basketball player, I'm a competitor, so whether it's in my democracy or in my capitalism, I like to see good competition. Given that, I think one thing our country is struggling right now with is a drift towards monopoly and a drift towards large corporations consuming small businesses.

That's a real concern for me because I want to see-- I live in Lambertville. Lambertville is a beautiful town with lots of small businesses that are thriving. I want to see communities all over New Jersey with small businesses thriving and there's competitive atmosphere with the big businesses. Right now, there are too many large businesses subsuming the smaller ones, and that just doesn't lead to a vibrant economy. It doesn't lead to competitiveness. You see it with groceries, you see it with gasoline, with the price of utilities. Those things are really, really high right now, and I think it's due to a lack of competition. I'm hoping Kamala Harris's administration will address that.

Brian Lehrer: Last thing on that, do you think there is price gouging on food in your district as Harris says is happening in some stores around the country, and if so, can you name names?

Sue Altman: We don't have enough-- The supermarkets in our district but all across the country are owned by very few number of actual supermarket chains, and so you have an oligopoly where you don't have competitive pricing, and the people who are paying for groceries are not able to shop around. There's just really not much competition. There's absolutely no reason that some groceries like eggs, milk, yogurt, have increased by almost 50% since the pandemic. We all were willing to take it on the chin during the pandemic because it was an emergency time, but those prices have stayed that high.

I have a business degree. I have an MBA, and I know that corporations' only job in this whole world is to make maximum profit. What they learned during the pandemic is they can charge whatever they want for groceries and people will pay, but that is not sustainable and that will not sustain. When we see things like irresponsible and greedy price gouging from large corporations that own way too much of the market, the government has to step in. I believe in capitalism, but I believe that government has to create guardrails so that capitalism remains competitive. What we see right now is uncompetitive capitalism, which isn't capitalism at all.

Brian Lehrer: Sue Altman, an MBA and fan of the NBA.

Sue Altman: That's right. [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: And WNBA, no doubt.

Sue Altman: Absolutely.

Brian Lehrer: And the Democratic nominee for Congress from New Jersey's 7th congressional district, a swing district in which she hopes to unseat Republican Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. Thanks for giving us a few minutes today.

Sue Altman: Oh, thanks. Take care.

Brian Lehrer: Back to Errol Louis, political anchor at NY1 and Spectrum News nationally and a New York Magazine columnist. Errol, we brought Sue into this conversation for a few minutes to kind of give you an example to riff on of a Democratic candidate in a swing district in the New York area currently represented by a Republican. There are a lot of those right now. I'm wondering what you were thinking as you were listening to Sue Altman.

Errol Louis: I was thinking, Brian, New Jersey is one of those states, and it has been for a while now, almost a generation now, one of these states where independents or non-affiliated voters outnumber both Democrats and Republicans. I was wondering if that was true for this district in particular and if this is what the evolving Democratic message is going to be to get leaners, independent leaners, to lean Democratic.

It's also striking that she seems unabashedly not progressive per se but certainly willing to talk like a progressive and champion policies that are favored by progressives in a district that I think is something like the fifth most affluent in the whole country. It's a really wealthy district, and I wonder, who's living out there? What's life like out there?

Then, I guess, finally, that last part that she talked about, about wanting to tackle the monopolization of the food industry in particular and I guess industries in general, that's an interesting development because it's something that really gets to the heart of multiple issues around corporate power, around influence of money, and corporate influence over politics, as well as the cost of living at a very practical level.

It really looks like a winning issue for Democrats who want to pick it up. Of course, it's worth pointing out that it need not be just a Democratic issue. It was Republicans like Theodore Roosevelt who really helped advance anti-monopoly legislation and policy. Hopefully, maybe both parties will be more attentive to it because I think we're all suffering from this concentration of power in the hands of just a few corporations.

Brian Lehrer: How do you see the New York suburbs, particularly which you cover on your show on NY1, meaning Long Island and north of the city, but in New York State in this election year? Is it the same? They, of course, are so important to who controls Congress. There were surprises in 2022 as to where Democrats lost and Republicans won very close to New York City. Is it the same kind of conversation that we just had with that New Jersey Democratic candidate, or do you think it's a little different in some ways?

Errol Louis: Oh, no, no. It's very similar. The Democrats who were running in the New York suburbs in some of these contested battleground or flip districts, whatever you want to call them, they are all trying to tie their Republican opponents to Trump and the Republicans and the Speaker of the House and an agenda that they know will not sell in some of these swing districts or will at least be very controversial.

You'd have to talk to Hakeem Jeffries personally to know which ones are ranked at what point on his hit list, but he clearly has them all counted. He probably dreams and sleeps this stuff, eats and sleeps it every day. I think we're seeing, Brian, the continuation of something that happened over the last generation, which is that Republicans basically got wiped out of the entire Northeast, New England, for sure, and it's making its way down the Atlantic coast. I think there's a long-term trend toward--

As the parties get more polarized and as the Republican side of that polarization involves loyalty to Trump and to some very conservative principles and policies, I think they've just made it so hard for moderate Republicans to survive. The Democrats are trying to take full advantage of it. If this cycle continues that trend, I think we may be saying in a few years what we now say about New England, which is that all the moderate Republicans either quit, retired, or got beaten.

Brian Lehrer: Right. Although the New York suburbs, meaning Long Island and the Hudson Valley, seem to be the exception right now, where the Republican Party seems to be rising to some degree, and we'll see if that trend gets reversed this election year or not. Here's a text that came in from the Sue Altman-Tom Kean district. Listener writes, "Here in Warren and Watchung with barely any media, I'm confident that Kean won because of the sign wars. There are no debates. Will she fight against Kean's sign?" Brown shirt tactics, as this listener calls it.

I guess that's a thing around the suburbs in the New York area, where signs go up for one candidate, other people take them down and put up their own signs.

Errol Louis: I'm laughing just because I grew up in the suburbs of New Rochelle. This is a perennial question. Is it the signs? Is it not the signs? Are the signs a decent indicator? Does it mean that this is XYZ country because they've got signs all over the roads or in people's front yards and so forth? There's no science to it at all. [chuckles] But to the extent that you see signs in protected spaces, meaning on somebody's private lawn or inside somebody's window, that tells you something about that particular household. It doesn't tell you much more.

Can you string those together and start drawing some suppositions? I think you're better off looking at the data, but I do enjoy whenever there's a chance to report on the sign wars, people stealing signs, tearing down signs, vandalizing signs, talking about signs. It just feels very middle school to me.

Brian Lehrer: Listener writes, "Supermarkets--" the issue we were just talking about price gouging, "Supermarkets, the issue as with healthcare and journalism, are being taken over by private equity. They gutted Acme and Kings by doubling prices." There's a comment on that. Pedro in Bergen County, you're on WNYC. Hi, Pedro.

Pedro: Hey, Brian. How you doing? Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: I can hear you just fine.

Pedro: I just have a couple of questions. I wanted to get your thoughts and your guest's. I see in the Democratic convention a feeling of a passing of the baton from the older generation of the Democratic leadership, namely, of course, the president and Pelosi and the others, to a younger generation of Democratic leadership that is there but has not yet kind of gotten through the line, of course, Ocasio-Cortez. I can think also of Pete Buttigieg. I was just wondering what-- because I get that underlying feeling to the whole thing.

Then regarding Steve Kerr, I used to hate the guy as a Knicks fan having to suffer, him putting all those three-pointers against the hated Bulls who had this guy-- what's his name? I can barely remember. Jordan, is it?

Brian Lehrer: Michael Jordan? A slightly famous name?

Pedro: Yes, right. Don't even want to mention it because we did suffer a lot with Steve, but I think it's fantastic that he got up there and said those words. That in mind, I would love to see LeBron up there. Where is LeBron? Where is Beyoncé? Staying on the NBA, where is Stephen Curry? I'd love for Stephen-- Why don't you call Stephen Curry, tell him to get up there and do a nice speech, and then gesture and put Trump to sleep?

Brian Lehrer: Pedro, thank you very much. Well, do you think they might move on from Steve Kerr, the coach, to Steph Curry, his star player, or LeBron James? I don't know that they want to speak at a Democratic convention, but obviously, Pedro thinks they would have even more impact because they're better known. [silence] Errol?

Errol Louis: I'm trying to phrase this properly. [chuckles] I think having entertainers and athletes get involved in public policy at this level and politics at this level is a very risky endeavor. These are people who, in their respective fields, are surrounded by sycophants who tell them that they're great and that they're wise and that they're perfect and that they're going places and that the whole world should do whatever they say. It becomes very easy to have whatever thought pops in your head if you're a millionaire athlete that nobody ever says no to, and say, well, yes, this is the way the world ought to be.

You can do a lot of damage by imagining or pretending or forgetting that these people are really not cut out for this stuff. They haven't necessarily had a background in it. Yes, you'll get a Rhodes Scholar like Bill Bradley, and he turned out to be a very thoughtful person and an honest and effective public servant, but for every person like that, you've got your Tommy Tubervilles. You got a lot of people who just assume that every word out of their mouth, every stray thought that crosses their brain is a pearl of wisdom that should be converted into public policy instantly.

Brian Lehrer: Did he come out of sports, Republican Senator Tuberville?

Errol Louis: Oh, sure, very much so. Very much so. I think you have to, with all of this-- Look, the point of the convention again is to line up the party, get the messaging together, get the morale up, and go out and win, but the purpose of the win has to always be front and center. Spectacle attracts people who are really into spectacle, and that's artists, athletes, singers, actors.

They have their place, but I think they should be-- Look, I think they got it right last night at the DNC when time was going short, the hour was getting late, The president of the United States needed to come on, who got cut? Sweet Baby James.

Brian Lehrer: James Taylor.

Errol Louis: Yes, James Taylor. That's the way it ought to be. Underneath everything, this is very serious business. There's a lot of fun, there's a lot of spectacle, they're trying to make sure that there's some joy involved here, but at the same time, there's very serious needs that have to be addressed and they've got to figure out a way to do it.

Brian Lehrer: We just looked up Tommy Tuberville's website. It says, "Coach Tuberville for US Senate, retired football coach. He was head coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008." That's how much I know about him. I don't know, I hear Jalen Brunson is a very thoughtful guy. Maybe we'll have him on the show from the Knicks one of these days. One more clip from last night, and we're going to go local with Hochul, Governor Kathy Hochul, who largely played the role of home state attack dog against the opposing candidate from Queens.

Governor Kathy Hochul: Trust me, America, if you think you're tired of Donald Trump, talk to a New Yorker. We've had to deal with him for 78 long years. The fraud, the tax dodging, the sham university, the shady charities. We've seen him stiff contractors, rip off workers. He abuses women, brags about it, and then takes away their rights, and New Yorkers are sick of it. It's no wonder he had a fleet at Mar-a-Lago. Sorry about that, Florida. Sorry about that.

Trump hasn't spent much time in New York lately, except that he's to get convicted of 34 felonies. And that's just fine with us because New York's motto is Excelsior, ever upward, and Trump takes us ever downward.

Brian Lehrer: Kathy Hochul, last night. Errol, any thoughts as a NY1 and New York Magazine political journalist on Hochul's remarks or the role of the New York delegation generally?

Errol Louis: Look, it's in some ways a small point but one worth making, which is to say that some of the hagiography of Donald Trump from his supporters includes him allegedly building the New York skyline and doing all kinds of different things, and it's important to have a corrective. It's like, "Well, wait a minute." Even before he ran for office, we did know, and there was a lot of good reporting about some of the things he did that were not so great that people really needed to take seriously.

Will it be decisive? Probably not, but it was good that Hochul was there to say it. It's also important to see the governor of New York, whoever that person is, is by definition a national figure. We are a large and important state. She fulfilled that role. I saw some commentary on social media about, well, it wasn't a great speech, and so forth and so on. That's fine. You can always improve if you want to be an orator. I don't know if that's her goal, but in this case, I thought she did a good job of bringing it.

She identifies, by the way, with the Biden wing of the party. I heard from Hochul's camp that she wanted to be specifically on the same night as the president because that's the part of the Democratic Party that she most identifies with. I thought that was an interesting and important kind of positioning.

Brian Lehrer: Last question, two parts. What will you be listening for in Kamala Harris's speech on Thursday, and where can people see your stuff the rest of convention week?

Errol Louis: My stuff? Okay. Well, Spectrum News is doing coverage every night at 8:00 PM and then again at 10:00 PM. In a lot of cases, that means taking some of the most important speeches. We did that, of course, last night, and went well past our time. We wanted to end at 11:30, and like everybody else, we had to hang in there until the speech was done. We'll be doing that. I'll be writing. My column will appear midweek, early to midweek most weeks. I'm going to be doing that throughout the convention.

Of course, Inside City Hall, we'll give you the New York side of it. My colleagues will be hosting it while I'm doing the convention, but then we're going to jump right back in and do what we do, talk with the delegation, and get different angles and analyses related back to local politics here in New York.

Brian Lehrer: And on what you're looking for from Harris Thursday night?

Errol Louis: I think of the Democratic Party, Brian, as a gathering of the tribes that a number of social movements-- we saw the labor movement last night. Somewhere along the line, I think we're going to hear from the civil rights movement to talk about voting rights. Certainly, the women's movement is going to be front and center as they talk about abortion rights and other concerns. The environmental movement needs to be heard from as well. I'm sure they're going to do all of that over the next 72 hours.

Then I'm going to be listening from Kamala Harris for the person who has the job of tying all of this together, binding together all of these different movements, turning it into a program and a plan and a promise of victory. That's a mighty tall order. That's why we only have one president. She has shown in a lot of different ways that she's not who she was just a few years ago. She has been seasoned, she's been matured, she's been tested, and now, we'll see if she's ready to pass that final test and become the leader of this fractious coalition of movements that think that they've got some answers about how to make the world better.

Brian Lehrer: Errol Louis, political anchor on Spectrum News NY1, host of Inside City Hall there on Monday through Thursday nights at 7:00, and his national show, The Big Deal with Errol Louis, Friday nights at 8:00, and you heard they're doing national coverage during convention week at 8:00 and 10:00. He's also a New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast You Decide. Errol, thanks a lot for today.

Errol Louis: Thank you, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Don't forget our convention coverage from NPR, live at nine o'clock each night this week, including tonight. Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We turn the page. More in a minute.

 

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