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- Well, I've written broadly
for a very long time.

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When I wrote my very first romance novel,

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the reason I used a pen name

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was I was also publishing
treatises on tax policy, so.

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(Laura chuckling)

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I've always had multiple
identities in writing,

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and so this is my second foray
into children's literature,

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but it is always fun to write

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no matter what I'm writing about.

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(light music)

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I love reading to kids.

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My mom was a librarian
when I was growing up

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and she specialized in
children's literature,

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but she also would have
us go out and, you know,

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read to kids and really
focus on literacy issues.

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So for me, this is sort of part and parcel

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of how you do good for other people,

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and getting to tell great stories

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about culture and difference,

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and learning to, you know,
live with who you are.

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- Well, the book is really great.

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I read it earlier today.

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Congratulations on the release day.

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- [Stacey] Thank you.

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- I, of course, have to ask
you a little bit about politics

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if that's okay. (laughing)
- Politics,

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I'm not sure what you're talking about.

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- Have you heard of it?

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- You know, on occasion.

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- Once or twice.

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So, you very narrowly
lost the race in 2018.

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We just had a runoff, Georgia being we,

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with Herschel Walker and Senator
Warnock, and Warnock won,

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and a lot of people have attributed that

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to you sort of building

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the Democratic ground game in Georgia.

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But then, you know, your loss
this time, unfortunately,

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was by a wider margin than in 2018.

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So how do you square being
credited with Warnock's win

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and not having won yourself?

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How does that feel?

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- Well, I think part of
it is that incumbency

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has its benefits both for the, you know,

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for Senator Warnock and for
the Governor's reelection.

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But I also believe that we
are continuing to build.

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You gotta remember there was 20 years

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of Republican dominance of everything.

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And you don't undo that

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in a single election or two elections.

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I wanted to get closer,
but we know that, you know,

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it's not just about a moment,

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it's not just about a candidate,

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it's about building the belief

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that communities like the
domestic workers community

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has the right to be heard,

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and that's the work that
I'm most focused on.

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And whether I get the title or not,

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my privilege is to be a
part of helping people

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understand their political power

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and how that connects
to their daily lives.

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- Hmm.

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What was going through your head

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watching that very strange
Herschel Walker campaign?

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- I think we do ourselves a disservice

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when we underestimate just how
salient those campaigns are.

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I mean, I ran against someone

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who is credited with voter suppression

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and who passed one of the
strictest abortion laws

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in the country,

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who made his bones by
villainizing people of color,

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and was given an escape route.

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We cannot focus so much on
the theatrics of a campaign

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that we ignore the policies

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they will put in place
when they get elected.

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And so I'm just grateful

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that Senator Warnock was able to leverage

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both his incumbency and his work

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to get people to focus on what could be,

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instead of us getting distracted by the,

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you know, the zeitgeist of a moment.

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Our lives aren't lived
election to election.

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Our lives are lived day to day,

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and we need people in power

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who actually care about our lives.

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- I wanna ask you about another moment.

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You wear many hats,

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a voting rights activist is one of them.

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And you were testifying before the Senate,

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and my home state senator, John Kennedy,

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was asking you to list certain provisions

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that you found objectionable

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in the Georgia voter suppression bill,

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and you just absolutely schooled him,

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just stomped him and
humiliated him intellectually.

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How did that feel?

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- I try to always be
precise in my language

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and thorough in my answers.

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I don't believe he expected either,

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and I'm grateful that
he gave me a platform

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to share what was
happening with the world.

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- (laughing) Are you used to
being interrupted like that?

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- Yes, I've been in
politics in Georgia, yes.

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(Laura laughing)

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- And by the way, I'm a girl.

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- What is next for you?

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Are you considering running
for office ever again,

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or moving into a different phase

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of your career, or what's next?

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- So, writing "Stacey's Remarkable Books"

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is about practicing being who you are.

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And this is a story about
two young people who meet,

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who have different cultures,
and different backgrounds.

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Stacey's a little shy,

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Julie is learning to speak
English and read English,

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and they come together, and at the end,

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the story, I don't wanna
give away the ending,

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but the story is about the
fact that you don't always get

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where you try to be the first time,

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you've gotta practice
at being who you are.

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I'm gonna keep practicing.

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For me, titles are less relevant

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than the work that I can do.

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And there may be another job I run for,

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but the work will always be there,

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and I'm always gonna be focused on

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how I can get more done and
how I can get good done.

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(uplifting music)