Blake Ashby

In 1974, when I was 34, I won the Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee. I lost the general election because voters were mad at Republicans about Watergate and because people said I was a “stuffed shirt.” So, when I wanted to run again four years later, my wife, Honey, said, “Wait a minute. First, I want to know 𝘸𝘩𝘺 you're running. What do you hope to accomplish? And second, could we have a different sort of campaign?” So we talked about it with some other people, and she said, "Well, why doesn't Lamar just do what he likes to do? He likes music, he likes to walk, he likes to meet people, he likes the outdoors." And then she said, "Why don't you just walk across the state?" And you don't walk across the state in a blue suit. So she and I went down to Friedman's Army Surplus Store on Hillsboro Avenue in Nashville, and we bought all the red-and-black plaid shirts they had. We added it to the two I already had, and I wore one of those shirts every day on my 1,022-mile walk across the state. I did my best to shake hands with 1,000 people every day and spent the night with 73 families, most of whom I had not known before. I sank deep into the music, stories, and character of our state. I saw firsthand that Tennessee was third from the bottom in family incomes, there was little interest in bettering the education system, and the "anything is possible" spirit I grew up with in Maryville was not prevalent in the community.

Most people who tell you to fear socialism can’t define the word.

An "AI for the People" agenda must include universal basic income. Medicare for All is needed too, but it doesn't negate the need for cash to live on a daily basis, and we should distribute cash to all as a dividend because our capital trained the AI. We all deserve our share.

The AI revolution must work for all of us, not just tech lords. Medicare for All given job displacement. A federal jobs program to hire 1 million Americans. I call it Work for America. An AI for the People agenda.

Trump has been putting all his effort into gerrymandering to mitigate this rather than trying to actually address the public’s concerns

Presidential approval at this point during election years that saw major midterm shifts and the ultimate House results for their party: Clinton '94: 51% (-52 seats) Bush '06: 38% (-30 seats) Obama '10: 50% (-63 seats) Trump '18: 42% (-40 seats) Trump '26: 37%

[me to my wife] If you're more frustrated by me shacking up with stripper than by millions of people lacking health care, you don't understand morals

ABDUL EL-SAYED: If you're more frustrated by the idea that I would campaign with Hasan Piker than the idea that we have backstopped a genocide or that we continue to rob people of getting basic healthcare, I think you don't understand morals.

We're all just grateful he didn't eat the bird.

Starling rescue today at Dulles Airport.

"Sometimes borrowing money is a good idea." That's the whole debate in one sentence. Debt to build future capacity? Sensible. Debt for a sugar hit today? Different story.

I don’t think it will be by the end of the month. But there’s a 10-15% chance it happens this year I think.

JUST IN: A Trump judicial nominee was asked point blank: is Trump eligible to run for a third term? Their answer: “I would have to review the actual wording…” Sen. Chris Coons then asked every nominee in the room to confirm the Constitution bars a third term. Silence. Every single one of them refused to say it. Trump is appointing judges who won’t affirm the 22nd Amendment to his face. Never stop connecting the dots.