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Listen to the latest episode of Former Member [ [link removed] ], where I talk to former members of Congress—Democrats and Republicans—to get their perspectives on what it was like to serve, and how things are different today vs. when they were around.
Yesterday, I spoke with Sam Coppersmith [ [link removed] ], a one-term Democratic Congressman from Arizona who served from 1993 to 1995.
He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1994 [ [link removed] ] in a Republican wave year and lost. Since then, he has stayed connected to politics, has chaired the Democratic Party in Arizona, and—just to keep the rest of us humble—runs triathlons [ [link removed] ].
Details below.
Topics from my conversation with Sam Coppersmith
Want a transcript of this conversation? Click the “Transcript” tab towards the top of this page [ [link removed] ].
0:00 – 2:05: Sam’s background and time in Congress.
2:06 – 5:54: How the NFL got him elected to the House of Representatives.
5:55 – 13:12: The Republican Revolution of ’94, and how the axiom that “all politics is local” is dead.
13:13 – 20:14: Can you get anything done in just one term? (Or, Sam Coppersmith briefly roasting me.)
20:15 – 23:12: The absurdity (and political opportunity) of tax subsidies for professional sports teams.
23:13 – 27:50: Members of Congress who are actually doing a good job.
27:51 – 33:32: The challenge of developing personal relationships in Congress when you’re running in a competitive district. (Flying back and forth to campaign makes it hard to get to know people!)
33:33 – 37:20: Political realignment from the ’90s to the present.
37:21 – 44:32: Democracy, its future, and innovation in government. (And, how we vote on too much stuff in the U.S.)
44:33 – 48:04: What do you miss about Congress? And wrap-up.
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