This Progressive is Taking On the AIPAC and AI Owned Dems as They Spend Millions to Win

0:04All right, listener, the same corporate interests that are funding MAGA, that are funding the dismantling of American democracy, are funneling money into Democratic candidates and lying about it. And do not turn away from this episode. It is so important that we get the special interest money out of the Democratic Party immediately. And here today, I have Nita Alam. She is a candidate for Congress in North Carolina. She has endorsements from Bernie Sanders, Justice Democrats, Working Families Party, Leaders We Deserve, and so much more. Nita, thank you so much for joining me. Let's dive right into it.

0:45Tell us about your opponent. Tell us who is paying her off and all of the double playing that's going on in the Democratic Party, because we must root it out.

0:54Nida Allam:Yes, thank you so much for having me. So my opponent is Representative Valerie Fouchy, who is only in this congressional seat because in 2022, AIPAC and a crypto billionaire who's now in jail spent over$4 million to elect her. And now we have a rematch where I'm running for the seat because we see Trump's authoritarianism and our representative doing absolutely nothing to stand up for our communities in the safest blue seat. And we've gotten real close and they're scared and terrified of change and young leadership that's going to push the status quo. that all of a sudden in the last week of this election, the AI lobby has now dumped yesterday over$1.3 million into this race, as well as another super PAC that was also, it's like a shadow PAC essentially, that was created and used against Ana Lilia Mejia in New Jersey.

1:50Nida Allam:It's called Article One Super PAC that's dropped$600 ,000 into this race as well. That's crazy because, listener, here's what you have to understand what they're doing. They are lying to you. The Republican oligarchs and these special interests are buying Democrats and they are messaging things that might tug at your heartstrings, like ice needs to be reined in or pro-choice issues or pro-LGBTQ plus issues. But it's all a ruse, is it not? Yeah, absolutely. And if our party's leadership truly cared about taking on Trump and his right-wing authoritarianism, this over$2 million, why was it not spent in helping us flip our state legislature here in North Carolina so we could actually have fair maps and Republicans wouldn't have a Republican supermajority?

2:47Nida Allam:But instead, it's being used to keep a legislator in office who's just going to be friendly to the AI lobby and who's taken money from countless corporate PACs that have funded Trump and MAGA Republicans. So, I mean, basically, listener, what you need to understand here is they are paying to buy off the opposition. So when you see leaders Schumer and Jeffries not doing anything, it's because they have MAGA donors. that's what we all need to wake up to but let's talk about you let's talk about when you win this primary and then when you go to congress let's talk about what you believe in and let me ask you some questions do you think ice needs to be abolished yes a thousand percent as well i can end it there but also it's a personal issue to me because i'm a muslim woman and i'm also visibly muslim and this is an agency that was created under the bush administration in 2003 to target my community, to dehumanize us, to profile us, and to target us.

3:49Nida Allam:And now it's being used to this next level of extremism to target any individual that doesn't look the way that Trump wants or doesn't fall in line. And our taxpayer dollars are being used to kill innocent American civilians in broad daylight, to kidnap children from school. And my opponent thinks that body cameras will save us. It's crazy. What about Hakeem Jeffries? If you win this race all the way over, will you support him? And let's say it's a blue tsunami. Will you support him to be the majority leader, the Speaker of the House? I think Democratic leadership should be graded by their willingness to fight.

4:31Nida Allam:And right now, they'd rather spend millions of dollars fighting against me than Republican fascism and corporate greed. And so I think that we need to take a deep look at ourselves as Democrats, because these very same tactics is what's turning off voters from joining the Democratic Party and voting for Democratic candidates. And how do you feel about taxing the rich? I think that as a county commissioner, I see every day the impact of our tax systems on our lowest income neighbors. And the fact that we continue to have systems where our lowest income neighbors are facing the burden of increased burden of cost, but then the ultra wealthy and these corporations get millions and billions of dollars of tax cuts is just unjust.

5:22Nida Allam:And the only way we're going to truly hold them accountable is if we're not cashing checks from them, because these folks aren't spending thousands and millions of dollars and not expecting something in return. I agree. I just completely agree. I think it's really disgraceful what the Democratic Party is doing here and what they did to Zoran Mamdani. And I think that especially in states like North Carolina, North Carolina is a purple state, it's red, trending, trending blue. And it's a beautiful state. We went on tour there. How do you feel about women's issues? A lot of where I'm from, Oklahoma, has a total abortion ban.

6:02And what is your position on this?

6:04Nida Allam:So the issue of reproductive health care is personal to me because I've been very open about my own journey and my own struggles that I've had to deal with of, you know, me and my husband, when we were trying to start our family, we had to go through several years of fertility treatment, of IUI treatment. And during that process, I unfortunately had an ectopic pregnancy that wouldn't resolve itself and resulted in me needing to get a medical abortion. And I look at what Republicans are doing and imagine the stress and the anxiety and the pain that I was emotionally going through. To imagine having a politician in that room telling me what I can and cannot do with my own body is just egregious.

6:46Nida Allam:And now I have a three year and a half year old daughter and I want her to have autonomy over her own body because right now she has fewer rights than I did. Yeah, that's what's so wild, how regressive MAGA has been. And that this is where I am right now. I expect Donald Trump and Republicans and MAGA Republicans to wake up every day, commit crimes, be unethical, be immoral, rinse, repeat. I expect it to happen. So then I could sit there and bang my head up against the wall and expect a different result, but that would be the definition of insanity. So as a independent media person and podcaster, I've started focusing on who can exact change here.

7:30Who can I hold responsible? So as a lifelong Democratic voter, I'm looking to the Democratic Party. And I am adamant that the corporate interests have rotted out the Democratic Party and we have lost our way. And I think that where we are right now, I had Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut on a couple of days ago, and he said something I thought was very poignant. He said, it's not really about red versus blue right now or liberal versus conservative. It's about corporations versus workers. And I thought that was a really great way of putting it because I think the majority of Americans agree.

8:09And thank you for sharing your story about your personal gynecological needs that you had. I think these are really important stories to bring to the forefront because this happens to so many women. But it really is. We're at a moment right now where we have a faction of the Democratic Party that is for the corporations and not for the American people. Yep.

8:34Nida Allam:And I constantly get asked this along the campaign trail of, well, do you consider yourself a part of the ultra left and the progressive side of the party? And my response is always the same, that I believe that the policies that I'm standing on are common sense. They are the policies around humanity and dignity for every individual in this country, because most voters in this country are unaffiliated. They're not registered Republican or Democrat or Libertarian. They don't care what letter you have next to their name. They care about what are you going to deliver and do for them. So this is the bluest district in North Carolina.

9:10Nida Allam:But you could even go to the most quote unquote red district in North Carolina, anywhere in the country and ask the average person, do you want to live with dignity? Do you want to put food on your table? Do you want to be able to keep a roof over your family's head, support your family with just having to work one job and not two or three jobs? The answer is going to be yes. And we as a Democratic Party need to be having those conversations and bringing those folks onto our side for them to understand that we are the ones who are going to actually champion those issues of a true living wage, champion the issue of Medicare as a human, health care as a human right through Medicare for all.

9:47Nida Allam:But we're too busy courting these corporate interests that are paying us unlivable wages, that are destroying our environment, that are profiting off of us spending endlessly in war. I really appreciate where you are with this because this is important messaging for Democrats. Everything that you just said is not some radical view. Common sense gun control, women having privacy at their doctor's appointments, a livable wage, not having to file bankruptcy because of medical issues, being able to afford a root canal. These are things that are debilitating, that incite paralysis on millions and millions of working class Americans.

10:30And yet we have this kind of one party system when you really open up your eyes to it, that the way I see it is Republicans, they say it, we're servicing corporations, we're servicing rich people. I mean, Donald Trump has been very clear about that. I'm going to lower your taxes. And I mean, he makes no problem saying that he's for rich people. I mean, he talks about affordability from time to time, but the Democratic Party is, it's a little bit more diabolical for me, the corporate Dems, because they hoodwink and they play to our empathy and compassion and our sense of humanity. And they use that to lure us in like they're doing here with Valerie Foshee.

11:13And Valerie Foshee, your opponent, she is bought and paid for. She is completely bought and paid for. And so to have an expectation in North Carolina that Valerie Foshee is going to do anything to prevent you from having to file medical bankruptcy, she's going to be in the pockets of the insurance companies. And so these races, when you see the corporations come in and start giving this much money to Democrats, I think that Democrat becomes so toxic because you know, oh, this is really a Republican. This is really a MAGA person that can be bought and paid for. And they must be very scared of you to spend this much money.

11:56You're a successful commissioner right now, already elected in the state of North Carolina, and you stand on business. What is your closing message to voters as we head into election season?

12:09Nida Allam:My closing message is that I know and I understand that folks are sick and tired of the status quo, that they're sick and tired of their leaders not caring that they are struggling to make ends meet. I'm a young mother of two children. I understand how expensive it is to balance childcare, a mortgage, student debt. Our mortgage for our childcare for two kids is the same as our mortgage. And we need leadership that understands the urgency of this moment, because this isn't something that we need to, we can just tell residents, oh, wait three years. Once Trump is out of office, then we'll fight for you.

12:46Nida Allam:Because families are struggling. Families are dying right now through the loss of health care, loss of jobs. And if you care about fighting back against these systems of corruption, get out and vote and have your voice be heard. because change is not going to come from sitting at home. Change comes from us organizing and making sure that these corporate interests do not silence us. And I am going to be a representative that champions the issues of working families. And you will know that because I've never accepted a cent from corporate PACs or right-wing special interest groups. And I'm proud of that.

13:26I'm proud of you for that. And I think that that needs to be our North Star and who we vote for. But campaigns are expensive. So listener and viewer, she's not taking any corporate money. And we've got AI and APAC and all these lobbyists going in to control her opposition. Valerie Foshee, who is just a D in name only. I guess Trump would call that a dino. So tell my viewers and listeners how they can go give you guys five, 10, 20 bucks. These are the races that really, really matter. How can my viewers and listeners help you win this seat?

14:05Nida Allam:Absolutely. If folks go to nidhaalam.com slash donate, they can make a contribution to us. If you're not able to donate, we have virtual volunteer opportunities. You can phone bank for us from anywhere in the country. If you go to nidhaalam.com slash volunteer, or if you're in the district or around the district, come out and knock doors with us. help us poll greet and make sure that every voter knows that they have a choice in this election. North Carolina, you've got to do this. Do not support these toxic corporate Dems. Go help this woman. Go vote for this woman. Every single race, even if you don't live in North Carolina, is of utmost importance to the future of this country.

14:49Nita, thank you so much for joining me. I wish you the best of luck. I know you're going to win this primary.

14:54Nida Allam:Thank you so much, Anne, for having me and appreciate all the work that you're doing. Of course. Thank you.