Inside Texas Politics

[0:00] Pastor Haynes, good to see you here. [0:01] Great to see you. Thank you. [0:02] Why in the world do you want to leave the pulpit where you have influence and get into politics with the state of it today? [0:09] Wow, thank you for that question. [0:11] First, I don't consider myself leaving the pulpit. [0:14] This is really a reflection of the great tradition, especially in the black church, where you had Adam Clayton Powell Jr. [0:21] You had Floyd Flake. [0:23] To this day, you have Senator Raphael Warnock, who, in a real sense, expanded the pulpit. [0:30] So it's not leaving the pulpit as much as it is expanding the pulpit so that the message of justice is brought to the political arena. [0:39] And so that's what I see myself doing, basically extending a ministry of public service beyond what takes place in church on Sunday. [0:49] If elected, will you still preach on Sundays? [0:52] Oh, without question. [0:53] Without question. [0:53] Without question. [0:53] I'll be in the church every single Sunday. [0:55] I talked to Raphael Warnock as I was praying about this, and he said, I've only missed two Sundays in five years. [1:02] And so I look forward to having that kind of record, too. [1:05] Pastor, you announced your candidacy simultaneously with Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. [1:10] Right. [1:11] With hours to go before the deadline. [1:13] You guys are friends. [1:14] She's a member of your church. [1:15] Yeah. [1:16] Did she help you make the decision on whether to run or not? [1:20] Well, ironically, I was trying to pray for her. [1:23] I was trying to pray for her and with her about her decision to run for Senate, and I was not thinking about in any way, shape, form, or fashion succeeding her. [1:33] I was enjoying my time at Friendship West. [1:36] Well, how did this come about then? [1:37] Well, there was a series of things happened. [1:39] One, during the summer when we had the redistricting hearings, I spoke in Austin and in Arlington. [1:46] And so at that point, a number of young activists said to me, we need you to run for office. [1:52] And so I said, no, thank you. [1:53] And then toward the close, as we're getting close to, I should say, the filing deadline, as the rumor mill was swirling about what Congresswoman Crockett would do, then the pressure became, we need you to run for Congresswoman Crockett's seat. [2:10] And so in conversation with her and a few others, we were kind of led to. [2:17] If elected, top two priorities. [2:19] Top two. [2:20] Number one, of course, is going to be economic security. [2:23] The bottom line is too many people are one crisis away from finding themselves an economic disaster. [2:31] But what does that look like, though, Pastor? [2:32] What does economic security look like for voters? [2:34] Well, number one, it looks like ensuring that we move from minimum wage to a living wage and measure what a living wage is according to the area. [2:43] So a living wage in Dallas is not a living wage in New York. [2:48] We have to understand what a living wage is and make that. [2:53] It's not a wage that people live by. [2:55] But also we have to ensure that we are, how can I put it, we do a better job when it comes to capping housing, capping prices. [3:05] And so when we look at the things that have been done in the country that have literally sent prices through the roof, such as tariffs, we have to end the tariffs and hold accountable the presidency. [3:21] Because we cannot continue. [3:23] To ensure that some are enriched while some are struggling. [3:27] You've talked a lot about abolishing ICE as well. [3:29] We all see what's happening in Minnesota, what's happening in Los Angeles. [3:33] But we're a border state. [3:34] We have to have some security on the border, don't we? [3:37] We have to have security on the border, but we can do that without the terrorism that is taking place now in too many of our communities that goes beyond the persons that they claim they are trying to keep out of the country. [3:52] And so I think. [3:53] We have to redefine what it means in terms of border security. [3:57] And we cannot have masked individuals with the backing of the federal government terrorizing Americans. [4:06] Some critics say that, you know, you left leadership positions at the Rainbow Push Coalition too soon. [4:11] They wonder whether you can dedicate the time and commitment it takes to be in Congress. [4:16] What do you tell those folks? [4:17] Well, I tell them, number one, that behind the scenes at Rainbow Push, there was basically an understanding. [4:23] That there was one vision that I had, another vision that those who have been at Rainbow Push had. [4:29] And so we decided that we would, instead of, you know, fighting each other, that we're going to work together, you know, two tracks moving in the same direction. [4:41] Rainbow Push persons to this day call me. [4:44] I received a call this past Saturday from several persons on staff saying, what can we do to help your campaign? [4:52] So. [4:53] There was nothing about our separation that was in any way negative. [5:00] Instead, it was positive. [5:02] And, you know, Jonathan Jackson, Reverend Jackson's son, who's in Congress, called me. [5:06] I want to come to Dallas to help you. [5:09] So. [5:09] And I spoke with Reverend Jackson last week. [5:12] So the bottom line is that was a very agreeable parting of ways with an understanding that we're going to keep working together because we have the same mission. [5:22] What did Reverend Jackson say to you about your run? [5:25] Oh, Reverend Jackson, he's excited about my run. [5:27] He just basically told me, he said, stay true to who you are and the mission that God has assigned you. [5:34] And he said that, and he was done. [5:36] He said, stay true to who you are and the mission God has assigned you. [5:40] You took a leave of absence last fall for a health issue. [5:43] Yeah. [5:43] You look great today. [5:44] How are you doing? [5:45] Oh, I'm much better today than before I went in for surgery. [5:49] I had the best surgeon. [5:52] A wonderful team of medical professionals. [5:56] And my surgeon even said, I'm one of the best in the world at this. [5:59] Do not make me look bad. [6:01] I need you to go out there looking good. [6:03] So I'm trying to make sure he looks good. [6:06] Let's talk foreign policy here for a moment. [6:08] Do you support sending the military into Venezuela or into Greenland? [6:12] Not at all. [6:12] I think that America, if we're serious about America first, then we have enough problems here in this country that we need to solve. [6:21] I'm against a colonization. [6:23] I'm against a colonial imperialism that continues to spread. [6:27] Greenland does not want us there. [6:30] Venezuela is an independent country. [6:32] We need to respect the wishes of the citizenry in those countries. [6:37] Iran is teetering on the edge of revolution, it looks like. [6:41] Perhaps a democratic revolution. [6:43] It hasn't had since the 70s. [6:45] Where do you stand on that? [6:46] Should the U.S. help further that? [6:48] Should the U.S. conduct military strikes? [6:50] I think the U.S. should stand on the sidelines. [6:52] And we need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:53] We need to do that. [6:54] Martin Luther King Jr., who we will celebrate this weekend, talked about one of the evil triplets being militarism. [7:01] And militarism often sticks its nose where it's not necessarily wanted. [7:06] And so I am adamantly opposed to any kind of intervention militaristically in Iran. [7:12] As a matter of fact, I believe the people of Iran have the right and the responsibility to decide their destiny politically. [7:20] You've watched politics from the sidelines for decades. [7:23] Do you think the Democratic Party should move more to the center or farther left? [7:27] I think the Democratic Party should reflect the values of what the name democracy and democratic means. [7:37] The original meaning is a compound of two Greek words, demos, which has to do with people, and kratos, which has to do with power. [7:45] And so we should be powered by the people, serving the needs of the people. [7:50] And I refuse to be defined. [7:53] I refuse to be defined by middle or progressive, even though I consider myself a progressive. [8:00] At the same time, I think it's important that we are about the people. [8:04] Where are the people? [8:05] What needs do the people have? [8:07] And then we create systems and policies that address the needs of the people. [8:12] Does that require the party going further left, do you think? [8:15] Or is the party in the right position right now? [8:17] I think the party needs to not be afraid to go to the left. [8:21] The party needs to recognize. [8:23] That there are a number of persons who are suffering and struggling because we need to raise the economic floor in this country. [8:31] And so with that being the case, whatever that takes, we need to do it. [8:36] Five candidates in this race, what does internal polling say, and can you avoid a runoff? [8:40] We believe we can avoid a runoff. [8:42] All of the candidates are strong, and I think we need to have a healthy, robust conversation on what our respective visions are for this race. [8:53] We need to go to this country and see which vision resonates most with the people of District 30, [8:59] which has been gerrymandered in such a horrible fashion. [9:03] And so we need to see, okay, what do we need to do in light of the removal of economic engines [9:11] and the fact that so many in District 30 are one economic crisis away from being in a real horrible situation. [9:19] You think you can avoid a runoff, though? [9:21] I mean, there's a lot of folks on the ballot here. [9:22] It is possible, without question. [9:26] I am privileged to have served in this community for quite some time, [9:31] and I have been working, not from the sidelines, but really on the playing field of activism, [9:38] trying to make District 30 better, trying to make America better. [9:41] And I believe that the citizens of District 30 not only respect it, but they appreciate it. [9:46] Pastor, it's good to see you. [9:47] Good to see you. Thank you very much. [9:49] Fantastic, man. [9:52] I appreciate it. [9:53] Good stuff, yeah. [9:54] Good to see you.