KC Counts:
Let me ask you first, what issues do you think are top of mind for New Mexicans that you will carry with you into the Senate if you're elected?
Matt Dodson:
There are so many. On the top of my list, of course, universal health care. I definitely am going to work and fight for money out of politics, tax the billionaires and free college. And recently, due to all the ridiculous decisions of the Supreme Court, I've had to add reforming the Supreme Court to the top of the list. And the main thing that will help New Mexicans really is universal health care. Everybody needs it. I don't even want to be asked how we're going to pay for it because it's going to save money. And especially in rural areas, where rural clinics are serving a lot of people that do not have a lot of money. They don't know if they're going to get paid or not, which makes it tough to keep doctors and keep the clinics open. And universal health care just guarantees a steady income, guaranteed income, of course, unless nobody gets sick. So that's really the number one issue.
KC Counts:
All right. What tools exist in the Senate for you to successfully find solutions for those issues?
Matt Dodson:
Well, right now it's pretty tough because the popularity of the Senate, Congress in general is at 10%. Everybody keeps voting in the same people and they're all bought off. So that makes everything tough. But the best example is when both houses at the House and the Senate did not pass the bill to fund paying for our veterans who are harmed by burn pits all the way up to and include cancer. And John Stewart got in front of a microphone that afternoon and went on a 10-minute rant. And the next day, by damn, they came in and they passed that. So the best tool is to just go on the attack. We need people with a spine in there that are going to work for us.
KC Counts:
Some might say states like New Mexico have outsized representation in the Senate. Do you agree? And if so, how do you believe it's impacted the state?
Matt Dodson:
Smaller states absolutely have an outsized impact on the Senate. The most extreme would be Wyoming has 600,000 people and California has nearly 38 million people. So 2 senators from each state, that is not equality. The worst part of it is really where they keep instituting, even though it's that undemocratic and they keep putting in place the filibuster. That has to come to an end. I've heard of a great replacement. I don't like the name of it. It's the cloture rule, something, cloture rule. I call it 51-51. When 51 senators that represent 51% of the people vote on something, then it passes. And what they're afraid of right now are the Democrats say, well, if we get rid of the filibuster, then the Republicans with a who represent a much smaller portion of the U.S. population than other states, well, they'd be able to pass anything they wanted. And that's true. But if they did, I think the backlash would be so bad that would hurt horribly in the short run, which is really what Trump is doing right now anyway. The lobby, damn, he just plows forward. But 51-51, there are seven states that represent over 51% of the U.S. population. So we have an enormous outsized role with our two senators. And that benefits New Mexico in a lot of ways because it brings a lot of money into the state. And that's probably why we have so many. The labs are here and we have quite a few military bases here. And yes, that definitely benefits the state. Does it help us with under Trump with Medicaid money? No, it doesn't. So a matter of fact, they're specifically targeting blue states. but it does bring in a lot of money to New Mexico.
KC Counts:
I would say you definitely touched on the next question, which was, what are the biggest challenges facing representatives in the US Senate, institutional hurdles and the like? You mentioned the filibuster. Would there be others that you'd like to touch on and talk about?
Matt Dodson:
Absolutely. Thank you. To begin with, one of the biggest hurdles is just A complete total lack of leadership. Schumer's worthless. Jeffries is worthless. They both need to be taken out. In the Senate, it would only take one senator speaking up, Democratic senator speaking up against Schumer. Within a week, they'd have to have a caucus meeting and vote whether to keep him or not. And where's that senator? I mean, they don't exist at all. So the biggest hurdle is just flat spinelessness. or they're paid to be spying us. So then that would be the money in politics.
KC Counts:
What else do you think is important for people to know about you or your campaign before election day?
Matt Dodson:
The thing is that I am taking no corporate or AIPAC money. So I'm just flat toopissed offto be bought off. And if I could get to Washington, I would be a terrorist against all of them, including the Democrats. They're just not doing what needs to be done for us. And a huge example is the AIPAC money that everyone is receiving. As a matter of fact, AIPAC committed an act of terrorism two years ago in the United States when they took out two black representatives, Cory Bush and Jamaal Bowman. They spent between $10 and $16 million in each of those races, which was, at the time, completely unheard of. And that told every other member of Congress, you either do what we say or we'll take you out. Well, if you're afraid of Israel, then get out. You shouldn't be there. So there are so many things that make me different. And I have a rather extensive platform on my website. I want people to know where I stand. So please go to MattDodson4NM.com and check out everything on there. It explains how I'm different from my opponent. It explains how just exactly what my platform is, although I keep adding to it every day because there's so much more to add and there's so much more that we need to work on.
KC Counts:
Matt Dodson, thank you so much for spending this time with us. We appreciate it.
Matt Dodson:
Thank you for the opportunity, and I greatly appreciate this.
