Just How Broken Is American Politics? - Dean Phillips on Modern Wisdom (Video)

In this 20 January 2024 video, Chris Williamson and Dean Phillips share an open conversation including items of business and politics.

Dean Phillips is a member of the U.S House of Representatives, a Democratic presidential candidate and former owner of the businesses Talenti Gelato and Belvedere Vodka.

Whether it’s stories in the press or scenes in ‘House of Cards’, no one seems to have much faith in the American political system at the moment. Dean Phillips has had a front row seat to this world for a long time and is now running for president, so he should be able to give some insight on just how bad it’s become.

Expect to learn whether congress or the business world has more backstabbing in it, the perverse incentives of donors and funding, Dean’s backing building Belvedere Vodka and Talenti Gelato, whether Dean thinks that politicians are smarter than the average person, what Dean’s prediction for 2024 are and much more.

https://youtu.be/IBcRDWY911w

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00:00 Did Dean Found Belvedere Vodka?
08:34 The Experiencing of Negotiating With Unilever
12:14 Is Politics or Business More Cutthroat?
17:36 Do Congressmen Actually Do Any Work?
23:44 Quitting Dean’s Job & Running for President
29:36 The Rise of RFK Jr
32:20 How Easy Is it to Work Across the Aisle?
40:55 Why Is it So Hard to Call Out Leftist Extreme Groups?
50:37 What the Democratic Party is Getting Wrong

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Dean Phillips is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district since 2019. Phillips’s district encompasses the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Bloomington, Minnetonka, Edina, Maple Grove, Plymouth and Eden Prairie. A member of the Democratic Party, Phillips has both owned and started several companies in addition to serving as president and CEO of his family’s liquor business, the Phillips Distilling Company. Dean Phillips was the former co-owner of the businesses Talenti Gelato and Belvedere Vodka. On November 24, 2023, Phillips announced he would not run for reelection. 

In October 2023, he announced that he would step down as co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee because his views on the 2024 presidential race were incongruent with the majority of his caucus. On October 27, in Concord, New Hampshire, he announced a run for the 2024 presidency after he officially filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission the previous day. Mr. Phillips said he would challenge to gain access to the primary ballots of several states where the Democratic Party had excluded him.

An interesting side note is Dean Phillips’s paternal step-grandmother Pauline Phillips was the author of the advice column “Dear Abby”, published under the pen name Abigail Van Buren.