The issue for my character, and the issue of the show is, how dirty do your feet have to get without suffocating yourself in the mud in order to get an inch of what you really want done?
Abortion is a states' rights issue. Education is a states' right issue. Medicinal marijuana is a states' rights issue. Gay marraige is a states' rights issue. Assisted suicide- like Terri Schiavo- is a states' rights issue. Come to think of it, almost every issue is a states' rights issue. Let's get the federal government out of our lives.
It's really important for me to do the fundamentals of this job really, really well. And to let people know that I think the core responsibilities of a member of Congress aren't seeking the national headlines or being the spokesperson on this issue or that issue when you just get there.
Once you get to this place on what we might metaphorically call your spiritual quest, once you get to the place where you hear about psychedelics, the issue is no longer then about where is the gas peddle on the spiritual vehicle. The issue suddenly becomes, where is the brake? Because this is the fuel to go where you want to go. This is the power to lift you where you want to be lifted.
Our issue isn't when we get something done, ... it's how appropriate it is when we do it.
Yes, you live with your feet in the mud and there's no time to be thinking about how you got in or how you're going to get out.
And it's not a finger-pointing issue to me; I take as much responsibility as I can. It was more just me not really knowing what I wanted to do and how to get it done.
Really, when you get down to racism, in or out of the church, it's a heart issue. It's not a head issue. When we actually get to experience each other's ministry, and each other's struggle, and each other's pain, there's a much greater sensitivity.
I think there are many in the Democratic Party that want immigration to be unsolved issue at least for the time being, because it's more useful as a campaign issue than it is as a solved issue.
You have to be able to solve problems issue by issue. And you can't let political dogma get in the way.
People say that you want to be varied in your career, and I've done so many things and am very appreciative. But, the one thing I've never done and wanted to do was to be a regular on a TV show, where you get 22 weeks of the year to develop and play a character. I've done arcs of five or eight episodes on shows, but I'd like to have a character that's rich enough and deep enough to want to explore and live with for a few years. Playing the same character, but doing different scenes seems very exciting to me.
The key to winning millennials is to stick to pragmatic solutions issue by issue. The millennial generation is characterized partly by their desire to see the system work - and they get that this system isn't working. But they also want to be part of the solution.
My message to women is it's okay not to toe the party line on every issue. You don't have to be a puppet or a mouthpiece for your party on every issue. You can be an independent thinker; you can take it issue by issue, and that's okay. You shouldn't be told, 'You can't sit with us.'
When I turn on an award show, I don't want to be lectured about politics, climate change or the NRA or a left-wing issue or a right-wing issue.
When you play a character, you bring yourself into the character. You get a chance to shine and show your translation for the character and her state of mind.
When we classify an issue as a 'shield issue' it is usually because we feel that someone else occupies the high ground on that issue. We feel we can't win on that issue and so we adopt a defensive posture.
Of course the issue of ending war, and creating prosperity; they're overarching issues all the time. But right now, the challenge to this generation I believe is the climate crisis. It's a national security issue, it's a health issue in terms of clean air, it's a competitiveness issue in terms of innovation and it's a moral issue to preserve the planet for the next generation.