Of getting anything done. Going to do things, youre not a real democrat. I watch these moderates not only did they want to hold my feet but thats the only way youre going to keep that house and that tension never seem to fully become result. From what i could see did that of course the backbone of a lot of those races is what that is. Chrissy in my particular district, that vast majority is in the county and Chester County has been read for more than 160 years. In my community is 40 percent democrat and 40 percent replica republican and 20 percent independent and we are a very simple place. I think im one of those people that youre mentioning in terms of the race that i was able to be is the House Speaker and really flip. Really being one of those pragmatic places. Something that i hope that women bring to the table and veterans as well. As a understanding that you are all part of the same team. And honestly, across the aisle, we are all part of the team. Were all part of the solution. Whether we are red or blue or purple, i think it is very important that we recognize that work representing hundred thousand folks are so that are in our community. And hopefully you are right there because we represent those people. I might not be the same person as alexandria is, or somebody was from red district that i am not from that is okay because it is her job. Were there to find a Common Ground and to come together. One of the things i explained in my mind, its of this linear spectrum of brendan blood, its a circle. The blue and the red and the hard brendan hard blue together at the very top of that this and you see interesting coalitions pretty near some ways the more similar than they know they are then down in the purple area you have some synergies going on for delay in this congress we have a lot of purple areas. The flip seats. A lot of strong reds and strong blues. We might have the opportunity to have real conversation because were representing our communities and because we come from different places. So i think it is really cool. Jennifer how we define what is moderate liberal has changed so much printed now as an anthem not to support medicare for all. Many people dont in the preferred a public option and is now become that probation for democrats. But ten years ago that was considered very far left. We dont think its a public option now. We dont think its a policy conflict at all. That was ten years ago, not 30 years ago british i think how we define people to, we could complicate that. Chrissy living topics, i like how you included the orientation because it sounded to be kind of frustrating experience during freshman orientation we literally had classes for democrats and republicans. We spent a lot of time focused on things that were very hrh which youd expect an orientation but very little on things that what is mtr reply should we care about it. Very little about how you get something through appropriations. This largely because i think of the class of people who needed to have that background i wouldve thought that wouldve been helpful but you have been here for a while. And we probably seen a couple of things that i have not seen printed what you think of the weirdest thing is about congress. When you go out of the beltway. I talk about the mcr. I think that is the weirdest thing. Jennifer in some ways, i think what continues to strike me, a lot of people who come to compress them carbon in commerce for long time. And i wasnt a washington reporter pretty sore in some ways i was a freshman. I saw things very new for me. What struck me then and i enjoyed watching, numbers interact with, really one of the resort physical nature of the capital. And how you go about things. I cant tell you how many conversations ive had with women about the need to buy new shoes. In the way that the footwear issue. Its huge. The amount of walking that goes on, finding little antiquated things. As a rotary phone as you probably noticed in the elevator predict and thank the members are still called to vote with these buzzers doesnt have to know that. And there was a time when back when when sins are sinners, even the process would be eating oysters and drinking champagne. And their aides would have to come by and tell them it was time to vote. So some of those things are gone. In the rotunda. [laughter]. But in some ways, it is a very formal place. People, you must know that right before he came to congress, it was a National Live debate about whether women could expose shoulders in the house for. So theres some things sort of funny antiquated, formal, perhaps needless but then, and lisa. In trying to get into network space. And i would be curious if that was your experience. Chrissy what i share my home, i sometimes teach classes and the kind of an high school and Grade School Kids about what the day in the life of a congressperson is pretty when i do all day. In one of the sites that i show them is not my tidbit for my phone. Im bringing it with me everywhere pretty unknown but is based on between six and 8 miles a day. This just a typical day. On the most days im only in my office maybe ten or 15 minutes a day. Because largely what i am doing is all over the congress in one of the things that i found enlightening is knowing that ironically right here on cspan to talk about it. I never understood why nobody ever seen to be at work in progress. Because i would be watching the television and i would take it where is everybody. And what i discovered is theyre all on three or four different communities and six or seven subcommittees and are all happening at the very same time. So as an outsider looking in and looking at the same deceits, but i am not recognizing is that member is Walking Around the 8 miles of the day. Just in their chair for the five minutes of conversations. And to represent our communities and largely what they are doing is bringing back information to their teams and staff to be able to work on legislative items or agendas. That was a real eyeopener for me. I really did generally think why is everybody not at work. Speech of the grea. Chrissy i think the other person can maybe have these different kinds of parks. They are not lazy. These are hardworking people and when they go home first recess, that is not a recess, theyre wanting from one for each club meeting to a constituent. And i think that david just told me that sometimes she has people come to our house on sunday she cannot get to them. So that is a lot of work. And people just really dont get about that about congress. Jennifer one of my classmates, he brings a six pack and knocks on somebodys door pretty he just sits down and has a bear with them. Thats kind of what he does sometimes on the weekends. And youre right, also in our community at home, here and impure, congress is in recess. And i hate that expression. Because you know that everybody is back home in their communities working really hard to be present at home. They are not here in washington dc. And what do you think with all of this visual cues or whether you are there or not there. What is the biggest difference between what you see in the media and what is actually happening here on the ground. Jennifer two things and theyre kind of contradictory. One of the things i think its important for people to understand. People come down to the floor and some of it is performative but some of it is extremely heartfelt and very personal and second stances. Women have rented to the table. Really making policy very personal. In talking with their own experiences. Annoy people feel about legislation. In his heart felt and meaningful. But there is no question. What people dont understand is how much people basically belong. And you get in the member elevator and you go into the escalator you watch people, the republicans and democrats, they are talking. In their post ideologically. Withstand off of the house for and watch people and who talks to him. Its amazing to see democrats and republicans of massive policy differences, the wrapping it up and talking about something they are working on something together our restaurant they both like. And you have these conversations. And again in his informative and genuine but it does not extend to the personal relationship. And that fact, of the conclusions that i make in the book is if you look at the entire nature of the discourse in her country. Congress might be one of the few places that their personalities do mix everyday. And at each other, pretty regularly. Chrissy i actually have that in that part of the book, have a note on it. I am seeking that. I am a freshman so i am seeking friendships that are across the aisle and am seeking friendships that are ideology blake not my own and that doesnt mean that it has to be across the aisle. Twopoint, it can be to my left or to my far right. And what i have been struck by and would love to have some help on it from you is, i would like it if our debates were of more substance. On the floor. So i agree with you that i see that behind the scenes. I see that enclosed fo doors pry classified briefings, and have the opportunity just to listen to the information and ask the questions that arent necessarily waiting the five minutes, youtube opportunity. And so i would really love to see more substance in it debate where people actually have to sit and listen as opposed to spending their time with the five minutes of time. Or three minutes of talking about what happened at last administration or ten years ago or 30 years ago. And i hope that maybe you are saying something different. But i was really struck by that conversation in the book and that i had more hope. Because of what you wrote in the book you need to look harder for that. Jennifer i think the rules, that is a fun thing to watch and heavy very animated and there down in the weeds with that too. And impeachment hearings. So it definitely it does happen. But i guess get to my second point there, a bit contradictory when just is kind of reminding me of when i covered Hurricane Katrina pretty and i would go from one and the internet was knocked out and i would go from one town and i would get in the next town 20 miles away and had no idea what was going on 20 miles down the road because they were looking to the media with what was happening. And sometimes the republicans and democrats are see that. You might go to the republicans and say hey, will democrats were going to do something with this legislation and they have no clue what is happening. And you are the reporter, you should not know more about what the committee is doing. Back to your point on the buses and the orientation. There is so little it seems to be fixing of the parties to actually know what they are thinking and doing. And part of it, just have those kinds of conversations. Part of it may be structural. Jennifer there is a new kind of temporary group that is called the modernization of congress and some of the ideas that it they are putting forward our about this kind of issues we just i think it is an example that it would be nice the those Committee Hearings and it happened all of at the same time. So i wouldnt be committed to seven subcommittee meetings and within three hours of one another. And said, along high school, i have three girls, my kids are grown but when they were in high school and this block schedule situation we cannot combine classes because they had to happen at different times. So i would like to see the kind of modernization what we are obliged to be in our committee and to be able to hear the conversation that is going back and forth because when i am able to sit in my Committee Hearings on up to hear everybodys conversation, i benefit from their knowledge free to benefit from it is important to them and unable to bring it back. Some looking for that. Islam also looking for can we not set left and right. Can you literally sit in a popcorn way we were sitting next to people. Im lucky because of my freshman and sign probably the most generic on cases person on some of my committees and maybe im not necessarily i get to sit sidebyside with republicans and some of the committees printed but it would be full if we had the opportunity to stay where we are for longer periods of time. And have to mixing up a little bit. I think that would be helpful to pretty. Chrissy mind next question is you talk a lot in your book about the representation. It is the first time that i think i have seen that semaphores put together. I am an engineer so for me its been around. I just dont know it. Can you tell us a little bit about what that is pretty. Jennifer i learned to. So definitely you should feel embarrassed about that rena certainly did not printed descriptive representation means they are person who represents literally a specific group. It tends to be racial and ethnic groups printed but as a veterans, youre in a community representing a lot of wrote veterans. You are representing that professional group or that particular group of people. We tend to think about it more in racial terms and it has been originating mostly to describe the teen out lawmakers but its kind of interesting because i think that we think of this as being something sort of important and of itself and that it is nice and that is probably true. I think youre starting to see and i like to hear your opinion in terms of whether it actually makes a difference and i dont know the social interactions. Be very curious. I think you do see it in passing legislation. And think it is very important and imagining with the women really truly help for them to see American Woman in office. Then you also see those women working on the lot of really intense trouble issues not only get more fuel with them with when they go to talk about those issues they can have those conversations with us the tribal laws and specific things that other people on the committee may not know about. Because its been literally their whole life. So it has substance impact. Chrissy i completely agree and we have members who have served in cia or other places. And many of us serve honor Foreign Affairs or Homeland Security or veterans affair. And i think we have unique experiences personal experiences that we are able to bring forward and for me as an example, i am a veteran and i am kind of pre 911 veterans and i am one of the our only member of this class that certain before 911. And also of course a woman so one of the things that i was able to do early on this failed this Service Women and it would seem like would already have a group of people who are thinking about women of Service Women veterans as a caucus but there has not been one. And so the snow has 50 or so bipartisan and in women and people observed in people have not served. For now kind of going around this issue of women who served. And why this is relevant, is we are about 20 percent of the veterans population, women are and the member population and increasingly more more, probably anymore percent by the decade, and we are 51 percent of the total population and so we certainly had to be thinking about women who serve in their entire trajectory and how were they recruited because they were probably recruited to differently and more printed and active the issues of family. Im probably because i didnt have access to childcare i cannot figure a way my way out of the problem and was a separate when youre a reservist or a veterans themselves, the kind of healthcare issues to the have and that is just an example. And think not only does this help the women of service and their families but also helps us because of our ready this and separation and make sure that we are ready to fight and we do start boat with taking sure that we have enough people and we not looking to the women in our community and then came on us and i think that having that perspective is interesting and sad and almost a way that its took until 202010 somebody said, wait a minute we need Service Women in the caucus. In his office started with women in Science Technology engineering and math and specifically also i wanted to add the arts into the professions and again this is one of the things about white kind of it. We should be talking about this. Women in underserved and underrepresented communities being in those professions but had not yet happened before at this time. So similar to your story and the diversity of our class in terms of more native americans and native american women, everybody is thinking about but you need somebody in the body to be able to say, it is not being rep. And that is a real challenge to figure out and bring more diversity not just in gender but of all kinds of experiences to washington. Jennifer the professional issues are interesting and i think about the mentoring group and obviously you know that other decisions together out in the Washington Post advocating and incredibly pivotal. The colleagues who are are not veterans. Whenever those women talk about this in their National Security experience that was impactful to me souvenir bringing in those experiences whether it is being of the racial or ethnic group or any other kind of sensitive cultures, and definitely brings credibility fuel to those issues inside of the chamber. Chrissy is there anything that you feel hopeful to help field that divided i guess and i have shared this many times as i consider myself to be start of an er. Kind of a halfempty type type of person some hustling looking for the tickers the world to tell me that the glass is halffull. So when i look at this and a particularly about women, its largely democrats that when that happens and sadly we lost a lot of republican women and we are losing this more this time around as well. Back to the fight youd, why are sweet celebrating. Had fleet really made any progress pretty you see help and what we are saying in this congress and that is different than some of their time. Chrissy you should probably know that quarter wasnt tickers. But were just trying to guess that the most. It may not be considerable to party but i do know that in terms of the talking about gender balance, the republican woman, theres a huge effort to recruit women. And in the primaries, thats where women particularly in republicans, they ran into trouble with the primaries. That thinking cabazon with that group. You may see more women in that party. And you may see more women in general. I think, and this is fresh because of elisabeth warren, is the most at the top some ice. The country has to see someone elected in those toptier positions and its intestate you would not think so. If you look at Hillary Clinton secretary of state printed you would think that people have to wonder. And im not advocating specifically, she had her own enor