The Ragin’ Cajun Live: Iconic Political Consultant James Carville Hosts Q&A with BAC Delegates

When James Carville says he is going take questions live and uncensored, you take him up on his offer. That is exactly what the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) did during Day 2 of the 2020 BAC Convention. 

Carville, affectionally known as the Ragin’ Cajun by media personalities like MSNBC host Brian Williams, sat down from his home and participated in a virtual Q&A with Union members. Firing off questions from remote locations as well as via chat, craftworkers were treated to Carville’s engaging and impassioned take on all things politics. 

Referred to as one of America’s best-known political consultant, Carville successfully has managed scores of campaigns over the years, slowly building his iconic brand by helping to re-make political underdogs into upset winners and steering overlooked campaigns to unexpected landslide victories. One of his more impressive feats was steering the 1992 Presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, who defeated incumbent George Bush Sr.

Today, in addition to co-hosting the widely popular "2020 Politics War Room" podcast with Al Hunt, Carville is a regular on MSNBC, standing as an outspoken and definitive voice on the 2020 electoral races. Following is an edited snapshot of his Q&A with Union members, which was moderated by BAC Executive Board members Tim Driscoll, President; Bob Arnold, Secretary-Treasurer; and Executive Vice Presidents Carlos Aquin and Jerry Sullivan, Jr.

How do you beat Donald Trump?

I think you have to talk about [stuff] that matters. You cannot get into a debate about what he said about your son or your family; you have to talk about things people care about today. You need to talk about the minimum wage, rising drug prices, rebuilding our infrastructure and the attacks on unionization. Look at what is going to happen with the Supreme Court nomination process, we might have the most anti-worker Court in our history. So all of us need to stick to the things that are hurting people today, because people out there are hurting, and they are hurting bad.

What is the best message our members can deliver to those who support the current administration? 

You have to look at the man and look at the record. He talks a big game, but he does (and has done) nothing to back it up. He has not changed anything. If anything, he has changed things for the worse. 

There are three possible outcomes in November: Trump wins; Trump comes close or Biden wins outright. Anything under 5 points is going to be a battle, because they are going to try and take it away from us. If you look what happened in [George W] Bush vs. [Al] Gore, you will see what can happen. We need to beat the margin of error.

What are your thoughts on in-person voting?

Each state is different when it comes to in-person voting. But what we are doing now is working. In Virginia, for example, we have had more people vote in six days than we had in the entire 2016 election cycle. Each voter is going to have to do what they are comfortable doing. This is a very unique situation.

What advice would you offer Joe Biden?

I would offer the same advice that Bill Clinton used in 1992. You have to talk to people honestly. You have to talk to them about their lives, their passions, their hopes. If Biden does that, he will be fine. You cannot get into a war of words with Trump. Voters don’t want to see that. He has to talk about the things they care about.

Sanctuary cites. The Affordable Care Act. Reproductive rights. It seems that organized labor has taken a back seat to all of this. What can we do to change that?

We have Urbanists in the Democratic Party who demand we run on platforms like open borders. But the core argument—the one problem we have in this country—is that incomes are just not growing. One of the reasons is that we have fewer unions, so workers don't have any negotiating power. They just take what they are given. The difference between the 1% and the rest has widened. That is a real problem. I think the Biden Administration will address this.

Talk about the state of relationship between the US and Canada. How important is that relationship?

First of all, they are our No. 1 trading partner. There is a codependency there, with a lot of trade that flows back and forth. But there are a number of issues in reconciling with Canada—some serious repair work to be done.