- Oh hello!
Today we are meeting with Miss Debbie Dooley,
who is a strong advocate for wind and solar energy,
but she is also one of the founders of the Tea Party.
So I've got a tea party for myself.
Wait, it's not an actual tea party?
Well, whatever, let's go to Georgia!
(cheerful music)
(soft music)
I have to ask.
Do you actually drink tea at the tea party,
or is there tea available?
- During the early days, we actually, we'd bring tea bags.
- So, yes!
You're saying yes.
- And I love green tea.
- Let's talk about your conservative credentials.
- I've been involved since 1976.
I've been a delegate to the Republican
National Convention twice.
I am one of the founders of the Tea Party movement,
and the environment is very important to me.
My grandson has asthma, so clean air, clean water,
all of that's important to me.
- What made you wanna be involved in founding your own
political party?
- I got tired of the money and corruption in politics,
looked around and I said, "Well, nobody's stepping
"to the plate, so I'll step to the plate."
My grandson made me this and I keep it by my desk.
I look at pictures of my grandson and I say,
"Yep, we gotta keep fighting.
"It's all worth it."
- On the environmental issue, have you found that
members of the Tea Party are receptive to your message?
- In the beginning, people said, "You must be a tree hugger
"or a liberal because you care about the environment.
"Conservatives don't care about the environment."
Well that's not true, the Republican party has a history
of conservation.
I'm a conservative.
I believe in conserving.
Shouldn't we conserve our environment?
- So I know when you talk about climate change
to conservatives, you have to change the conversation
a little bit.
What are some terms that I should stay away from
when I'm talking to my conservative friends
about climate change and the environment?
- You don't mention climate change.
- Okay, so I screwed up already.
- Yeah, you don't need to say fossil fuel is bad.
You talk to them about being good stewards
of the environment God gave us, that it's more
fiscally responsible to prevent damage
than it is to clean it up.
You talk to them about energy choice and individual liberty.
The average person can't go out and build a coal plant
or a nuclear plant, but we can put solar panels
on our rooftop, we can have some individual liberty
and self-sufficiency.
And this is something that my friends on the left,
which I have many, need to understand.
Just because somebody says they don't believe
in climate change doesn't mean that they won't
support renewables, because they do.
- So the main thing is don't be afraid
to have the conversation.
Go in there, know your audience and really talk
and listen to people.
- Focus on the agreement, don't focus on your differences.
- So you took self-defense lessons, is that right?
I saw that you took Kung Fu.
Is this a self-defense stance?
- Well I can tell you a much better self-defense stance.
- Are we gonna do Charlie's Angels?
- Have you ever shot a gun?
- I have seen one on TV and I think I could identify one
if I was presented with it.
- You cannot visit Georgia and leave without
visiting a gun range.
- Well I guess we're going.
Don't point that thing at me.
Let's go to a gun range!
(soft music)
Good to meet ya! - Welcome to Mainstreet.
- We are in the market for some guns.
Do you have any?
- We've got a couple here, I think.
- Okay, what is a gun that you have for somebody
that has no fine motor skills whatsoever?
- You wanna have a gun that'll really scare them
when they come to your door?
How about something like that?
- [Zach] Whoa!
Oh!
I'm pointing it at my crotch, which feels dangerous.
- You look like Dirty Zach.
- Dirty Zach just doesn't seem to have the same ring to it.
- How about something more practical?
- Something a little, I can barely lift this.
Would I fly out of my wheelchair if I fired that?
- Oh, it would push you back a few feet.
How about something a little bit smaller?
- Nice!
So this would be probably more my speed.
- I think you'll really enjoy this one.
- Oh man!
Is this a Nerf Blaster?
Our film insurance won't allow me to fire an actual gun,
so let's go shoot with this and it's basically
the same principles, right? - I think so.
- Let's go get some shooting done.
- Let's go! - Sounds great.
- You ready? - I think so.
What do I do?
- You point and shoot.
Aim, fire!
- Oh, it doesn't work.
- You probably had your safety on.
- Was that close?
- That was kinda close.
- It's just listing to the left.
I'm beginning to think that I'm actually not
the sharp shooter I thought I was.
- It takes time to get used to it.
You look through here, watch.
- Okay, sight it for me and then we'll fire it together.
- Okay, ready? - One,
two, three.
Wow!
Right in the two!
- Whoa! - We hit it!
We hit it! - Woo!
Way to go, Zach (claps)! - All right!
Take that, two!
Why do you think there's a misconception that it's not
conservative to conserve?
- A lot of these groups that call themselves conservatives
that should be supporting competition and choice,
they're using the same tactics that big tobacco used
in the 1990s to convince everyone second-hand smoke
posed no health risk.
There was a poll that found 70-something percent
of Trump supporters supported clean energy
and thought we should do more to advance it.
We're going through a great awakening among Republicans
and conservatives now, and to be honest,
my main fight is getting my message out to
other folks, other conservatives, so I can educate them
on the facts and let them know that they've been
essentially lied to.
- So what you're telling me here is that the whole system
is rigged.
How do you not get discouraged?
What keeps you optimistic?
- I remain optimistic because I have my grandson.
Years from now, he's gonna look back and he's gonna say,
"My Gammy did her part to make sure I had clean air
"and clean water.
"She did her part to protect the environment."
And I'm not gonna give up.
I'm like, somebody called me the energy terminator,
and I'm gonna keep coming back and I'm not gonna stop
until I win.
- I would say you were more like the Energizer Bunny,
you just keep going and going and is not gonna stop
until those batteries are solar powered.
- When things are important, you have to keep fighting.
Our founding fathers during the American Revolution,
they faced setback after setback after setback,
but they kept fighting.
And they won our independence.
That's what we have to do because we cannot fail in this.
The future of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren
and great-great-grandchildren depends on us succeeding.
- So I think I learned three very important things
from Debbie today: one, you can't make assumptions
about someone based on their political party.
Two is we really wanna reach across the aisle.
We've gotta listen to the people we're talking to
about what matters to them and not get so hung up
on terminology.
And three, Nerf guns are always fun!
I'm a regular Dirty Zach.
♫ Soul Pancake
I've been preparing for this all week.
I've got crumpets and tea and look at these
cucumber sandwiches, they're triangles,
the fanciest shape of sandwich!