Former Republican Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee isn't one to back down from a political fight and will tell you exactly how he feels about the state of our national politics.
From calling Baby Boomers "selfish and too ideological," to stating that for the "first time in history, polling shows that neither party beats either party," and the "American people are becoming restless and are ready for a bloodless, political revolution," Wamp sounds more like a guy ready to get back into Congress and fight for voters rights, than sit on the sidelines, although Wamp did lead the Marco Rubio presidential campaign effort in the state of Tennessee.
Chatting with Wamp at the UNRIG the System Summit in New Orleans was one of the most insightful and revealing conversations we had while reporting from the weekend event.
Check out the interview below:
VOTERS READY FOR POLITICAL REFORM
"You can only talk about the problems for so long, at some point you need to talk about solutions. The American people are now ready for political reform, they're ready for change. The ground shifted in 2016, the two party system is in decline, for the first time in polling neither party beats either party. 71% of millennials have no affiliation with either party."
BLOODLESS, POLITICAL REVOLUTION
"Just like in 2016 where insurgents came from outside the party, Trump on the Republican side, Sanders on the Democrat side, I believe we could see the same thing in 2020. Especially because we have such a vacuum of leadership, the American people are really, really restless. I believe we have a bloodless, political revolution coming soon."
BABY BOOMERS WERE SELFISH, TOO IDEOLOGICAL
"I have a lot of faith in my kids generation. They're more pragmatic, they don't want to retire at 65. they don't want a three car garage, they don't want all those things that got my generation in trouble, " the 60-year-old Wamp continued, "my generation, the baby boomers, ended up being a selfish, ideological generation. And now we're stuck in our ditches, deep blue, deep red, no working together, if you fail just blame the other party, the blame game is now institutionalized in the system, and the American people are sick of it."