July 16, 2024 • 20 mins
Join Liz Hirsh Naftali on The Capitol Coffee Connection Podcast as she is joined by House Majority Leader, Steve Scalise. They explore the depths of his political journey, personal challenges, and the vibrant culture of Louisiana. From surviving cancer and gun violence to advocating for the return of hostages taken by Hamas, Scalise shares his remarkable story of resilience, leadership, and the power of positive outlook. Dive into Louisiana's rich history and cultural contributions, from Zydeco music to Cajun cooking, and discover the importance of family, hard work, and civil discourse in shaping a fulfilling life and career. Don't miss this inspiring conversation filled with stories of heart and humanity.
Subscribe to our channel for more episodes weekly, featuring in-depth discussions with elected leaders about their personal journeys and the values that guide them. Plus, get exclusive content that you won't find anywhere else. Join us to get your dose of inspiration and insight into the hearts behind the titles.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to the Capital Coffee Connection. I'm Liz Hershnoff-Tolley,
and I am very excited because on this podcast, we talk about the heart and the
humanity of our elected leaders.
And today I have an exceptional person, a leader that I have great respect for,
and he is the leader of the House Republicans, and his name is Steve Scalise,
(00:31):
and he is from Louisiana.
He's been a congressman from Louisiana since 2008, and he has done an array
of other things before that. But what we're here to talk about is his heart and his humanity.
And so I want to say welcome, and I want to say thank you for joining me.
Well, thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it.
And, you know, I just want to reflect back for a moment and say that we did meet after October 7th.
(00:53):
And I want to say thank you, because it was a really tough time for me and for
our family, because my niece was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
And then her daughter, a three-year-old, Abigail, was kidnapped. snapped.
And I remember sitting in your office very shortly after and being able to talk
to you about our hostage situation and what happened in Israel.
(01:15):
And not only did you commit to obviously and still are committed to bringing
back these hostages, but you understood the pain.
And I remember looking up at the mantle above where we were sitting,
there was a beautiful picture of your family.
And I just thought to myself, I'm not only talking to the leader,
but I'm also talking Talking to a father.
And that's really what this podcast is about, which is talking about the people
(01:40):
behind these amazing titles, these national leaders.
So I just want to say thank you. And that meant a lot to me.
And I appreciate your time today. Well, thanks. And I remember that meeting.
It was it was a difficult meeting because, you know, we all followed what happened on October 7th.
And it was just horrible to hear the stories, the barbarism. I mean, the brutality,
sheer terrorism involved with what Hamas did when they invaded Israel and just
(02:06):
just went out and randomly killed people and started torturing people,
beheading young kids and then ultimately taking hostages, as you talked about.
And in meeting with a number of the family members who are still being held
hostage, we've been committed for so long to supporting Israel.
And it's so important that not only as a great ally of the United States,
(02:27):
but as the only elected democracy,
as the importance of having a Jewish state that goes back to 1948 when America
was right there from the very beginning of the formation, that we stand by.
And unfortunately, there have always been threats.
To Israel's sovereignty. And we saw that on October 7th, and that war still goes on.
There are still hostages held today. And so the battle is not over.
(02:51):
And we need to be there for our friends. We need to be there for those families.
And as you pointed out, as a father of two young kids, I mean, this is real.
And when you meet the family members, it's their family members that they're still grieving for.
And hopefully their family members are still alive and they can see them again one day.
And we need to give them all the tools that they need to make that day happen. Thank you. Thank you.
(03:13):
We could talk for hours about this, but thank you. But what I also want to talk
about is where you come from, and you're from Louisiana, and you're sitting
in front of the flag of Louisiana, which I understand represents union,
justice, and confidence.
And I would love if you could take a moment to tell people what is special about
Louisiana, New Orleans, and the people.
Well, it's such a wonderful place. I was born in the city of New Orleans,
(03:36):
and of course, New Orleans has such an important role in our nation's history.
You can go back to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
President Thomas Jefferson wanted to get access to the Port of New Orleans.
He knew how important that was to open up trade with the rest of the world.
If we were going to grow as a nation, we had to have the ability to get our
products out to world markets.
And the Port of New Orleans was key. And France, it was all under French territory.
(04:00):
And of course, we still have the French Quarter today in New Orleans,
and that heritage is still very rich.
But he'd sent a detachment to France.
And they not only came back with a proposal to buy New Orleans,
but to buy the whole Louisiana territory, literally doubling the size of our nation for $15 million.
Still probably one of the best land deals in the history of the world.
(04:21):
Best real estate deal. So you saw New Orleans and the role that New Orleans
and Louisiana played be a part of helping double the size of the country at the time.
Led to the Lewis and Clark expedition to open up the West eventually.
So So, you know, I've been there all my life, lived in the city and in parts,
I went to LSU and so lived in Baton Rouge too and served in the state legislature.
(04:43):
But, you know, we have such, such strong people.
We've been through a lot, you know, hurricanes, other things,
you know, other people have been through tough times. Our people are very resilient.
They're very creative. We've contributed a lot to the world.
Zydeco music, jazz music came out of New Orleans.
Some of these great musicians like Fats Domino, but also the food,
you know, you go back to Paul Perdomo creating these great spices and seasonings
(05:07):
that everybody uses today, you know, what they call Cajun cooking.
You know, it started with those great South Louisiana style creativity in cooks
and we've contributed a lot and we're very proud of our traditions.
I love that. And when you were growing up, what was your youth like?
It was a great youth. I mean, I grew up in the suburbs of New Orleans,
(05:27):
you know, I was about three years old. My parents moved out of the city of New
Orleans into the suburbs.
And that's when suburbs were growing in the 1960s and 70s. And we had a lot
of fun. We had friends that were all around us.
So, you know, so a lot of our parents, friends moved out to the same suburbs.
So, you know, we go play sports, whatever the sport was, football season,
we'd be playing football on a playground on the weekends or basketball and just
(05:49):
kind of pick up games or baseball.
So, you know, it was that kind of youth.
And, you know, I still have some of those same friends to this day,
you know, and ultimately when I went off to school, went to Baton Rouge to go
to LSU, you know, made great friends, got a great education in computer science,
you know, worked for a software company.
I was able to stay in New Orleans, you know, and just love having my family there still.
(06:11):
LSU is very important to you. You know, I did Purple and Gold and I went and
just loved my experience there.
I actually lived in Tiger Stadium my second year. It used to be dormitories.
So, you know, the stadium itself, the football stadium was built in the shape
of dormitories and we actually lived there.
And so I lived there my second year and loved that experience too.
(06:32):
Now, going back a minute, I understand that when you, this is a story I read,
that when you were a little boy, you decorated your bicycle in red,
white, and blue and rode it around town so you would encourage people to vote.
Is that true? You know, my sister outed me on that story. It is true.
And she still has a picture of that bicycle.
And I think I wore like an Uncle Sam hat in the picture, you know,
(06:53):
and I might have been like 12 years old.
It was just one of those things, you know, you just, I had a paper route at the time.
So I'd, you know, drive around the neighborhood, throwing papers to the,
you know, the families on the paper route.
And for whatever reason, when the election day would come, I would just go around
the neighborhood and encourage people to vote. It was, you know,
and this is around 1976 when we had the 200th anniversary of the United States.
(07:15):
It was a great celebration of America.
And so, you know, there's a lot of pride that I had in the country and,
you know, the country celebrated that heritage too. And, you know,
and so it was a special time.
There were a lot of buildups to 1976.
And I think it was probably around that time that I, you know,
I was doing that. I think it's a great story, and it's a beautiful story.
It's, you know, a kid in New Orleans who understood that it was important to, you know.
(07:40):
Share what the beauty of our country. Yeah. You know, and I was fortunate to
have parents who really taught me those values and believed it.
You know, they let us all kind of do the things we enjoyed doing and gave us
the guidance we needed to, to stay on track, but a great youth growing up.
And I have a question I ask everybody, which is, did you have a teacher that
in high school, in elementary school or in college, one teacher that really
(08:02):
stands out as somebody that stood up for you, inspired you?
You know, I had a few and, you know, you go back to probably middle school,
John Quincy Adams, by the way, you know, named after the president was my middle
school, still there, still standing as a middle school in Jefferson Parish.
I had a teacher at Miss Gould. She taught social studies and,
(08:22):
you know, she just had a great way of teaching where you got excited.
You wanted to go to the next class. Like, you know, you know,
That, to me, it shows you that some teachers really can make an impact above
and beyond just the material where you want to go back.
And, you know, my first professor that I probably felt that way about at LSU was Dr.
Wayne Parent. And he taught Louisiana politics.
(08:46):
I mean, you talk about a rich and colorful history.
Louisiana's got a very colorful history of politics and politicians.
Huey Long, of course, so many others.
And so Wayne is actually now the head of the political science department.
But I got a major in computer science, but I got a minor in political science.
And so I got to take courses from people like James Carville, who, you know, great.
(09:08):
Democrat political strategist he and i've gotten to know each other
well and it was a fun time where you you could go you
could learn a lot yeah i'd have arguments with my teachers you
know we reagan was president back then and some of my
professors weren't necessarily reagan fans i was and so
uh we'd have fun spirited differences but you know you as long as you knew your
you know your topics you know it taught you to to study you better know what
(09:31):
you're talking about if you want to debate your professor but if you're able
to make your points they respected that too it was it was a different day than
some of the things you hear in colleges today, but I enjoyed it.
And again, benefited from some of those great teachers that got you excited
about going to class, not just, you know, to do well on the test,
but to, to learn, to actually go in the classroom and learn from somebody that made it exciting.
(09:52):
Yeah. And I liked the idea that you could have arguments as long as they were
civil and that you could respect.
And at the end of the time, that's something that is what you're supposed to go to college for. Yeah.
I believe. And I still have that belief today. I mean, I work in a place here
at the Capitol, you know, We don't all agree with each other.
Republicans don't all agree with each other.
And surely between Republicans and Democrats, but you never make those differences personal.
(10:15):
It should never be violence or vitriol.
Disagree on issues. State your case. Try to persuade people,
by the way. The old art of persuasion, I think, is still alive and well.
And there are people that you can reach if you just explain what you believe
in the right way with passion and in facts, you have a chance of bringing people over to your side.
(10:35):
And if you yelling and screaming at him, you're sure not gonna get them to even
pay attention to what you have to say So,
you know, I still think that that holds true in this job Yeah,
I love that you also balance between here and home and you have a wife who I'm
sure is very very strong and very very powerful because she can.
And and you have two kids. How do you balance it because of all your travel?
(10:57):
Yeah, and this is where my wife Jennifer really plays an important role,
you know when I was the majority whip and
We called her affectionately the house whip. She was the whip of our house because
she kept everybody in line. And she still does, by the way.
And we still have young kids. They're 17 and 15. And they're fun ages.
And she early off, when I got elected to Congress, my daughter was one and a half years old.
(11:19):
My son wasn't even born. So, you know, she knew, you know, we got to establish
and figure out how to, how to balance a job where I'm on the road.
You know, I, we didn't move the family in DC.
So I get on a plane and fly up to DC for three nights and fly back home.
And that when I'm home, you know, especially on weekends, that is family time. We reserve that.
We are, we're not doing political events. You could literally spend 24 hours
(11:40):
a day, seven days a week doing this job.
And it's an important job with a lot of responsibilities, but you can't let
it consume your life. You know, we also have, you know, family that you don't
want to miss the important things. And I miss a lot of things being up here.
But when I'm home on the weekends, I'm with the family and we,
you know, we'll do things they want to do.
And it really has helped to truly balance it where, you know,
(12:03):
I get to be a part of their lives and I'm not just checking emails all day when
I'm around them. That's important.
I also want to ask you a little bit about your faith and your resilience,
because you are a very resilient person in addition to being a resilient leader.
I mean, you've battled cancer, you were a victim of gun violence, and you just keep going.
(12:24):
What is it that gave you this? Where does it come from? It's a big question, but.
You know, look, I have a strong faith and I think God gives you the strength
and I've leaned on him a lot.
I, you know, I, Especially before the shooting, I already had strong faith in
God, and I prayed every night.
And my view has always been, you don't just ask him for things.
You know, hey, I want to do well on this test, or I want this election to go well.
(12:47):
You shouldn't just talk to God when you want something.
It should be a relationship where you're always talking about what's good and
bad, and thank him for things that happen good in your life,
which, by the way, way outweighs the bad things or the things you want.
And it reminds you that, you know, most things are positive and God does produce
so many good things in our life.
But, you know, the day I was shot, I mean, it was, it could have gone the other
(13:10):
way very easily. I could not have made it through that day.
And in fact, the odds were stacked against me making it out alive,
but I was there and I think there were miracles performed on that baseball field
to allow me to make it through, you know, and I still to this day when I was
diagnosed with cancer, again, put it in God's hands and just said, okay.
Sure, you have a plan and just ask for your guidance. And, you know,
(13:31):
he brings you doctors and, you know, everybody says, well, you know, I'm waiting for a sign.
You know, well, God's sending you a lot of signs. If he's sending people to
help you and people that are praying for you, take the prayers.
I feel the prayers when strangers even pray for you. But, you know,
they also send doctors and other people that can help you through tough times too.
And, you know, make sure you're making the best use of that.
(13:51):
Thank you for sharing that.
What is going now to similar, but like different now, what is the best advice you've ever received?
What is the worst advice you've ever received? And what is the advice you would
give to people, young people specifically?
Yeah. You know, really in terms of advice, it's an accumulation because I've
done a lot of things in my life where I've been very fortunate to be in the
(14:13):
right place at the right time, but also, you know, some things where you had
to fight uphill to get there.
And in every one of them, you know, you'll always have people that might try
to detract. And, you know, if
there's any bad advice, it's the people that tell you not to do something.
You know, if there's something you really want to do, go for it.
And if it's not the right thing to do, you need to make an educated decision.
Don't put yourself and your friends and your family in a position where you
(14:36):
know you're going to fail. But if there's something you want to go for, you just go for it.
But the real key and the most important thing, and this comes up in so many
different ways that people will give you advice. Yes.
You've got to work for it. You've got to put in the work. And anybody you talk
to, I've gotten to meet so many amazing people that have done wonderful things.
What every one of them tell you, whether they're successful at business,
(14:57):
whether they're successful in the arts, or they just created something that
everybody knows and uses, they all worked their tail off. They didn't have anything given to them.
It was something that they might've had good luck along the way.
But again, it's the old saying, you know, the harder I work, the luckier I get. it.
They would have never gotten those things if they weren't in a position because
they had worked hard and done the things that you need to do when nobody's watching.
(15:19):
And that's where a lot of people fall short as they think, ah,
you know, I don't have to put in the hard work today.
Maybe when, you know, when everybody's around or when my parents are paying
attention, that's when I can do my homework.
That's not when you need to be doing it. It's when it's a Saturday and,
you know, your friends are out playing and you still have something to do.
You got to know, I've got to go do that work. Nobody else is going to do it for me.
(15:40):
And as long as you put in the hard work, anything's possible.
And it truly holds still to this day in America. It's one of the great things
about this country is if you work hard for something and you have a drive and
a passion, you will find people that believe in you.
People will gravitate towards somebody who's got a passion and is working towards
something real because there's still a hunger for that in America,
(16:02):
but you've got to put in the work.
I couldn't have said it better. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And it's not words of
advice, but it's a philosophy. It's a philosophy.
And it puts the burden back on you, but it's in a way where you know you can,
do you really want this? And maybe it's something you don't really want.
I've been in charge of recruiting people to run for Congress, for example.
There are some people that you sit down with and you could tell after a few
(16:24):
minutes, they don't really want this job or they don't want to do what it takes
to get this job. But they like the title?
They might like the title, but they're not going to put in, if you're not going
to put in the time, You're doing a disservice to everybody.
If you're going to ask somebody that's close to you to give you a few thousand
dollars of their hard-earned money, and then you're not really going to go out
and do the work, you're not going to win. You're not really going to do the job effectively.
But if you've got a fire in the belly, people will see it, they'll feel it,
(16:48):
and they'll gravitate towards it. Yeah.
I like that. So now I'm going to ask you just a handful of, a couple handfuls
of rapid questions so people can just get to know who Steve Scalise is.
Feel free to answer them how you choose a word or a sentence.
However, what is your favorite sound?
Zydeco music. Okay. Just fun. Fun music. It's what you grew up with. Yeah. Yeah.
(17:10):
What is your favorite color? Blue. Favorite smell?
Coffee in the morning. That's a good one. And who is your biggest cheerleader?
My mom was my biggest cheerleader. She's no longer with me, but she's still like my guardian angel.
I think about her all the time. Favorite ice cream flavor?
I'm a raspberry or mango sorbet. And if you were to go with that,
(17:32):
if you had one meal that you could choose, which is your ideal meal,
what would it be? Gosh, I'm from New Orleans.
I know. And charbroiled oysters with black and redfish. How about that?
Wow. That one I've never heard before. That sounds pretty good.
And I kind of know what your favorite music is.
I like all forms of rock, especially, but Zydeco music to me is just,
(17:53):
it's a great cultural music from South Louisiana, but anybody in the world who
listens to it, it's just fun music.
It's rooted in a fun, you know, you got the washboard and accordion and,
you know, sometimes you got a violin.
I mean, it's just great music. What is your favorite sport?
Baseball. Did you ever dream to be a baseball player? I'm just curious as a kid.
I didn't really pick up the sport till later in life.
(18:15):
If I was this much of a fan of baseball, Well, when I was a young kid,
I probably could have made the major leagues.
Yeah, I do understand that this year the Republicans did beat the Democrats
in the game. 31 to 10 in case anybody's in the score. Yeah, in case anybody's in the score.
If you had to do a household chore, what would your favorite one be?
Oh, my gosh. You know, I still, you know, could mow the lawn.
You know, I used to do that when I was a kid and made a little extra money doing
(18:37):
it. Okay. And do you have a superpower?
Do you think there's something that Steve Scalise has a superpower?
You know, look, I'm like a cat with nine lives. I've made it through a lot of
things that I've defied gravity on.
So I'll take where I am right now. I am lucky to be alive.
I like that. I'm missing my last question. And I've asked everybody, and I love the answers.
What does joy mean to you? What brings you joy? And how do you share your joy? Oh, my gosh.
(19:02):
Just sitting at home watching a movie with my family, my wife and kids, that's joy.
You come home from a long week in DC.
You know, it's a Friday night, put on a movie, eating some popcorn.
It's about as good as it gets, probably.
Do you believe it as I do, that if you are joyful and you share,
you can share it and it really does share, it does spread to others?
(19:25):
Oh, I think it's contagious. You know, attitude is contagious.
You know, you go, you go to any event, if you're at a party,
if you're out with friends, if somebody is down and they're just,
they'll drag everybody down if you let them.
But if somebody is really excited and they're up and they just,
you know, they're people that are going to, you know, have a positive attitude
and it's a choice by the way.
You know, we wake up every day and we can decide if we're going to have a good
(19:47):
day or a bad day because you could focus on, gee whiz, look at all the traffic.
Well, you're about to get to your destination.
You're not going to have to worry about that. You're going to be doing what you want to do.
It's up to you to have the right attitude to say, this could be a great day.
I'm going to have a good mood about what's happening. And if something bad happens,
it's not because there's some conspiracy against me.
It's just the way life is. Life's going to throw curveballs at you.
(20:09):
Go swing at it, knock it out the park and move on to the next one. I'm going to end on that.
Swing at it, go for it, work hard. And I want to thank you because first,
I've really gotten to learn about who you are as a person and about your state,
Louisiana, about your family, but just about your values.
And I really appreciate them. And thank you for giving me this opportunity and
(20:30):
for others to be able to learn a little bit more about who you are as a person.
So thank you so much. Oh, thank you for wanting to dig in so deep.
It's really great to have you here. Thank you.
Music.
Hi it's Liz please join me every Tuesday for coffee to talk about heart and
humanity with our elected leaders remember to hit subscribe to get an alert
(20:51):
when a new episode is live and for exclusive content ciao.
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to the Capital Coffee Connection. I'm Liz Hershnoff-Tolley,
and I am very excited because on this podcast, we talk about the heart and the
humanity of our elected leaders.
And today I have an exceptional person, a leader that I have great respect for,
and he is the leader of the House Republicans, and his name is Steve Scalise,
(00:31):
and he is from Louisiana.
He's been a congressman from Louisiana since 2008, and he has done an array
of other things before that. But what we're here to talk about is his heart and his humanity.
And so I want to say welcome, and I want to say thank you for joining me.
Well, thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it.
And, you know, I just want to reflect back for a moment and say that we did meet after October 7th.
(00:53):
And I want to say thank you, because it was a really tough time for me and for
our family, because my niece was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
And then her daughter, a three-year-old, Abigail, was kidnapped. snapped.
And I remember sitting in your office very shortly after and being able to talk
to you about our hostage situation and what happened in Israel.
(01:15):
And not only did you commit to obviously and still are committed to bringing
back these hostages, but you understood the pain.
And I remember looking up at the mantle above where we were sitting,
there was a beautiful picture of your family.
And I just thought to myself, I'm not only talking to the leader,
but I'm also talking Talking to a father.
And that's really what this podcast is about, which is talking about the people
(01:40):
behind these amazing titles, these national leaders.
So I just want to say thank you. And that meant a lot to me.
And I appreciate your time today. Well, thanks. And I remember that meeting.
It was it was a difficult meeting because, you know, we all followed what happened on October 7th.
And it was just horrible to hear the stories, the barbarism. I mean, the brutality,
sheer terrorism involved with what Hamas did when they invaded Israel and just
(02:06):
just went out and randomly killed people and started torturing people,
beheading young kids and then ultimately taking hostages, as you talked about.
And in meeting with a number of the family members who are still being held
hostage, we've been committed for so long to supporting Israel.
And it's so important that not only as a great ally of the United States,
(02:27):
but as the only elected democracy,
as the importance of having a Jewish state that goes back to 1948 when America
was right there from the very beginning of the formation, that we stand by.
And unfortunately, there have always been threats.
To Israel's sovereignty. And we saw that on October 7th, and that war still goes on.
There are still hostages held today. And so the battle is not over.
(02:51):
And we need to be there for our friends. We need to be there for those families.
And as you pointed out, as a father of two young kids, I mean, this is real.
And when you meet the family members, it's their family members that they're still grieving for.
And hopefully their family members are still alive and they can see them again one day.
And we need to give them all the tools that they need to make that day happen. Thank you. Thank you.
(03:13):
We could talk for hours about this, but thank you. But what I also want to talk
about is where you come from, and you're from Louisiana, and you're sitting
in front of the flag of Louisiana, which I understand represents union,
justice, and confidence.
And I would love if you could take a moment to tell people what is special about
Louisiana, New Orleans, and the people.
Well, it's such a wonderful place. I was born in the city of New Orleans,
(03:36):
and of course, New Orleans has such an important role in our nation's history.
You can go back to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
President Thomas Jefferson wanted to get access to the Port of New Orleans.
He knew how important that was to open up trade with the rest of the world.
If we were going to grow as a nation, we had to have the ability to get our
products out to world markets.
And the Port of New Orleans was key. And France, it was all under French territory.
(04:00):
And of course, we still have the French Quarter today in New Orleans,
and that heritage is still very rich.
But he'd sent a detachment to France.
And they not only came back with a proposal to buy New Orleans,
but to buy the whole Louisiana territory, literally doubling the size of our nation for $15 million.
Still probably one of the best land deals in the history of the world.
(04:21):
Best real estate deal. So you saw New Orleans and the role that New Orleans
and Louisiana played be a part of helping double the size of the country at the time.
Led to the Lewis and Clark expedition to open up the West eventually.
So So, you know, I've been there all my life, lived in the city and in parts,
I went to LSU and so lived in Baton Rouge too and served in the state legislature.
(04:43):
But, you know, we have such, such strong people.
We've been through a lot, you know, hurricanes, other things,
you know, other people have been through tough times. Our people are very resilient.
They're very creative. We've contributed a lot to the world.
Zydeco music, jazz music came out of New Orleans.
Some of these great musicians like Fats Domino, but also the food,
you know, you go back to Paul Perdomo creating these great spices and seasonings
(05:07):
that everybody uses today, you know, what they call Cajun cooking.
You know, it started with those great South Louisiana style creativity in cooks
and we've contributed a lot and we're very proud of our traditions.
I love that. And when you were growing up, what was your youth like?
It was a great youth. I mean, I grew up in the suburbs of New Orleans,
(05:27):
you know, I was about three years old. My parents moved out of the city of New
Orleans into the suburbs.
And that's when suburbs were growing in the 1960s and 70s. And we had a lot
of fun. We had friends that were all around us.
So, you know, so a lot of our parents, friends moved out to the same suburbs.
So, you know, we go play sports, whatever the sport was, football season,
we'd be playing football on a playground on the weekends or basketball and just
(05:49):
kind of pick up games or baseball.
So, you know, it was that kind of youth.
And, you know, I still have some of those same friends to this day,
you know, and ultimately when I went off to school, went to Baton Rouge to go
to LSU, you know, made great friends, got a great education in computer science,
you know, worked for a software company.
I was able to stay in New Orleans, you know, and just love having my family there still.
(06:11):
LSU is very important to you. You know, I did Purple and Gold and I went and
just loved my experience there.
I actually lived in Tiger Stadium my second year. It used to be dormitories.
So, you know, the stadium itself, the football stadium was built in the shape
of dormitories and we actually lived there.
And so I lived there my second year and loved that experience too.
(06:32):
Now, going back a minute, I understand that when you, this is a story I read,
that when you were a little boy, you decorated your bicycle in red,
white, and blue and rode it around town so you would encourage people to vote.
Is that true? You know, my sister outed me on that story. It is true.
And she still has a picture of that bicycle.
And I think I wore like an Uncle Sam hat in the picture, you know,
(06:53):
and I might have been like 12 years old.
It was just one of those things, you know, you just, I had a paper route at the time.
So I'd, you know, drive around the neighborhood, throwing papers to the,
you know, the families on the paper route.
And for whatever reason, when the election day would come, I would just go around
the neighborhood and encourage people to vote. It was, you know,
and this is around 1976 when we had the 200th anniversary of the United States.
(07:15):
It was a great celebration of America.
And so, you know, there's a lot of pride that I had in the country and,
you know, the country celebrated that heritage too. And, you know,
and so it was a special time.
There were a lot of buildups to 1976.
And I think it was probably around that time that I, you know,
I was doing that. I think it's a great story, and it's a beautiful story.
It's, you know, a kid in New Orleans who understood that it was important to, you know.
(07:40):
Share what the beauty of our country. Yeah. You know, and I was fortunate to
have parents who really taught me those values and believed it.
You know, they let us all kind of do the things we enjoyed doing and gave us
the guidance we needed to, to stay on track, but a great youth growing up.
And I have a question I ask everybody, which is, did you have a teacher that
in high school, in elementary school or in college, one teacher that really
(08:02):
stands out as somebody that stood up for you, inspired you?
You know, I had a few and, you know, you go back to probably middle school,
John Quincy Adams, by the way, you know, named after the president was my middle
school, still there, still standing as a middle school in Jefferson Parish.
I had a teacher at Miss Gould. She taught social studies and,
(08:22):
you know, she just had a great way of teaching where you got excited.
You wanted to go to the next class. Like, you know, you know,
That, to me, it shows you that some teachers really can make an impact above
and beyond just the material where you want to go back.
And, you know, my first professor that I probably felt that way about at LSU was Dr.
Wayne Parent. And he taught Louisiana politics.
(08:46):
I mean, you talk about a rich and colorful history.
Louisiana's got a very colorful history of politics and politicians.
Huey Long, of course, so many others.
And so Wayne is actually now the head of the political science department.
But I got a major in computer science, but I got a minor in political science.
And so I got to take courses from people like James Carville, who, you know, great.
(09:08):
Democrat political strategist he and i've gotten to know each other
well and it was a fun time where you you could go you
could learn a lot yeah i'd have arguments with my teachers you
know we reagan was president back then and some of my
professors weren't necessarily reagan fans i was and so
uh we'd have fun spirited differences but you know you as long as you knew your
you know your topics you know it taught you to to study you better know what
(09:31):
you're talking about if you want to debate your professor but if you're able
to make your points they respected that too it was it was a different day than
some of the things you hear in colleges today, but I enjoyed it.
And again, benefited from some of those great teachers that got you excited
about going to class, not just, you know, to do well on the test,
but to, to learn, to actually go in the classroom and learn from somebody that made it exciting.
(09:52):
Yeah. And I liked the idea that you could have arguments as long as they were
civil and that you could respect.
And at the end of the time, that's something that is what you're supposed to go to college for. Yeah.
I believe. And I still have that belief today. I mean, I work in a place here
at the Capitol, you know, We don't all agree with each other.
Republicans don't all agree with each other.
And surely between Republicans and Democrats, but you never make those differences personal.
(10:15):
It should never be violence or vitriol.
Disagree on issues. State your case. Try to persuade people,
by the way. The old art of persuasion, I think, is still alive and well.
And there are people that you can reach if you just explain what you believe
in the right way with passion and in facts, you have a chance of bringing people over to your side.
(10:35):
And if you yelling and screaming at him, you're sure not gonna get them to even
pay attention to what you have to say So,
you know, I still think that that holds true in this job Yeah,
I love that you also balance between here and home and you have a wife who I'm
sure is very very strong and very very powerful because she can.
And and you have two kids. How do you balance it because of all your travel?
(10:57):
Yeah, and this is where my wife Jennifer really plays an important role,
you know when I was the majority whip and
We called her affectionately the house whip. She was the whip of our house because
she kept everybody in line. And she still does, by the way.
And we still have young kids. They're 17 and 15. And they're fun ages.
And she early off, when I got elected to Congress, my daughter was one and a half years old.
(11:19):
My son wasn't even born. So, you know, she knew, you know, we got to establish
and figure out how to, how to balance a job where I'm on the road.
You know, I, we didn't move the family in DC.
So I get on a plane and fly up to DC for three nights and fly back home.
And that when I'm home, you know, especially on weekends, that is family time. We reserve that.
We are, we're not doing political events. You could literally spend 24 hours
(11:40):
a day, seven days a week doing this job.
And it's an important job with a lot of responsibilities, but you can't let
it consume your life. You know, we also have, you know, family that you don't
want to miss the important things. And I miss a lot of things being up here.
But when I'm home on the weekends, I'm with the family and we,
you know, we'll do things they want to do.
And it really has helped to truly balance it where, you know,
(12:03):
I get to be a part of their lives and I'm not just checking emails all day when
I'm around them. That's important.
I also want to ask you a little bit about your faith and your resilience,
because you are a very resilient person in addition to being a resilient leader.
I mean, you've battled cancer, you were a victim of gun violence, and you just keep going.
(12:24):
What is it that gave you this? Where does it come from? It's a big question, but.
You know, look, I have a strong faith and I think God gives you the strength
and I've leaned on him a lot.
I, you know, I, Especially before the shooting, I already had strong faith in
God, and I prayed every night.
And my view has always been, you don't just ask him for things.
You know, hey, I want to do well on this test, or I want this election to go well.
(12:47):
You shouldn't just talk to God when you want something.
It should be a relationship where you're always talking about what's good and
bad, and thank him for things that happen good in your life,
which, by the way, way outweighs the bad things or the things you want.
And it reminds you that, you know, most things are positive and God does produce
so many good things in our life.
But, you know, the day I was shot, I mean, it was, it could have gone the other
(13:10):
way very easily. I could not have made it through that day.
And in fact, the odds were stacked against me making it out alive,
but I was there and I think there were miracles performed on that baseball field
to allow me to make it through, you know, and I still to this day when I was
diagnosed with cancer, again, put it in God's hands and just said, okay.
Sure, you have a plan and just ask for your guidance. And, you know,
(13:31):
he brings you doctors and, you know, everybody says, well, you know, I'm waiting for a sign.
You know, well, God's sending you a lot of signs. If he's sending people to
help you and people that are praying for you, take the prayers.
I feel the prayers when strangers even pray for you. But, you know,
they also send doctors and other people that can help you through tough times too.
And, you know, make sure you're making the best use of that.
(13:51):
Thank you for sharing that.
What is going now to similar, but like different now, what is the best advice you've ever received?
What is the worst advice you've ever received? And what is the advice you would
give to people, young people specifically?
Yeah. You know, really in terms of advice, it's an accumulation because I've
done a lot of things in my life where I've been very fortunate to be in the
(14:13):
right place at the right time, but also, you know, some things where you had
to fight uphill to get there.
And in every one of them, you know, you'll always have people that might try
to detract. And, you know, if
there's any bad advice, it's the people that tell you not to do something.
You know, if there's something you really want to do, go for it.
And if it's not the right thing to do, you need to make an educated decision.
Don't put yourself and your friends and your family in a position where you
(14:36):
know you're going to fail. But if there's something you want to go for, you just go for it.
But the real key and the most important thing, and this comes up in so many
different ways that people will give you advice. Yes.
You've got to work for it. You've got to put in the work. And anybody you talk
to, I've gotten to meet so many amazing people that have done wonderful things.
What every one of them tell you, whether they're successful at business,
(14:57):
whether they're successful in the arts, or they just created something that
everybody knows and uses, they all worked their tail off. They didn't have anything given to them.
It was something that they might've had good luck along the way.
But again, it's the old saying, you know, the harder I work, the luckier I get. it.
They would have never gotten those things if they weren't in a position because
they had worked hard and done the things that you need to do when nobody's watching.
(15:19):
And that's where a lot of people fall short as they think, ah,
you know, I don't have to put in the hard work today.
Maybe when, you know, when everybody's around or when my parents are paying
attention, that's when I can do my homework.
That's not when you need to be doing it. It's when it's a Saturday and,
you know, your friends are out playing and you still have something to do.
You got to know, I've got to go do that work. Nobody else is going to do it for me.
(15:40):
And as long as you put in the hard work, anything's possible.
And it truly holds still to this day in America. It's one of the great things
about this country is if you work hard for something and you have a drive and
a passion, you will find people that believe in you.
People will gravitate towards somebody who's got a passion and is working towards
something real because there's still a hunger for that in America,
(16:02):
but you've got to put in the work.
I couldn't have said it better. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And it's not words of
advice, but it's a philosophy. It's a philosophy.
And it puts the burden back on you, but it's in a way where you know you can,
do you really want this? And maybe it's something you don't really want.
I've been in charge of recruiting people to run for Congress, for example.
There are some people that you sit down with and you could tell after a few
(16:24):
minutes, they don't really want this job or they don't want to do what it takes
to get this job. But they like the title?
They might like the title, but they're not going to put in, if you're not going
to put in the time, You're doing a disservice to everybody.
If you're going to ask somebody that's close to you to give you a few thousand
dollars of their hard-earned money, and then you're not really going to go out
and do the work, you're not going to win. You're not really going to do the job effectively.
But if you've got a fire in the belly, people will see it, they'll feel it,
(16:48):
and they'll gravitate towards it. Yeah.
I like that. So now I'm going to ask you just a handful of, a couple handfuls
of rapid questions so people can just get to know who Steve Scalise is.
Feel free to answer them how you choose a word or a sentence.
However, what is your favorite sound?
Zydeco music. Okay. Just fun. Fun music. It's what you grew up with. Yeah. Yeah.
(17:10):
What is your favorite color? Blue. Favorite smell?
Coffee in the morning. That's a good one. And who is your biggest cheerleader?
My mom was my biggest cheerleader. She's no longer with me, but she's still like my guardian angel.
I think about her all the time. Favorite ice cream flavor?
I'm a raspberry or mango sorbet. And if you were to go with that,
(17:32):
if you had one meal that you could choose, which is your ideal meal,
what would it be? Gosh, I'm from New Orleans.
I know. And charbroiled oysters with black and redfish. How about that?
Wow. That one I've never heard before. That sounds pretty good.
And I kind of know what your favorite music is.
I like all forms of rock, especially, but Zydeco music to me is just,
(17:53):
it's a great cultural music from South Louisiana, but anybody in the world who
listens to it, it's just fun music.
It's rooted in a fun, you know, you got the washboard and accordion and,
you know, sometimes you got a violin.
I mean, it's just great music. What is your favorite sport?
Baseball. Did you ever dream to be a baseball player? I'm just curious as a kid.
I didn't really pick up the sport till later in life.
(18:15):
If I was this much of a fan of baseball, Well, when I was a young kid,
I probably could have made the major leagues.
Yeah, I do understand that this year the Republicans did beat the Democrats
in the game. 31 to 10 in case anybody's in the score. Yeah, in case anybody's in the score.
If you had to do a household chore, what would your favorite one be?
Oh, my gosh. You know, I still, you know, could mow the lawn.
You know, I used to do that when I was a kid and made a little extra money doing
(18:37):
it. Okay. And do you have a superpower?
Do you think there's something that Steve Scalise has a superpower?
You know, look, I'm like a cat with nine lives. I've made it through a lot of
things that I've defied gravity on.
So I'll take where I am right now. I am lucky to be alive.
I like that. I'm missing my last question. And I've asked everybody, and I love the answers.
What does joy mean to you? What brings you joy? And how do you share your joy? Oh, my gosh.
(19:02):
Just sitting at home watching a movie with my family, my wife and kids, that's joy.
You come home from a long week in DC.
You know, it's a Friday night, put on a movie, eating some popcorn.
It's about as good as it gets, probably.
Do you believe it as I do, that if you are joyful and you share,
you can share it and it really does share, it does spread to others?
(19:25):
Oh, I think it's contagious. You know, attitude is contagious.
You know, you go, you go to any event, if you're at a party,
if you're out with friends, if somebody is down and they're just,
they'll drag everybody down if you let them.
But if somebody is really excited and they're up and they just,
you know, they're people that are going to, you know, have a positive attitude
and it's a choice by the way.
You know, we wake up every day and we can decide if we're going to have a good
(19:47):
day or a bad day because you could focus on, gee whiz, look at all the traffic.
Well, you're about to get to your destination.
You're not going to have to worry about that. You're going to be doing what you want to do.
It's up to you to have the right attitude to say, this could be a great day.
I'm going to have a good mood about what's happening. And if something bad happens,
it's not because there's some conspiracy against me.
It's just the way life is. Life's going to throw curveballs at you.
(20:09):
Go swing at it, knock it out the park and move on to the next one. I'm going to end on that.
Swing at it, go for it, work hard. And I want to thank you because first,
I've really gotten to learn about who you are as a person and about your state,
Louisiana, about your family, but just about your values.
And I really appreciate them. And thank you for giving me this opportunity and
(20:30):
for others to be able to learn a little bit more about who you are as a person.
So thank you so much. Oh, thank you for wanting to dig in so deep.
It's really great to have you here. Thank you.
Music.
Hi it's Liz please join me every Tuesday for coffee to talk about heart and
humanity with our elected leaders remember to hit subscribe to get an alert
(20:51):
when a new episode is live and for exclusive content ciao.
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