December 19, 2025 • 30 mins
“I often am asked, ‘why on earth would you want to run for office in such dangerous political times?’ My response is simple: if we back down now when we are afraid, we’ve already lost.” Kali Scales is running for State Representative of District 5, which encompasses Oak Park, Royal Oak Township and Northwest Detroit. If she wins, she will be the first transgender person elected to an office in Michigan. The question that naturally comes to mind for many, including Scales, is this: “will they vote for me because I am trans, or will they vote for me because they support the issues I stand by?” Her campaign focuses on “Back to Basics” – AEIOU: autonomy, education, inclusivity, opportunities and unions. “A good and honest life is built on these,” she asserts.
The nationally syndicated radio host, writer, performer and storyteller has been in the public eye since she was 16. “I came out of the closet publicly, I did my whole transition publicly, and I’ve seen some of the best and worst that humanity has to offer,” she notes. “It’s time to make the world know we are not going to stand for what is happening now. This will help combat the feelings of hopelessness and loneliness a lot of people are dealing with. Fear thrives in loneliness; many feel the decision already has been made, but that day is not here yet! There still is hope. Get involved! Stay in the fight. We need you, and we will see the other side of this,” she says with confidence.
Listen to this inspiring Smart Sex, Smart Love podcast where I ask Kali Scales some tough questions about the current political climate, the new pressures and divisiveness the LGBTQIA community is encountering, and how she will handle the personal attacks that already are coming her way since she has entered the political race.
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JOE KORT (00:05):
Welcome to Smart sex, smart love, where talking about
sex goes beyond the taboo andtalking about love goes beyond
the honeymoon. My guest today isKali scales, a writer,
performer and storytellerdedicated to the concepts of
never punching down, alwaysstriving for inclusivity and
spreading the message of hope.
(00:25):
She was a nationally syndicatedradio host and the founder of
eSports illustrated Callie nowhas turned her attention to
politics. She's running forstate representative of district
five, representing Oak Park,Michigan, Warrilow Township,
Michigan, and northwest Detroit,Michigan. If she wins, she'll be
the first transgender personelected to an office in Michigan
(00:47):
today, Callie, we'll be talkingabout trans community in
politics. Welcome, Callie, man,I gotta tell you, everywhere I
go, I need someone to just likeHerald me as I walk in like
that. That was a lovely intro.
Thank you. You're welcome. It'sgood for you. It represents you,
right? And I love this timelypodcast we're going to do
because people want to hearabout this. People we need to. I
(01:08):
think what you're doing iscreating safety for trans
people. And I want your word tobe spread around.
Kali Scales (01:15):
Yeah, I think a lot of what I hear right now is
thank you for deciding to run.
And also, why on earth would youdecide to run right now? It's so
scary out there, and obviouslyin the in the wake of Charlie
Kirk and in the wake of allthese incidents happening, a lot
of people are just thinkinglike, you know, you're putting
yourself out there, and you'reputting yourself in danger right
(01:39):
now. And I think it's kind ofbecause of those things that we
need to be visible and out thereand continuing to fight for our
rights, if we back down becausewe're afraid we've already lost.
JOE KORT (01:47):
Yeah, this is the spirit we all had in the 80s and
90s, when my husband and I werecoming up as gays, right? And
you got to have that. So let'sstart with that first question.
It dovetails right into what yousaid. Why did you decide to run
for office to begin with. Andwhat's your story behind this
decision?
Kali Scales (02:03):
Yeah, you know, I was at a Democrats of South
Oakland County meeting, andwhile we were there, one of our
state representatives, Natalieprice, was speaking, and she was
talking about how a piece ofanti trans legislation had
passed the Michigan House, andsome Democrats even had voted
for it. And while that's nevergoing to become law because
(02:26):
Democrats control the Senate andthat's never going to pass
there, the thought occurred tome at that moment that, hey, if
that had passed, it would havegotten through with no trans
people in the off or inlegislation, to at least speak
about it. So I kind of had thisthought in my head of, if you're
going to pass this kind ofgarbage, you're going to at
(02:47):
least look a trans person in theeyes when you do it. And that's
kind of what inspired me todecide to run for office. I was
originally going to be runningfor school board this year, but
some things fell into place, andhere I am running for state rep
in my first go around, which isterrifying. Yeah. What terrifies
you about it? You know, it isjust it's so much to keep track
(03:09):
of. Just earlier today, I wasdoing my first campaign finance
filing, and, you know, learningthe ins and outs of working
through Michigan's completelywell built and wonderful system
that doesn't have any problemswhatsoever, and trying to, you
know, you don't want to getdinged with a campaign finance
violation on your first goaround. There's just so much to
(03:29):
remember.
JOE KORT (03:30):
Yeah, I'll bet, do you think the spotlight will focus
on you as a trans person versusthe issues you stand on?
Kali Scales (03:37):
You know, I tell people a lot that I'm I am a
trans person running, and it istrue, as you mentioned, if I
win, I'll be the first oneelected to office in Michigan.
But that's not something thatanyone's just gonna vote for out
of you know, for the heck of it,you know what I mean? Like, you
still got to run on the issuesI'm running. My campaign is
(03:58):
called Back to Basics. I'mrunning on my aeio use, which
are autonomy, education,inclusivity, opportunities and
unions and either side of theaisle. I don't care who you are,
you should be able to get onboard with those five things.
Those are five things that agood, honest life is built upon.
So you know that should besomething you can support no
(04:22):
matter who you are, what side ofthe aisle you're on, and yes, I
do also happen to be trans, butthat's not what I'm running on
JOE KORT (04:28):
Exactly. Do you think the messages could get lost
because you're trans, from theirpoint of view, their projection
on you?
Kali Scales (04:34):
I have no doubt the day will come where I have to,
you know, turn the focus to Yes,I'm trans. Yes, these are my
beliefs about things. But youknow, that's been the reality of
it. Now, for the past 810,years, almost, you know, we went
from having Trans Day ofvisibility to a lot of trans
people thinking, God, I wish wecould have Trans Day of
(04:55):
invisibility. I'm tired of beingin the spotlight. We are a
relatively, very smallpercentage of the population,
and we have been blown up intosuch a major issue, all on the
backs of just, you know,othering. And I always say
conservatism functions on aboogeyman, and if it's not trans
(05:16):
people, it'll be someone else.
But we have take we're takingour turn as the boogeyman for
right now, and we have been forthe last decade or so. And it's,
it's a tough thing. I hopepeople coming away from hearing
me speak at any event would comeaway thinking, you know, oh, she
is for the people. She wants tohelp people, and not just oh,
she's transgender, which I am,and I'm proudly so. But the goal
(05:44):
in doing this is to help peoplein general.
JOE KORT (05:45):
My next question you already started answering, but
I'm going to ask it anyways toexpand on it. Do you feel trans
people are being targeted inmodern politics? Because a lot
of people say no,
Kali Scales (05:57):
well, I would be, I would be hard pressed to
understand in what way you wouldsay no to that, or anyone would
say no to that. Yes, I thinkthat we the transgender
community, because it is small,because it has for so long, been
either pushed to the side,ignored or flat out erased
(06:19):
throughout history, they make,we make for an easy community of
people to attack and point atand say, Wow, that's weird,
because on the whole of it, weare so ingrained in our gender
from the time we're born, youknow, right down to you always
hear about, you know, is thebaby dressed in pink, or is the
(06:39):
Baby dressed in blue, like ourgender is put upon us from the
time we are very, very young.
And because of that, whensomeone bucks that trend, which
is holds true almost throughoutall of America, you go, well,
that's a strange thing. That'sweird. And it's very easy to
blow something up into ahysteria. We hear it all the
time with you know, people are,oh, there's men and women's
(07:02):
sports because of trans people,or they're gonna prey on me in
the bathroom, or all thesethings. And I always tell people
like you, can acknowledge thefear without making it like,
without legitimizing it, right?
I agree it would be horrific ifsomeone pretended to be trans to
(07:23):
go into the bathroom so theycould peep on somebody. But
that's still illegal, and itdoesn't happen. So it isn't like
this. I think we're trying tolegalize that. It's just this is
someone who needs to go to thebathroom, and, you know, they go
to the bathroom that makes senseto them.
JOE KORT (07:40):
Let's go back. You completely froze. You said that
doesn't happen. Go back to that.
Kali Scales (07:44):
Okay, gotcha. Yeah, it's one of those things where
people like to blow it up andmake it a bigger issue than it
actually is, because it makesfor a good sound bite or a good
headline in the 24 hours newscycle, or any other myriad
reasons. When you can makesomeone afraid of someone else,
(08:05):
it's a lot easier to get them onyour side, and that is the
methodology that conservatismhas used for ever.
JOE KORT (08:13):
As a 62 year old gay guy, I got to tell you, watching
it happen to trans people hasbeen so weird for me, because
it's like I'm watching on theoutside. I've gone back in time
to see what they did tohomosexuals preying on children.
You know, there's no such thingas a gay child, you know,
Kali Scales (08:33):
yes, what one think of the children the old go to?
JOE KORT (08:37):
Oh, my God. Anyways, it's just it. So I do think
there's an attack on transpeople, and it's hard for me to
even understand when someonesays, I don't see it, and then
people will say, Well, whatrights have been taken from
them? What would you say tothat? What rights have been
taken from us?
Kali Scales (08:53):
I think it's,how about my right to peace of mind?
How about my right to not haveto be afraid every time I talk
to somebody on the street andwonder, is this person going to
be a bigot? Are they going tomean me harm, to have to worry?
Are the police going to have myback because trans people are
statistically more likely to notbe taken seriously or targeted
(09:14):
by the police, to be more likelyto be under or unemployed, to
be, how about to have my veryrights debated in a body that I
have no representation in. Theseare all things that are
happening right now, and they'reall results of the othering that
has come about through variouslegislation. There's been over
(09:36):
what is it? Over 1000 pieces ofanti trans legislation brought
up in legislatures acrossAmerica since 2023 or 2024 I
think it is like these are allreal things that are happening.
So no, I it's not a case of,well, we're all being put in
camps yet, but it is a case of,you make it okay to take away
(10:00):
one thing, or to do something inthe name of common sense, or in
the name of, won't someone thinkof the children, so that you can
more easily set up the nextthing that you're going to take
away and the next thing you'regoing to do, it's already
getting harder to get, dependingon which state you live in,
getting harder to get yourhormone therapies and the things
that you need. We see it all thetime with talking about, you
(10:22):
know, at what age can a kidconsent to getting hormone
therapies? And that's a majorsticking point. It's, it is a
death by 100 cuts sort of thing,
JOE KORT (10:33):
yeah. What's been your experience, if you're willing to
share about coming out transyourself?
Kali Scales (10:38):
Yeah. I think for me personally, I always tell
people I had it. I had it prettyeasy. My parents were they
didn't get it, but they wereunderstanding. They wanted to be
whatever makes you happy, thatthat sort of thing. I was so
fortunate to be dating my one mynow wife at the time, and she
(11:00):
was actually one of the firstpeople, because I used to tell
call myself gender fluid or BIgendered, and I wasn't ready to
quite adopt the trans label formyself when I first came out.
And she was the one who pointedout to me, you're only happy
when you're presenting feminine.
You're only happy. You onlysmile when you're presenting
feminine. And that was kind of abig moment of, oh, yeah, I guess
(11:25):
that's probably accurate. Andno. And since I've started
transition, I startedtransitioning at 30, and it has
been a wonderful journey to getto live as my authentic self,
and to go through some of thevarious phases. I went through
my Disney Princess phase, whereI had to be perfectly feminine,
beautiful all the time. Now Ijoke them in my punk lesbian
phase, where I don't owe you nofemininity. I don't owe you
nothing anymore. And you know,we go through these different
(11:47):
phases, because when we're kids,we didn't get to experience
them. You know, you see the theyoung girl who tries on crazy
makeup combinations and tradecrazy clothes combinations as
they're trying to find theirtheir style, and some of us are
going through that phase alittle bit later in life, as
we're trying to figure it allout. But for me, it has gone
relatively well. Of course, youmentioned I'm a radio host, and
(12:12):
I've have a fairly bigcommunity, and unsurprisingly,
it has a lot of trans women init, and every year, I know at
Thanksgiving time that I need toput out a special message for
them, because many of them can'tgo home to family. Many of them
are spending Thanksgiving bythemselves because their
families will not allow themback. And I always think of how
grateful I am that I got to havea good experience, and it's one
(12:39):
of the reasons now that I amrunning and trying to be a voice
and using the voice that I'vedeveloped for my community,
because I feel like I kind ofneed to pay that back. I need to
pay that forward. I would likefor the next generation to not
have to worry about whether ornot they're going to be able to
go home at Thanksgiving.
JOE KORT (12:54):
When you said you started your transition at 30
How old are you now?
Kali Scales (12:57):
36
JOE KORT (12:58):
36 so six years? All right, yes, I saw a meme today.
I've seen it before where itsaid something like, when you
see a child who doesn't believethey are the gender they were
born, you are witnessing amentally ill parent. And it
reminds me of when I was a kid,and it still exists. Some people
still think that the homosexualis a product of a smothering
(13:20):
mother and an absent father.
Idea is that a child doesn'tknow their own orientation and
that they don't also know theirown gender identity. What do you
say to that?
Kali Scales (13:34):
Get a grip. I think is what I have to say to that.
So here I'll give you an exampleI growing up, I didn't know that
I was trans. You hear some transkids, know, very early on, some
as early as four or five yearsold. Some, they're a little bit
later. I was probably 12 or 13when I started realizing
(13:54):
something wasn't right, and Ididn't have the words for it. I
hadn't I didn't know what beingtrans men, I didn't know the
words gender dysphoria. All Iknew was that something was
wrong, and I would look in themirror and I would not like what
I saw, and I couldn't put myfinger on why. And I remember
vividly. I went and talked to mymom, and I told her, I hate the
(14:16):
way that I look. And she toldme, you know, she told me what
any parent who loves their kidwould tell them, You're perfect,
you you're wonderful, you're sohandsome, you're great. And she
didn't do that out of malice oranything. She did that because
she loved me and she wanted meto be happy. And so as I'm
coming away from that though,now, all I'm thinking is, okay,
(14:38):
she doesn't see it. Fast forwardto college. I go see a therapist
because I'm still strugglingwith it, and that therapist
tells me I'm having troubleadjusting to being in college
and out of high school, whichwas partially true because I was
undiagnosed ADHD, and so I washaving some trouble. But they
said, you know, it'll pass, andyou don't have to worry about it
didn't pass. It just gets worseand worse, and you feel so
(15:00):
lonely because you can seesomething that's wrong with you
that no one else can see, no oneelse can touch on it. And a few
years after that, I was 24 yearsold, and my good friend of mine
tells me, You need to go seeanother therapist or I'm going
to start sending our chat logsto your parents, because I'm
(15:24):
afraid you're going to hurtyourself, and I called her a lot
of very mean words, but I didbecause I didn't want that. So I
went and saw a therapist, andthat therapist had a trans
daughter, and she knew genderdysphoria when she saw it, and
she saved my life. She helpedwith she turned my life around
from a place where it wasgetting real dark and real bad
that saved me. And I tell thatlong story to say this, I knew
(15:46):
nothing about being trans. Iknew I didn't know the words, I
didn't know that that was athing that could happen, and I
still was. I still went throughit. You cannot hide children
from it and think that that'sgoing to keep them from actually
experiencing it. All you'redoing is making them feel
isolated and alone. If your kidis coming to you and telling you
(16:07):
that they don't feel rightpresenting as the gender that
they are, recognize two things.
One, they're probably for realabout it. Now, they may not stay
with that. They may trysomething different out and then
ultimately decide that's not forthem. And two, realize how cool
(16:27):
it is that your kid feels likethey can safely tell you what is
probably the scariest thinggoing on in their life. You
should feel very proud that yourchild can tell you that
JOE KORT (16:35):
I agree 100% I agree with you. What do you think
about this new divisive we'regoing to be LGB, and we're
divorcing ourselves from thetrans and the non binary. What
do you think about that?
Kali Scales (16:50):
Obviously, I think it's short sighted. I think it
is, more often than not, a ployfrom someone who isn't part of
the community, to try to dividethe community. I think we as a
community the as it was, youknow, LGB, and now, you know,
there's asexual and there'sgender, or there's a queer
(17:13):
identifying that's a thing aswell. And at the end of the day,
it is all this kind of homogenyof who you are and who you love,
it is your representation ofyou. And throughout history,
going all the way back to youknow, Roman times and beyond,
(17:34):
there have been alternatepresentations of gender and of
of who you love, but those arealso things that have been used
to other people throughouthistory. They have been used as
an attack on people throughouthistory, and that is why I think
our community is so tightly knitand also welcoming of people.
(17:55):
When you don't seem to fit themold, you are usually welcome
and able to find a space in ourcommunity, and we are powerful
together. I think a lot ofpeople have figured that out
over the years, and again, yougoing back to the 80s and the
gay movement of the time, thatwas a very pivotal moment in
LGBTQ history, and now they'retrying to split that faction
(18:18):
off. They're trying to split offthe the trans and the bigendered
or intersex communities fromthere, because that makes a much
smaller, easier to handle targetand that. But we also know this,
it never ends at just the firsttarget. And that's not how it
functions. It'll if you they getrid of all the trans people,
(18:40):
then they'll come for thebisexuals. And already,
bisexuals deal with erasure andnot feeling like a part of that
community, and then you've gotthem down to, okay, well now
there's just lesbians and gays.
How do we split that? Oh, well,women are a great target there.
We'll split them off, and that'show you break down this
coalition. And we cannot allowthat.
JOE KORT (19:01):
I agree with you. So tell me what? So if we get away
from the trends for a minute andjust what are the issues you're
going to deal with in office,like, what are your politics?
Kali Scales (19:09):
Oh, well, I always tell people, I think you can
look at me and usually know mypolitics like you. No one looks
at me and goes, Ah, yes. Hard,right. Christian nationalist,
absolutely. I mentioned earlierthat I'm running on my aeio Use
I am running in a majority blackdistrict, and so it is my
intention to join the BlackCaucus. I've already joined the
(19:31):
state level Black Caucus, but Iwould join the actual
representative body Black Caucusif I win, because I don't think
I can responsibly represent mydistrict without doing so my
district is like I think, Ithink 72 something percent black
or like that. So that is onething that I should mention. I
recognize that I am a white girlfrom Oak Park running for this
(19:54):
seat, but I do think it is inimportant as we talk about
things like representation, whenI mentioned earlier, there has
never been a trans personelected, so that is important.
But ultimately, my tasks gettingforward, you know, we've just
had a horrific snafu with thestate budget. The state budget
is supposed to be passed everyyear by the end of June. It
(20:17):
didn't get passed until a coupleweeks ago, as we were hearing
about the shutdown that waslooming here in Michigan, in
addition to a governmentshutdown, which would have been
absolutely calamitous. So I'mvery big on education. I know in
the most recent budget, theeducation bill, the education
budget got kind of gutted. Theydon't doesn't look like it got
(20:39):
gutted, but they played a shellgame and moved like $200 million
out of the K through 12 Fund,which is a nightmare. So I
definitely will be pushing formore money towards education, I
def and I mean, the biggestthing is housing issues right
now, it is so expensive to live,whether you're renting, owning a
home is a dream for most people,but it's it's too expensive to
(21:03):
find somewhere to live rightnow. And I wish I could say
that, you know, as a state rep,I'm going to single handedly
tackle that problem, but ain'tno single person tackling that
issue. It's going to have to bea broad coalition of people who
comes together and recognizeshousing has gotten out of
control. We need to address iton a state level, ideally on a
(21:26):
federal level. But I'm notholding my breath for that to
happen until at least 2028 youcan probably guess why.
JOE KORT (21:33):
When did you decide you wanted to be in politics?
Kali Scales (21:36):
Yeah, you know. So I'm a little new to this last
November, after the election,someone in my community actually
said, You need to get involvedright now. We need a voice, and
you have been in radio. You'vebeen podcasting for 20 years
like you, you have a voice and agood mind for this. You should
run, all right. And so I decidedto get involved with politics. I
(21:58):
didn't really know where tostart. I joined. I followed a
group called run for somethingwhich helps promote young
progressive candidates, and theygave me some leads. That's how I
joined the Oakland CountyDemocratic Party. Like so many,
I was very depressed after theelection was over. My wife and I
literally sat down and talkedlike, do we need to have a plan
(22:19):
for getting out of the country.
And we made one, which is a wildand surreal moment, but it was
on inauguration day where I waslistening to someone give their
inaugural address, and they'resad. They're like, Yeah, I'm
pissed. Okay, and so I joinedthe Oakland County Democratic
Party and then dove right in. Inow chair the LGBTQIA rights
committee for the OCD P I'm siton the rules and bylaws
(22:42):
committee of both the OaklandCounty Democratic Party and
congressional district 11'sDemocratic Party, and I serve on
the resolutions committee for CD11. I also got to have the honor
of serving on the resolutionscommittee for the Michigan
Democratic Party convention thisyear, and even managed to get a
resolution through in support oftrans dignity and rights, got
(23:04):
that passed unanimously in myfirst go around. So I was very
proud of that.
JOE KORT (23:10):
Congratulations.
Kali Scales (23:11):
Thank you. It has been a trial by fire here in my
first year of politics, and Icertainly would never have
guessed that I would be runningfor state office in my first
year. I reached out to mycampaign manager, and I was
like, Do you would I be crazy towant to run for this? And she
goes, Yeah, but that's what ittakes. So go for it.
JOE KORT (23:28):
What do you how do you think you're going to handle and
maybe you already know from pastIf this has happened to you, but
the viciousness, the theshittiness, the, you know, I
already get all this on onsocial media, but I think in
politics, it's way worse. How doyou handle that?
Kali Scales (23:44):
Yeah. So going back as a radio host for so many
years, and as a Twitch streamerand performer, I you know, I've
been in the public eye now formost of my life, since I was
about 16 years old, and so I wasin it when I was still in the
closet. I came out publicly. Idid my whole transition
publicly. I have seen some ofthe best and worst that humanity
(24:08):
has to offer in that time. Ihave heard people say things to
me that would make your skincrawl, and I have seen things
that would warm your heart, andindeed, being active
politically, it takes itratchets it up even to another
level from there. But I do havesome thick skin that I've
developed over the years ofperforming as I am. And you
(24:32):
know, it's one of those thingswe take every precaution we can
to be safe. But you know, partof being out there in the public
eye is accepting that somepeople are going to have some
things to say about you, andyou've got to be able to just
look the other way, or if youhave the bandwidth, kind of
(24:52):
embrace it and say, Well, I'msorry you feel that way. Here's
what I stand for, and keepmoving forward. I.
JOE KORT (25:00):
Does anything trigger you? Because sometimes I'll be
like, you know, I've gotten usedto the comments too. I've been,
even though I've been the publiceye a long time, I haven't seen
all the feedback until I got onsocial media, yeah, and then I
started having to avoid and turnthe other way, like you said.
But sometimes I'll see acomment, I'll be like, Yeah, I'm
gonna fucking, you know, go backand forth with this person. And
so I hate doing it, and then Ierase it later. What comments
(25:22):
get you?
Kali Scales (25:24):
I think the only things that like really irk me
are when people take my wordsand represent them as meaning
something else. Yes, that's Ihate that, which I mean, as
every performer will tell you,it's maddening, especially you
know, I've spent years as awriter, and if there's one thing
I value myself on, it's beingable to put myself out there and
(25:46):
convey what I mean. And so whenpeople will purposely take your
words and misrepresent them andtry and make it like you mean,
something else that drives meabsolutely nuts.
JOE KORT (25:58):
Yeah, I'm with you 100% what would you like
listeners to know that wehaven't talked about yet before
we come to an end?
Kali Scales (26:05):
Yeah, obviously this is such a new thing in my
life, and it's it's been awonderful new challenge. I'm
really enjoying getting to runfor office and meeting so many
incredible people, people whohave been fighting the good
fight now for years, and a newclass of people who are angry. I
know there's a lot ofhopelessness out there right
(26:27):
now, while I'm telling you rightnow, I was at Governor whitmer's
candidate training a few weeksback, and there is a whole class
of young, angry leaders oftomorrow coming up who are not
putting up with this, who knowthat this is not right. I just
got to speak at the Oak Park nokings rally, and to see so many
(26:47):
people turn out and listen towhat I and some of our other
political leaders had to say,and be there to make the world
know that they're not going tostand for this, that they know
this is not normal. It reallyhelps combating that feeling of
hopelessness and loneliness thatI think a lot of us are dealing
with right now. I always saythat fear thrives in loneliness,
(27:11):
and that is one of the thingsthat so many of us are
struggling with right now, is wefeel so isolated, we feel like
the decision has already beenmade that it was made last
November, and now there's nohope anymore. I'm here to tell
you that that day is not yethere. I'm so there is still hope.
JOE KORT (27:30):
I love having this podcast with you. I love you're
saying all this because I'vebeen saying the same thing in my
day. I feel like an old guy. Ikind of am. But you know, my
day, you just couldn't youcouldn't go, Well, God , I hope
it all works out. You gotactive, you were gonna fight.
You got to fight, mailingenvelopes, doing stupid things,
getting involved, simple things,and now just being a keyboard
warrior. In my opinion, it's notenough. I know there are people
(27:52):
that say no, it's enough. No,because if you're hopeless and
helpless, you have to be aroundpeople, not keyboards. I don't
know what you think of that
Kali Scales (27:59):
well, so I always couch that in saying that
everyone does what they can.
Yeah, that's true. If, yes, ifwhat you have, if you're working
full time, and you know, whatyou have is you can, you can
fight the battle online, incyberspace, and then, you know,
you kick some bucks over to thecandidates that you care about
or to the charities that youcare about. That's if that's
what you can do, do that. Mymessage to anyone right now is,
(28:22):
hang with us. Stay in the fight.
Stay engaged. DON'T WITHDRAW.
Don't pull back. Don't turn ablind eye to the things that are
happening. We're gonna need youdown the line. We're gonna We
need You now, but if you can'tbe there now, at least stay
engaged, so that when we do needyou, and you do have the
bandwidth you're able to be andyes, for those of you, if you do
(28:46):
have the bandwidth to get outthere and fight, to get out
there and be at protest, to callyour Senator, to call your state
rep, absolutely those thingsneed to be getting done right
now. Please step it up if you'reable to. And if you're not, just
hang in there with us. We'regoing to get there. I promise we
are going to see the other sideof this.
JOE KORT (29:04):
This is a great message. How can they hear more
of your message online?
Kali Scales (29:07):
Yes, you can go over to www.votekaliscales.com
and you can also follow me onFacebook by my name, Kali
Scales. That's where a lot of mycampaign stuff is coming out. I
will say I am running mycampaign grassroots. I'm not
accepting corporate money. Ihave no interest in representing
DTE or anyone else in Lansing. Ionly want to represent district
(29:29):
five, which is my district. Sothe upside of that is, it makes
a great soundbite on a podcast.
The downside of that is, itmeans my job is right now,
basically just begging peoplefor money, day in and day out.
So if you're able to make acontribution, you know, even
five bucks, we say $5 for thefifth, where people do $5 a
month for the campaign, orwhatever you can do up to a
(29:50):
maximum of 1225 which is themaximum I can accept as a as a
state rep candidate, whateveryou can donate is greatly
appreciated. It means the worldto me. There's also a spot on my
website where you can sign up tovolunteer if you're in the area
and you want to do some phonebanking or some door knocking
for me, that is also availableand greatly appreciated.
JOE KORT (30:14):
Kali, thank you so much for being on my show.
Thank you so much for having me.
This has been fantastic.
Yeah, same here. All right, soyou can hear more of my podcast
at www.smartsexsmartlove.com andyou can also follow me on
Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram andFacebook and even LinkedIn. And
I'm @DrJoeKort, D, R, J, o, e,K, O, R, T, and then my website
(30:35):
is Joe court.com thanks forlistening. And Well, until next
time, stay safe and stay healthy.
Welcome to Smart sex, smart love, where talking about
sex goes beyond the taboo andtalking about love goes beyond
the honeymoon. My guest today isKali scales, a writer,
performer and storytellerdedicated to the concepts of
never punching down, alwaysstriving for inclusivity and
spreading the message of hope.
(00:25):
She was a nationally syndicatedradio host and the founder of
eSports illustrated Callie nowhas turned her attention to
politics. She's running forstate representative of district
five, representing Oak Park,Michigan, Warrilow Township,
Michigan, and northwest Detroit,Michigan. If she wins, she'll be
the first transgender personelected to an office in Michigan
(00:47):
today, Callie, we'll be talkingabout trans community in
politics. Welcome, Callie, man,I gotta tell you, everywhere I
go, I need someone to just likeHerald me as I walk in like
that. That was a lovely intro.
Thank you. You're welcome. It'sgood for you. It represents you,
right? And I love this timelypodcast we're going to do
because people want to hearabout this. People we need to. I
(01:08):
think what you're doing iscreating safety for trans
people. And I want your word tobe spread around.
Kali Scales (01:15):
Yeah, I think a lot of what I hear right now is
thank you for deciding to run.
And also, why on earth would youdecide to run right now? It's so
scary out there, and obviouslyin the in the wake of Charlie
Kirk and in the wake of allthese incidents happening, a lot
of people are just thinkinglike, you know, you're putting
yourself out there, and you'reputting yourself in danger right
(01:39):
now. And I think it's kind ofbecause of those things that we
need to be visible and out thereand continuing to fight for our
rights, if we back down becausewe're afraid we've already lost.
JOE KORT (01:47):
Yeah, this is the spirit we all had in the 80s and
90s, when my husband and I werecoming up as gays, right? And
you got to have that. So let'sstart with that first question.
It dovetails right into what yousaid. Why did you decide to run
for office to begin with. Andwhat's your story behind this
decision?
Kali Scales (02:03):
Yeah, you know, I was at a Democrats of South
Oakland County meeting, andwhile we were there, one of our
state representatives, Natalieprice, was speaking, and she was
talking about how a piece ofanti trans legislation had
passed the Michigan House, andsome Democrats even had voted
for it. And while that's nevergoing to become law because
(02:26):
Democrats control the Senate andthat's never going to pass
there, the thought occurred tome at that moment that, hey, if
that had passed, it would havegotten through with no trans
people in the off or inlegislation, to at least speak
about it. So I kind of had thisthought in my head of, if you're
going to pass this kind ofgarbage, you're going to at
(02:47):
least look a trans person in theeyes when you do it. And that's
kind of what inspired me todecide to run for office. I was
originally going to be runningfor school board this year, but
some things fell into place, andhere I am running for state rep
in my first go around, which isterrifying. Yeah. What terrifies
you about it? You know, it isjust it's so much to keep track
(03:09):
of. Just earlier today, I wasdoing my first campaign finance
filing, and, you know, learningthe ins and outs of working
through Michigan's completelywell built and wonderful system
that doesn't have any problemswhatsoever, and trying to, you
know, you don't want to getdinged with a campaign finance
violation on your first goaround. There's just so much to
(03:29):
remember.
JOE KORT (03:30):
Yeah, I'll bet, do you think the spotlight will focus
on you as a trans person versusthe issues you stand on?
Kali Scales (03:37):
You know, I tell people a lot that I'm I am a
trans person running, and it istrue, as you mentioned, if I
win, I'll be the first oneelected to office in Michigan.
But that's not something thatanyone's just gonna vote for out
of you know, for the heck of it,you know what I mean? Like, you
still got to run on the issuesI'm running. My campaign is
(03:58):
called Back to Basics. I'mrunning on my aeio use, which
are autonomy, education,inclusivity, opportunities and
unions and either side of theaisle. I don't care who you are,
you should be able to get onboard with those five things.
Those are five things that agood, honest life is built upon.
So you know that should besomething you can support no
(04:22):
matter who you are, what side ofthe aisle you're on, and yes, I
do also happen to be trans, butthat's not what I'm running on
JOE KORT (04:28):
Exactly. Do you think the messages could get lost
because you're trans, from theirpoint of view, their projection
on you?
Kali Scales (04:34):
I have no doubt the day will come where I have to,
you know, turn the focus to Yes,I'm trans. Yes, these are my
beliefs about things. But youknow, that's been the reality of
it. Now, for the past 810,years, almost, you know, we went
from having Trans Day ofvisibility to a lot of trans
people thinking, God, I wish wecould have Trans Day of
(04:55):
invisibility. I'm tired of beingin the spotlight. We are a
relatively, very smallpercentage of the population,
and we have been blown up intosuch a major issue, all on the
backs of just, you know,othering. And I always say
conservatism functions on aboogeyman, and if it's not trans
(05:16):
people, it'll be someone else.
But we have take we're takingour turn as the boogeyman for
right now, and we have been forthe last decade or so. And it's,
it's a tough thing. I hopepeople coming away from hearing
me speak at any event would comeaway thinking, you know, oh, she
is for the people. She wants tohelp people, and not just oh,
she's transgender, which I am,and I'm proudly so. But the goal
(05:44):
in doing this is to help peoplein general.
JOE KORT (05:45):
My next question you already started answering, but
I'm going to ask it anyways toexpand on it. Do you feel trans
people are being targeted inmodern politics? Because a lot
of people say no,
Kali Scales (05:57):
well, I would be, I would be hard pressed to
understand in what way you wouldsay no to that, or anyone would
say no to that. Yes, I thinkthat we the transgender
community, because it is small,because it has for so long, been
either pushed to the side,ignored or flat out erased
(06:19):
throughout history, they make,we make for an easy community of
people to attack and point atand say, Wow, that's weird,
because on the whole of it, weare so ingrained in our gender
from the time we're born, youknow, right down to you always
hear about, you know, is thebaby dressed in pink, or is the
(06:39):
Baby dressed in blue, like ourgender is put upon us from the
time we are very, very young.
And because of that, whensomeone bucks that trend, which
is holds true almost throughoutall of America, you go, well,
that's a strange thing. That'sweird. And it's very easy to
blow something up into ahysteria. We hear it all the
time with you know, people are,oh, there's men and women's
(07:02):
sports because of trans people,or they're gonna prey on me in
the bathroom, or all thesethings. And I always tell people
like you, can acknowledge thefear without making it like,
without legitimizing it, right?
I agree it would be horrific ifsomeone pretended to be trans to
(07:23):
go into the bathroom so theycould peep on somebody. But
that's still illegal, and itdoesn't happen. So it isn't like
this. I think we're trying tolegalize that. It's just this is
someone who needs to go to thebathroom, and, you know, they go
to the bathroom that makes senseto them.
JOE KORT (07:40):
Let's go back. You completely froze. You said that
doesn't happen. Go back to that.
Kali Scales (07:44):
Okay, gotcha. Yeah, it's one of those things where
people like to blow it up andmake it a bigger issue than it
actually is, because it makesfor a good sound bite or a good
headline in the 24 hours newscycle, or any other myriad
reasons. When you can makesomeone afraid of someone else,
(08:05):
it's a lot easier to get them onyour side, and that is the
methodology that conservatismhas used for ever.
JOE KORT (08:13):
As a 62 year old gay guy, I got to tell you, watching
it happen to trans people hasbeen so weird for me, because
it's like I'm watching on theoutside. I've gone back in time
to see what they did tohomosexuals preying on children.
You know, there's no such thingas a gay child, you know,
Kali Scales (08:33):
yes, what one think of the children the old go to?
JOE KORT (08:37):
Oh, my God. Anyways, it's just it. So I do think
there's an attack on transpeople, and it's hard for me to
even understand when someonesays, I don't see it, and then
people will say, Well, whatrights have been taken from
them? What would you say tothat? What rights have been
taken from us?
Kali Scales (08:53):
I think it's,how about my right to peace of mind?
How about my right to not haveto be afraid every time I talk
to somebody on the street andwonder, is this person going to
be a bigot? Are they going tomean me harm, to have to worry?
Are the police going to have myback because trans people are
statistically more likely to notbe taken seriously or targeted
(09:14):
by the police, to be more likelyto be under or unemployed, to
be, how about to have my veryrights debated in a body that I
have no representation in. Theseare all things that are
happening right now, and they'reall results of the othering that
has come about through variouslegislation. There's been over
(09:36):
what is it? Over 1000 pieces ofanti trans legislation brought
up in legislatures acrossAmerica since 2023 or 2024 I
think it is like these are allreal things that are happening.
So no, I it's not a case of,well, we're all being put in
camps yet, but it is a case of,you make it okay to take away
(10:00):
one thing, or to do something inthe name of common sense, or in
the name of, won't someone thinkof the children, so that you can
more easily set up the nextthing that you're going to take
away and the next thing you'regoing to do, it's already
getting harder to get, dependingon which state you live in,
getting harder to get yourhormone therapies and the things
that you need. We see it all thetime with talking about, you
(10:22):
know, at what age can a kidconsent to getting hormone
therapies? And that's a majorsticking point. It's, it is a
death by 100 cuts sort of thing,
JOE KORT (10:33):
yeah. What's been your experience, if you're willing to
share about coming out transyourself?
Kali Scales (10:38):
Yeah. I think for me personally, I always tell
people I had it. I had it prettyeasy. My parents were they
didn't get it, but they wereunderstanding. They wanted to be
whatever makes you happy, thatthat sort of thing. I was so
fortunate to be dating my one mynow wife at the time, and she
(11:00):
was actually one of the firstpeople, because I used to tell
call myself gender fluid or BIgendered, and I wasn't ready to
quite adopt the trans label formyself when I first came out.
And she was the one who pointedout to me, you're only happy
when you're presenting feminine.
You're only happy. You onlysmile when you're presenting
feminine. And that was kind of abig moment of, oh, yeah, I guess
(11:25):
that's probably accurate. Andno. And since I've started
transition, I startedtransitioning at 30, and it has
been a wonderful journey to getto live as my authentic self,
and to go through some of thevarious phases. I went through
my Disney Princess phase, whereI had to be perfectly feminine,
beautiful all the time. Now Ijoke them in my punk lesbian
phase, where I don't owe you nofemininity. I don't owe you
nothing anymore. And you know,we go through these different
(11:47):
phases, because when we're kids,we didn't get to experience
them. You know, you see the theyoung girl who tries on crazy
makeup combinations and tradecrazy clothes combinations as
they're trying to find theirtheir style, and some of us are
going through that phase alittle bit later in life, as
we're trying to figure it allout. But for me, it has gone
relatively well. Of course, youmentioned I'm a radio host, and
(12:12):
I've have a fairly bigcommunity, and unsurprisingly,
it has a lot of trans women init, and every year, I know at
Thanksgiving time that I need toput out a special message for
them, because many of them can'tgo home to family. Many of them
are spending Thanksgiving bythemselves because their
families will not allow themback. And I always think of how
grateful I am that I got to havea good experience, and it's one
(12:39):
of the reasons now that I amrunning and trying to be a voice
and using the voice that I'vedeveloped for my community,
because I feel like I kind ofneed to pay that back. I need to
pay that forward. I would likefor the next generation to not
have to worry about whether ornot they're going to be able to
go home at Thanksgiving.
JOE KORT (12:54):
When you said you started your transition at 30
How old are you now?
Kali Scales (12:57):
36
JOE KORT (12:58):
36 so six years? All right, yes, I saw a meme today.
I've seen it before where itsaid something like, when you
see a child who doesn't believethey are the gender they were
born, you are witnessing amentally ill parent. And it
reminds me of when I was a kid,and it still exists. Some people
still think that the homosexualis a product of a smothering
(13:20):
mother and an absent father.
Idea is that a child doesn'tknow their own orientation and
that they don't also know theirown gender identity. What do you
say to that?
Kali Scales (13:34):
Get a grip. I think is what I have to say to that.
So here I'll give you an exampleI growing up, I didn't know that
I was trans. You hear some transkids, know, very early on, some
as early as four or five yearsold. Some, they're a little bit
later. I was probably 12 or 13when I started realizing
(13:54):
something wasn't right, and Ididn't have the words for it. I
hadn't I didn't know what beingtrans men, I didn't know the
words gender dysphoria. All Iknew was that something was
wrong, and I would look in themirror and I would not like what
I saw, and I couldn't put myfinger on why. And I remember
vividly. I went and talked to mymom, and I told her, I hate the
(14:16):
way that I look. And she toldme, you know, she told me what
any parent who loves their kidwould tell them, You're perfect,
you you're wonderful, you're sohandsome, you're great. And she
didn't do that out of malice oranything. She did that because
she loved me and she wanted meto be happy. And so as I'm
coming away from that though,now, all I'm thinking is, okay,
(14:38):
she doesn't see it. Fast forwardto college. I go see a therapist
because I'm still strugglingwith it, and that therapist
tells me I'm having troubleadjusting to being in college
and out of high school, whichwas partially true because I was
undiagnosed ADHD, and so I washaving some trouble. But they
said, you know, it'll pass, andyou don't have to worry about it
didn't pass. It just gets worseand worse, and you feel so
(15:00):
lonely because you can seesomething that's wrong with you
that no one else can see, no oneelse can touch on it. And a few
years after that, I was 24 yearsold, and my good friend of mine
tells me, You need to go seeanother therapist or I'm going
to start sending our chat logsto your parents, because I'm
(15:24):
afraid you're going to hurtyourself, and I called her a lot
of very mean words, but I didbecause I didn't want that. So I
went and saw a therapist, andthat therapist had a trans
daughter, and she knew genderdysphoria when she saw it, and
she saved my life. She helpedwith she turned my life around
from a place where it wasgetting real dark and real bad
that saved me. And I tell thatlong story to say this, I knew
(15:46):
nothing about being trans. Iknew I didn't know the words, I
didn't know that that was athing that could happen, and I
still was. I still went throughit. You cannot hide children
from it and think that that'sgoing to keep them from actually
experiencing it. All you'redoing is making them feel
isolated and alone. If your kidis coming to you and telling you
(16:07):
that they don't feel rightpresenting as the gender that
they are, recognize two things.
One, they're probably for realabout it. Now, they may not stay
with that. They may trysomething different out and then
ultimately decide that's not forthem. And two, realize how cool
(16:27):
it is that your kid feels likethey can safely tell you what is
probably the scariest thinggoing on in their life. You
should feel very proud that yourchild can tell you that
JOE KORT (16:35):
I agree 100% I agree with you. What do you think
about this new divisive we'regoing to be LGB, and we're
divorcing ourselves from thetrans and the non binary. What
do you think about that?
Kali Scales (16:50):
Obviously, I think it's short sighted. I think it
is, more often than not, a ployfrom someone who isn't part of
the community, to try to dividethe community. I think we as a
community the as it was, youknow, LGB, and now, you know,
there's asexual and there'sgender, or there's a queer
(17:13):
identifying that's a thing aswell. And at the end of the day,
it is all this kind of homogenyof who you are and who you love,
it is your representation ofyou. And throughout history,
going all the way back to youknow, Roman times and beyond,
(17:34):
there have been alternatepresentations of gender and of
of who you love, but those arealso things that have been used
to other people throughouthistory. They have been used as
an attack on people throughouthistory, and that is why I think
our community is so tightly knitand also welcoming of people.
(17:55):
When you don't seem to fit themold, you are usually welcome
and able to find a space in ourcommunity, and we are powerful
together. I think a lot ofpeople have figured that out
over the years, and again, yougoing back to the 80s and the
gay movement of the time, thatwas a very pivotal moment in
LGBTQ history, and now they'retrying to split that faction
(18:18):
off. They're trying to split offthe the trans and the bigendered
or intersex communities fromthere, because that makes a much
smaller, easier to handle targetand that. But we also know this,
it never ends at just the firsttarget. And that's not how it
functions. It'll if you they getrid of all the trans people,
(18:40):
then they'll come for thebisexuals. And already,
bisexuals deal with erasure andnot feeling like a part of that
community, and then you've gotthem down to, okay, well now
there's just lesbians and gays.
How do we split that? Oh, well,women are a great target there.
We'll split them off, and that'show you break down this
coalition. And we cannot allowthat.
JOE KORT (19:01):
I agree with you. So tell me what? So if we get away
from the trends for a minute andjust what are the issues you're
going to deal with in office,like, what are your politics?
Kali Scales (19:09):
Oh, well, I always tell people, I think you can
look at me and usually know mypolitics like you. No one looks
at me and goes, Ah, yes. Hard,right. Christian nationalist,
absolutely. I mentioned earlierthat I'm running on my aeio Use
I am running in a majority blackdistrict, and so it is my
intention to join the BlackCaucus. I've already joined the
(19:31):
state level Black Caucus, but Iwould join the actual
representative body Black Caucusif I win, because I don't think
I can responsibly represent mydistrict without doing so my
district is like I think, Ithink 72 something percent black
or like that. So that is onething that I should mention. I
recognize that I am a white girlfrom Oak Park running for this
(19:54):
seat, but I do think it is inimportant as we talk about
things like representation, whenI mentioned earlier, there has
never been a trans personelected, so that is important.
But ultimately, my tasks gettingforward, you know, we've just
had a horrific snafu with thestate budget. The state budget
is supposed to be passed everyyear by the end of June. It
(20:17):
didn't get passed until a coupleweeks ago, as we were hearing
about the shutdown that waslooming here in Michigan, in
addition to a governmentshutdown, which would have been
absolutely calamitous. So I'mvery big on education. I know in
the most recent budget, theeducation bill, the education
budget got kind of gutted. Theydon't doesn't look like it got
(20:39):
gutted, but they played a shellgame and moved like $200 million
out of the K through 12 Fund,which is a nightmare. So I
definitely will be pushing formore money towards education, I
def and I mean, the biggestthing is housing issues right
now, it is so expensive to live,whether you're renting, owning a
home is a dream for most people,but it's it's too expensive to
(21:03):
find somewhere to live rightnow. And I wish I could say
that, you know, as a state rep,I'm going to single handedly
tackle that problem, but ain'tno single person tackling that
issue. It's going to have to bea broad coalition of people who
comes together and recognizeshousing has gotten out of
control. We need to address iton a state level, ideally on a
(21:26):
federal level. But I'm notholding my breath for that to
happen until at least 2028 youcan probably guess why.
JOE KORT (21:33):
When did you decide you wanted to be in politics?
Kali Scales (21:36):
Yeah, you know. So I'm a little new to this last
November, after the election,someone in my community actually
said, You need to get involvedright now. We need a voice, and
you have been in radio. You'vebeen podcasting for 20 years
like you, you have a voice and agood mind for this. You should
run, all right. And so I decidedto get involved with politics. I
(21:58):
didn't really know where tostart. I joined. I followed a
group called run for somethingwhich helps promote young
progressive candidates, and theygave me some leads. That's how I
joined the Oakland CountyDemocratic Party. Like so many,
I was very depressed after theelection was over. My wife and I
literally sat down and talkedlike, do we need to have a plan
(22:19):
for getting out of the country.
And we made one, which is a wildand surreal moment, but it was
on inauguration day where I waslistening to someone give their
inaugural address, and they'resad. They're like, Yeah, I'm
pissed. Okay, and so I joinedthe Oakland County Democratic
Party and then dove right in. Inow chair the LGBTQIA rights
committee for the OCD P I'm siton the rules and bylaws
(22:42):
committee of both the OaklandCounty Democratic Party and
congressional district 11'sDemocratic Party, and I serve on
the resolutions committee for CD11. I also got to have the honor
of serving on the resolutionscommittee for the Michigan
Democratic Party convention thisyear, and even managed to get a
resolution through in support oftrans dignity and rights, got
(23:04):
that passed unanimously in myfirst go around. So I was very
proud of that.
JOE KORT (23:10):
Congratulations.
Kali Scales (23:11):
Thank you. It has been a trial by fire here in my
first year of politics, and Icertainly would never have
guessed that I would be runningfor state office in my first
year. I reached out to mycampaign manager, and I was
like, Do you would I be crazy towant to run for this? And she
goes, Yeah, but that's what ittakes. So go for it.
JOE KORT (23:28):
What do you how do you think you're going to handle and
maybe you already know from pastIf this has happened to you, but
the viciousness, the theshittiness, the, you know, I
already get all this on onsocial media, but I think in
politics, it's way worse. How doyou handle that?
Kali Scales (23:44):
Yeah. So going back as a radio host for so many
years, and as a Twitch streamerand performer, I you know, I've
been in the public eye now formost of my life, since I was
about 16 years old, and so I wasin it when I was still in the
closet. I came out publicly. Idid my whole transition
publicly. I have seen some ofthe best and worst that humanity
(24:08):
has to offer in that time. Ihave heard people say things to
me that would make your skincrawl, and I have seen things
that would warm your heart, andindeed, being active
politically, it takes itratchets it up even to another
level from there. But I do havesome thick skin that I've
developed over the years ofperforming as I am. And you
(24:32):
know, it's one of those thingswe take every precaution we can
to be safe. But you know, partof being out there in the public
eye is accepting that somepeople are going to have some
things to say about you, andyou've got to be able to just
look the other way, or if youhave the bandwidth, kind of
(24:52):
embrace it and say, Well, I'msorry you feel that way. Here's
what I stand for, and keepmoving forward. I.
JOE KORT (25:00):
Does anything trigger you? Because sometimes I'll be
like, you know, I've gotten usedto the comments too. I've been,
even though I've been the publiceye a long time, I haven't seen
all the feedback until I got onsocial media, yeah, and then I
started having to avoid and turnthe other way, like you said.
But sometimes I'll see acomment, I'll be like, Yeah, I'm
gonna fucking, you know, go backand forth with this person. And
so I hate doing it, and then Ierase it later. What comments
(25:22):
get you?
Kali Scales (25:24):
I think the only things that like really irk me
are when people take my wordsand represent them as meaning
something else. Yes, that's Ihate that, which I mean, as
every performer will tell you,it's maddening, especially you
know, I've spent years as awriter, and if there's one thing
I value myself on, it's beingable to put myself out there and
(25:46):
convey what I mean. And so whenpeople will purposely take your
words and misrepresent them andtry and make it like you mean,
something else that drives meabsolutely nuts.
JOE KORT (25:58):
Yeah, I'm with you 100% what would you like
listeners to know that wehaven't talked about yet before
we come to an end?
Kali Scales (26:05):
Yeah, obviously this is such a new thing in my
life, and it's it's been awonderful new challenge. I'm
really enjoying getting to runfor office and meeting so many
incredible people, people whohave been fighting the good
fight now for years, and a newclass of people who are angry. I
know there's a lot ofhopelessness out there right
(26:27):
now, while I'm telling you rightnow, I was at Governor whitmer's
candidate training a few weeksback, and there is a whole class
of young, angry leaders oftomorrow coming up who are not
putting up with this, who knowthat this is not right. I just
got to speak at the Oak Park nokings rally, and to see so many
(26:47):
people turn out and listen towhat I and some of our other
political leaders had to say,and be there to make the world
know that they're not going tostand for this, that they know
this is not normal. It reallyhelps combating that feeling of
hopelessness and loneliness thatI think a lot of us are dealing
with right now. I always saythat fear thrives in loneliness,
(27:11):
and that is one of the thingsthat so many of us are
struggling with right now, is wefeel so isolated, we feel like
the decision has already beenmade that it was made last
November, and now there's nohope anymore. I'm here to tell
you that that day is not yethere. I'm so there is still hope.
JOE KORT (27:30):
I love having this podcast with you. I love you're
saying all this because I'vebeen saying the same thing in my
day. I feel like an old guy. Ikind of am. But you know, my
day, you just couldn't youcouldn't go, Well, God , I hope
it all works out. You gotactive, you were gonna fight.
You got to fight, mailingenvelopes, doing stupid things,
getting involved, simple things,and now just being a keyboard
warrior. In my opinion, it's notenough. I know there are people
(27:52):
that say no, it's enough. No,because if you're hopeless and
helpless, you have to be aroundpeople, not keyboards. I don't
know what you think of that
Kali Scales (27:59):
well, so I always couch that in saying that
everyone does what they can.
Yeah, that's true. If, yes, ifwhat you have, if you're working
full time, and you know, whatyou have is you can, you can
fight the battle online, incyberspace, and then, you know,
you kick some bucks over to thecandidates that you care about
or to the charities that youcare about. That's if that's
what you can do, do that. Mymessage to anyone right now is,
(28:22):
hang with us. Stay in the fight.
Stay engaged. DON'T WITHDRAW.
Don't pull back. Don't turn ablind eye to the things that are
happening. We're gonna need youdown the line. We're gonna We
need You now, but if you can'tbe there now, at least stay
engaged, so that when we do needyou, and you do have the
bandwidth you're able to be andyes, for those of you, if you do
(28:46):
have the bandwidth to get outthere and fight, to get out
there and be at protest, to callyour Senator, to call your state
rep, absolutely those thingsneed to be getting done right
now. Please step it up if you'reable to. And if you're not, just
hang in there with us. We'regoing to get there. I promise we
are going to see the other sideof this.
JOE KORT (29:04):
This is a great message. How can they hear more
of your message online?
Kali Scales (29:07):
Yes, you can go over to www.votekaliscales.com
and you can also follow me onFacebook by my name, Kali
Scales. That's where a lot of mycampaign stuff is coming out. I
will say I am running mycampaign grassroots. I'm not
accepting corporate money. Ihave no interest in representing
DTE or anyone else in Lansing. Ionly want to represent district
(29:29):
five, which is my district. Sothe upside of that is, it makes
a great soundbite on a podcast.
The downside of that is, itmeans my job is right now,
basically just begging peoplefor money, day in and day out.
So if you're able to make acontribution, you know, even
five bucks, we say $5 for thefifth, where people do $5 a
month for the campaign, orwhatever you can do up to a
(29:50):
maximum of 1225 which is themaximum I can accept as a as a
state rep candidate, whateveryou can donate is greatly
appreciated. It means the worldto me. There's also a spot on my
website where you can sign up tovolunteer if you're in the area
and you want to do some phonebanking or some door knocking
for me, that is also availableand greatly appreciated.
JOE KORT (30:14):
Kali, thank you so much for being on my show.
Thank you so much for having me.
This has been fantastic.
Yeah, same here. All right, soyou can hear more of my podcast
at www.smartsexsmartlove.com andyou can also follow me on
Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram andFacebook and even LinkedIn. And
I'm @DrJoeKort, D, R, J, o, e,K, O, R, T, and then my website
(30:35):
is Joe court.com thanks forlistening. And Well, until next
time, stay safe and stay healthy.
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