#63 Breanne Davis, AR state Senator & sponsor of 2023 LEARNS act, Part 1, Feb 20 2024; OTOH Episode 63

Breanne Davis, Republican Arkansas state senator from Russellville & sponsor of LEARNS act in 2023, sits down to talk with Glen & April in this first part of our conversation.  Breanne's background growing up with a family that was active in their community and a longstanding interest in working with others motivated her to get involved, eventually running for and being elected as state Senator. She is a co-chair of the "Arkansas Futures Caucus," a bipartisan group of younger legislators who work together to get things done. Despite the history of partisan differences and tensions, she suggests that many in the legislature work together and get things done, but this seldom is covered adequately in the media. Breanne believes it is important to "fight less" both within and across parties, and this helps motivate her involvement in this caucus. She describes how caucus members work together, though there is disagreement in several areas, and how important she finds it to engage with others in person, rather than via social media. One distressing and puzzling part of her experience is what she calls "100 Percenters," those persons in her party who complain or respond with hostile language if she says or votes in any manner that doesn't fit entirely with their view of how things should be. This "perfectionism" often comes from people in her own party and who know her personally. While she believes strongly in compromise to get things done, she outlines some areas where her core beliefs do not lend her to compromising.