WEBVTT - America is Headed Toward a Constitutional (Crisis) Convention | Angela Rye SoloPod 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.400 Native Lampard is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:04.720 Reason Choice Media. 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:10.399 Welcome Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome home. 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:14.440 Y'all, I'm Angelariah, your host for today's solo pod. I 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:16.320 just got to give a shout out to the community 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:20.759 right now, the culture. We were in Montgomery, Alabama, in 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.639 mass there are so many people that are asking these days, 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.880 what can we do to make sure that our rights aren't. 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:28.080 Continued to be trampled on? 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:30.080 And the people showed up and showed out, And I 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:32.600 want to be honest with y'all. When I was first 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:34.640 hearing that we were going to Alabama, I was like, 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:36.400 that's hard to get to. We need to go somewhere 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:39.240 that's easier. Why aren't we going to DC? In fact, 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:40.400 why are we marching? 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:40.519 Oh? 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:41.520 We just doing a rally? 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:43.760 Is that going to be sufficient? And one thing that 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:46.319 I believe. I'm a Christian woman, so I believe where 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.480 two or three are gathered there, God is in the mist. 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:51.680 And I will tell you that that is absolutely the 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.400 case from this past Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama. I do 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.840 want to shout out my movement family, Black Voters Matter 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:03.240 Cliff and Latasha. Melanie Campbell with National Coalition on Black 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:09.160 Civic Participation, Dowana Thompson, the legendary logistics planner of Woke Vote. 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.720 I'm thinking about Vince Evans, who managed the stage like 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:15.840 a champ, all of the people that threw down and 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:17.399 threw in to make sure things got done. 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:17.679 Jen A. 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.000 Nelson with the NAACP Legal Defense One who said, hey, y'all, 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.080 we're not mobilizers, we're litigators, and it needs to be 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.759 all hands on deck given the hour we're in right now. 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:29.800 And I've got to say, you know, it was called 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:32.000 all Roads lead to the South. We were in the South, 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.520 and part of that the purpose there is because it 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.800 feels like the South is always under attack, just you know, 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:43.480 a hair away from Jim Crow. And then yesterday, in 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:48.240 my home state of Washington, Republicans filed suit, I believe 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:52.800 last week in a federal district court alleging that our 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:56.840 maps were not fair and they wanted to redraw based 0:01:56.880 --> 0:02:00.520 on a Latino district in the Yakama area. A federal 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:02.680 judge in our area of course, through the case out, 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.760 and these fools appeal to the Supreme Court. I'm bringing 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.959 this up to tell you all that nobody is particularly 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.000 safe under fascism, that we all have to do our 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:15.919 part to fight back whatever that is. We don't all 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:18.920 use the same tools, we don't all have the same talents, 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.080 but what we do know is that we all deserve 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.120 freedom and liberation. This is not a black fight, and 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:25.880 I want to shout out the allies who are also 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.040 present this past weekend. But it isn't okay just to 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:30.960 show up for the rally and not do anything when 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.240 you get home. So make sure that you are doing 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.080 exactly that, especially when your guy, the President of these 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.640 United States, says, you know that whole reparations thing, that 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:43.440 whole forty acres and a mule thing, that whole Andrew 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.720 Jackson guy want to keep on the twenty dollars bill and. 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:47.400 Keep up in my office at the White House. 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.399 Well, I want reparations too, but just for the white 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.720 folks that terrorize the capital on January sixth. 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.239 That's what the clips Justice Department has. 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:01.880 This new fund that was announced today, seven billion dollars. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:06.240 Why should tapayers pay for the January. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.560 Well, it's been very well received. I have to tell 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.079 you I know very little about it. I wasn't involved 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:15.640 in the whole creation of it and the negotiation. But 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:19.760 this is reimbursing people that were horribly treated, horribly treated 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:23.799 as anti weaponization. They've been weaponized, they've been in some 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:27.720 cases imprisoned wrongly, they paid legal fees that they didn't have, 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.960 they've gone bankrupt, their lives have been destroyed, and they 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.560 turned out to be right. I mean, it was a 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:35.840 terrible period of time in the history of our country, 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.680 and they worked on it. I know the Justice Department, 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.120 it's really been working on it very hard. There's been 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.840 numerous other occasions over the years where things like this 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:47.960 have been done. But these were people that were weaponized 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.480 and really treated brutally by a system that was so 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:55.320 corrupt with corrupt people running it, and they're getting reimbursed 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:58.000 for their legal fees and the other things that they 0:03:58.040 --> 0:03:58.640 had to suffer. 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:00.840 There's another clip. 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:03.040 I thought we had it, but there's another clip where 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.760 Donald Trump essentially says that he. 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:07.640 Prefers loyalty over the law. 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:12.400 In any other normal time in this country, that would 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:16.000 be impeachable and cause to remove a president, but alas 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:17.960 we are not in. 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:20.400 Normal times, and so welcome to America. 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.280 It's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, where it's time for 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.880 maps to be redrawn, where black people have finally gotten some, 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:29.960 not even all, but some of. 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.920 The representation that they deserve. 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.680 Let us now turn our attention to the South Carolina 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.840 House that is now seeking to withdraw its maps and 0:04:38.880 --> 0:05:03.800 carve out Congressman James Clyburn out of his district. For 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.159 those of you listening at home, a white man was 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:09.800 just thrown to the ground by a Capitol police officer 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:12.200 in South Carolina. 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.560 This protest led by Zika Nickler. 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:23.000 They're yelling, don't rig our maps, Derek, we can cut 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:26.719 the clip here as a black woman is getting forcibly 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:30.559 removed from the chamber. Zakia voluntarily left and she also 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:31.880 sent this clip in. 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:34.400 Hey, folks, it's Tekia mikel Here. 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.680 I am the founder and chief collective strategist at the 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.640 What's a Collective. We're a social action firm based right 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:44.760 here in Columbia, South Carolina, making sure that impacted individuals 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.880 are centered as we seek policy solutions and solutions in 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:49.080 the systems that. 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:50.360 We all engage every day. 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:52.839 And so we've been on the ground working on this 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:56.160 redistricting issue where our voter rights are attempted to be 0:05:56.240 --> 0:06:00.440 stripped by our General Assembly after being a form to 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:03.599 do so by order of the President, and so we're 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:05.320 here to let folks know how they can get involved. 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:07.599 We're here to let communities know you can be a 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:09.280 part of this even if you can't make your way 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:10.120 to the state House. 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:12.480 Here's how. We have a week of action coming up. 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:14.760 We have an event here in the Midlands on Monday, 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.919 we have an event here in the PD on Tuesday, 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.240 and we have an event actually happening at the State 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:23.400 House on Wednesday morning. Please follow our page to learn 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:26.200 more about those events, but also make sure that you're 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.360 reaching out to each other to make sure that you're 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:30.600 okay in tough times like this. Make sure that you 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.120 and your loved ones are registered to vote. Make sure 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.680 that you know who you're voting for. Because the thing is, 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.680 this is a long game moment, folks. We have to 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:41.080 make sure that folks have access to the resources that 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:45.359 are at threat of being gutted if this legislation passes. 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:47.960 So we can lose access to things that we already have, 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.640 like medicaid, we can lose access to snap benefits, we 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.520 can lose assets to social security, things that are already 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.640 being diminished. We're seeing these rising gas prices and the 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:59.760 cost of food. All of these things are only going 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:03.520 to worsen if this plan works, and so we need 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:05.960 to come together and get connected so we can maybe 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.200 stop it here, and if not, we can already be 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:10.280 in community to know what to do nextent. 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.600 Zakia, thank you so much for sending in that clip. 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:15.560 What I will tell you is she said we could 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:20.240 lose SNAP benefits, we could lose Medicaid, we could lose Medicare. Well, 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:24.040 the Republicans were pretty smart to ensure that an HR 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:26.600 one the bill that passed last July. I remember I 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:29.920 had just landed in New Orleans for Essence Fest and 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:34.040 we were on a live stream a marathon informing people 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:37.920 of how dangerous these cuts that were in the bill were. 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.360 And what they did was they ensued that many of 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:45.600 those cuts on two SNAP too, medicare too Medicaid would 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:50.640 happen after the November election. So here we are qu 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:57.440 for some of the state maps they've been redrawn during elections. Louisiana, 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:01.040 for example, knows all too well because because it was Saturday, 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:05.320 their election was Saturday. They defeated three very important constitutional amendments. 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:07.040 But there were two members. 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.320 Of Congress who were on the ballot, one of whom 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:13.160 will not likely be well. They won't be on the 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.520 ballot in the fall unless they're written in by some 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:21.200 resilient and resistant people. But Cleo Fields and Troy Carter 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:26.160 were impacted by the latest maps in Louisiana. There was 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.920 an election, or there is an election. Today is Tuesday. 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:31.800 There's an election in Alabama. The maps in Alabama have 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:36.439 also been challenged, Shamari Figures and Terry Sewell being those 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:40.680 impacted members. There's an election in Georgia. While those maps 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:44.600 haven't changed for this primary, it's just a matter of time. 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:49.840 And so joining me today is Louisiana State Senator Royce 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.560 duplus Is to talk about what is happening in the 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:56.360 state legislature, what we need to know, what we can do, 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.480 and what they're doing to actively combat this. I would 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:02.120 call it a voter terrorism. But he joins us now. 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:05.280 Hello Senator Royce. 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.319 Hey, Angela, thanks for having me on. 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.240 It is my highest pleasure. Thank you so much. 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:14.360 I really appreciated last week you did a video. 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:15.760 We played it on the podcast. 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.160 It was like four in the morning, you were like, 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:21.080 we just got done, and you talked about how long 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:22.720 you all had to fight for that. I want to 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.480 know just how you're feeling right now. You're carrying a lot. 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.439 It feels like we're going backwards. How are you feeling? Honestly, 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.439 I don't think you get to talk about that. You're 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:33.199 a human and an elected official, and I think that 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.280 dichotomy has to coexist in one body as a cult truth. 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.400 But we do want to know how you're feeling. Well. 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:41.800 Thank you for that question and recognizing the humanity that's 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:43.920 behind all of this, because the truth is that this 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:48.079 is so much more than lines on a map. This 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:53.160 is really about who gets to fully participate in this 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:57.960 democratic experiment here in America, right when we thought we 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.960 had made so much progress to be living it in 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:01.640 real time. 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:02.719 It is. 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:03.080 It is. 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:07.600 It's obviously troubling, but I'm I'm gonna tell you I'm hopeful, 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:09.600 and I'm gonna tell you why because after that ten 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:12.200 hour committee here, and I didn't I probably didn't. 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:13.520 Emphasize this enough, Angela. 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.240 Was that as disappointing as it was to sit in 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.400 a committee here for ten hours and knowing that there 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.439 was nothing that was gonna change with my Republican colleagues. 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.760 They could have basically been like little robots sitting there 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:28.560 because they were gonna vote how they were gonna vote. 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.520 The people who were so committed, the hundreds of people 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:35.480 who came to the capital and stayed from like one 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:38.240 in the afternoon to like five in the morning just 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.679 to be heard. The brilliance and the diversity of the 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:44.840 people who came from across this state really inspired me, 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:48.400 and it reminded me of how fortunate I am. So yes, 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.920 while it is, while we aren't trying times, I am 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.760 incredibly fortunate just to be in a position to try 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:58.800 to speak on behalf of not just the people who 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:02.760 deserve representation today, but the people who fought to give 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.480 us the right to have this representation, the people who 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.520 filed the lawsuits, the people who marched, the people who bled, 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.120 the people who died to give us this representation. And 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.080 I just feel incredibly privileged to be in that position. 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:18.120 It is, It is quite a privilege, but it also 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:22.720 has to feel frustrating. You all are not in the majority, 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:26.679 and sometimes people at home don't understand that, Like, there's 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.079 only so much you can do. There are some legislative 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.480 tactics that you can pull. But where do you feel 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.080 like you're relying what you're relying on more. I know 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.000 you guys have a filing deadline, whe some of us 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:37.559 are trying to push us, like make sure that they 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.640 file the state voting Rights bill that that deadline had passed. 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:44.440 You have filed that bill. Can you talk about you 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.920 know how close you got to seeing Republicans support a 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.120 measure that's so important for all of us, including their 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:50.880 own constituents. 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.120 Yeah, thanks for asking that question too. So at the 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.320 beginning of session, I actually filed a state Voting Rights Act. 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.839 Had no idea that the Cali decision was going to 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:02.520 come down while we were in session, but we knew 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:06.080 that at some point they could issue a ruling that 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.160 helped that hurt the Voting Rights Act, and I wanted 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.840 to give the state the opportunity to make a values decision, 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:14.880 to say this is where we stand on voting rights. 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.800 My bill didn't necessarily expand voting rights. It was just 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.720 a statement saying we protect voting rights where they are today. 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:23.960 You want to move precincts, you want to make it 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.640 harder for people to vote. Add additional barriers. Then then 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.480 you have to go before basically a state a base 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:32.839 commission like we had when we still had Section five. 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.559 But the bill failed on party lines by four to 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.360 three vote. This was several weeks before the Cali decision 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:43.120 even dropped. So it was it was, it was, it was. 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:45.120 And you're saying it failed in committee. It didn't even 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:46.599 get to the yeah, yeah. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:48.480 And and and then this was it was the right 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.640 thing to pass the bill, but of course they didn't. 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:53.560 They didn't pass it out of committee. But we had 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.280 no idea that the Cali decision would be coming just 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:58.920 a few weeks after the Voting Rights Act bill was 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:00.800 voted down the committee, so we didn't even get to 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:01.760 debate it on the floor. 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:07.840 So the Louisiana versus CALAEI decision. Of course, Calai is 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:11.240 also a January sixth insurrectionist. Is why I wanted to 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.200 play the clip that I did of Donald Trump at 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:16.040 the top of the show, where he's talking about giving 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:19.760 restitution reparations in a sense to folks like. 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:23.200 This guy that was an insurrectionist. 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.480 We can't even ensure that our basic human and civil 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:28.719 rights are protected. 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:29.880 What are the. 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.960 Things that you all are doing as legislators, knowing that 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.040 even when you file bills they won't likely pass. What 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:40.560 are the ways in which you're working to protect us us, 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.640 those of us who live in Louisiana, and those of 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.280 us who deserve to be protected nationally. 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:49.400 Absolutely, so, it's so much more than legislating. We have 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:52.880 to litigate, and we've been litigating. We have to always 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:58.520 organize and educate our people basic civics, helping everybody understand 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:03.120 what these decisions mean and how they impact daily living. 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:06.120 This is so so vital that we just do more 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.600 than just try to work inside the rails, understanding rules 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.480 and procedures. We know we're in the super minority and 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:14.920 we can't get the bills out that we want to 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:16.880 get out. We can't stop the bad bills. But we 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:21.280 can educate our communities. We can engage with lawyers who 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:25.360 are going to represent communities when they've been harmed or disenfranchised. 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:29.520 And we have to continue to organize and push our 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.320 people and let folks outside of Louisiana know that they 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.720 have to invest in Louisiana. You can't treat the South, 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:38.480 whether it's from South Carolina all the way down to 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:40.920 Louisiana and Texas. You can't treat us like it's just 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:44.040 like a regional thing. This impacts the entire nation. So 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.160 we have to talk with leaders like you, Angela who 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.720 have national platforms to help the rest of the country 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:53.440 see why this fight in the South impacts everyone. It 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:56.080 impacts everyone across this country because this is really the 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.880 fight for democracy. And yes, people are tired, people are disaffected, 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.600 people are being pushed the question whether or not they're 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:06.360 vote even matters anymore. And I think that's really what 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:09.160 today's fight is about. It's not even about fight for 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.120 access to the ballot, even though that they're trying to 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.240 make it harder to get to the ballot, But the 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:17.520 real fight is about whether or not when you vote, 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.640 whether or not your vote is even going to mean something, 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.080 because they're saying, well, the only people that's going to 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:24.920 have representation now in Louisiana are Republicans. They want a 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:29.560 one party system, and that's truly anti democratic. It's a 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.600 disenfranchisement at the highest level. And we're just trying to 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.760 always remind people of and help them to see how 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:37.560 it all connects. 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:42.000 So let's let's go go down that line a little bit, right, 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.000 and I want us to talk as friends, but Frank, 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.800 so that people at home can get into you know, 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.240 they're used to hearing political answers. But I think we 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.000 got to be real, real right now. So let's walk 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:56.320 this through. So we know they want a one party system. 0:15:56.640 --> 0:16:01.360 Have you guys been having conversations about why, Like why 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:03.920 do they why do they want to eliminate any other 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.200 possible viewpoint? Like what is your perspective on why that's 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:09.000 important especially in Louisiana. 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:11.600 A couple of things, Well, they feel threatened. 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:15.680 We know this is all part of the larger Project 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:20.480 twenty twenty five effort, whether it's it's neo Confederate movement, 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:25.680 uh uh, this this far right uh, this far right 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:29.360 movement to basically do away with anything that's black or 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:32.680 brown and all throughout the country. This is this is 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:36.080 the the plate that they've been running for a long time. 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:39.360 So they feel threatened. And we fought really hard for 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:40.280 that second black. 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:44.160 Congressional district that that's currently represented by by Congressman Fields. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.960 And while while thankfully we have to not like South 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:52.840 Carolina or like Tennessee or Mississippi or miss Mississippi. 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.200 But but we but we make up one third of 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:55.800 this state. 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.240 So so I guess in the mind of those who 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.200 want to quote make America great again, the question has 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.280 to be asked who you're making it great again for. 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:07.639 So to make it great again for some means that 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.600 you roll back representation for others. So black progress to 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:14.280 some people, they feel threatened by that. And that's what 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:18.919 this is all in response to Black progress. And I mean, 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.000 I don't know how more direct we can make it 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:23.480 in terms of just just saying what calling it for 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.359 what it is, but that's what this is all in 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:29.480 a response to. So, if they were confident in their policies, 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.360 they would feel like they can go and win in November. 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:35.639 But the president doesn't feel confident because they have a 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:40.680 losing message. Our country is suffering, and they're going to 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.160 get beat in the mid term. So now they've got 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:45.919 to go out here and try to steal elections, rig elections. 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.199 They're currently throwing away over forty thousand ballots in Louisiana 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.879 in an election that's currently underway, right, I mean, this 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.239 is just mass chaos and confusion that's all rooted in 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:57.440 the fear of black progress. 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.640 And I think that's spot on the fear of black progress. 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.280 And so then the next question becomes what are they 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:05.040 willing to do? 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:06.439 Like how far are they willing to go? 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.280 And I keep asking this question to people, like what 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:09.639 is their bottom their floor? 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:13.080 And so my theory of the case, right, no, I 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:13.720 want to hear it. Go ahead. 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.560 I don't believe there is one. When you say what 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:18.480 the floor is, I don't think one exists. 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:23.240 And so then what I am concerned that we're doing, Senator, 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.160 is we're spending a lot of time fighting them on 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.440 the level we're at right now, but we're not spending 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:33.720 the time we need to prepare for the next floor. Right, 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.000 So in my mind, I'm a nerd and I got 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:39.040 add so I'll go down all kinds of rabbit holes. 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:41.200 So the other day I found this document and I 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.879 encourage you guys at home to check this out for 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:49.440 state of Conventions. State of Conventions came out when Ben 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:52.800 Carson will still huts secretary. So first Trump administration, state 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:57.879 of conventions is gathering people to have a constitutional convention. 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:00.560 I think they were going after the how those seats 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:02.960 first because they were like, oh, we can do a 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:07.480 constitutional convention if we get a congressional supermajority. They need 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:10.679 two thirds. They can't get it in the Senate, I 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:13.000 don't think. I think it will be really, really tough. 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.480 But where they could get it, and this is where 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.080 they haven't really gone yet, is at state, the state 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.919 legislative level. You need two thirds to amend the Constitution, 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:25.159 three fourths to ratify with is thirty eight states. Y'all 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:27.720 have not been targeted yet, has there been? Have there 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:32.280 been conversations about redrawing state legislative districts as well? 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:33.280 In Louisiana? 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:35.439 Not yet, but I imagine it is coming once we 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:39.360 get through congressional So the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:43.920 vacated the district course ruling that deemed our current maps 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.119 to be unconstitutional. So it's been remanded back to the 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:49.840 trial court and it's going to be relitigated under the 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:54.000 Calaid decision. So all of our seats are at risk. 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:57.359 So I don't see that fight going away. It just 0:19:57.440 --> 0:19:59.359 hasn't come yet, but I imagine that that's going to 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:01.600 be the on on the table very soon. 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.119 I think so too, because in Washington State, like I said, 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:10.080 that is about state legislative seats, and they're what, you know, 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:10.960 what's crazy to me? 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:11.359 The grace. 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:14.879 There was a time where we went, especially in the South, 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:17.000 we sought relief at the federal level. 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:20.520 The federal level is now the one exacting the. 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:25.240 Harm, you know, like we're you know, Jim Crow versus Ferguson, 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:27.159 which you know all two well, you know, right out 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:30.399 of your home in Louisiana, Like we're going backwards and 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:33.359