1 00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: On March five, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a ninety 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: eight page elections bill that, among many other measures, dramatically 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: restricts absentee voting limits, the number and location of ballot 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: drop boxes, gives the legislature the power to replace local 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: election boards, and makes it a crime to provide water 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: or food to those waiting and long lines to vote. 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: Passed on a party line vote by both Republican control 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: chambers of the state legislature and signed by a Republican governor, 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: the bill's provisions will have a disproportionate impact on the 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: state's most heavily democratic urban counties, already notorious for their 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: long lines on election day, and the law that was 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: signed in Georgia is just one of more than two 13 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: hundred fifty bills in forty five states that have been 14 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: introduced to restrict voting access since last November's election. So 15 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: why am I telling you this? Because the right to 16 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: vote is both fundamental to individual liberty and to the 17 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: opper functioning of representative democracy. When voting rights are denied, deluded, 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: or restricted, the ability of our government to solve problems, 19 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: seize opportunities, and serve everyone is impaired and its legitimacy 20 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: is weakened. And right now all across America, after a 21 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: historic ellection with a record turnout, the foundation of our 22 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: democracy is at risk. That's why on today's episode, I'm 23 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: grateful to be joined by one of our nation's most 24 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: effective advocates for free and fair elections. After the Supreme 25 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: Court got to the Voting Rights Act in opening the 26 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: door to a wide range of discriminatory voting changes that 27 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: disproportionately affect communities of color, like precinct closures and elimination 28 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: of early voting, Stacy Abrams launched the New Georgia Project 29 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: to register voters and protect voting rights. She methodically got 30 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: to work registering the very people who are being targeted 31 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: by voters of Russian efforts, and advocating for laws that 32 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: make it easier, not harder, to participate in our democracy. 33 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: In she became the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, 34 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: but lost the election by fifty five thousand votes, largely 35 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: because of voter suppression and the removal of hundreds of 36 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: thousands of voters from the rolls. But she channeled her 37 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: setbacks and a positive change for the state of Georgia 38 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 1: and for our entire country, doubling down on her efforts 39 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: and starting her organization Fair Fight to protect voting rights 40 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: in Georgia and across America. Her work resulted in a 41 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: national voter protection network amid the pandemic, along with record 42 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: turnout in Georgia in the election and the critical Senate runoffs. 43 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: My conversation with Stacy was recorded shortly before the signing 44 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: of Georgia's new law as part of the annual Clinton 45 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: Global Initiative Meeting for University Students c g i U. 46 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: Every year, CEU brings together hundreds of young change makers 47 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: from around the world who are working to address urgent 48 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 1: challenges on campus, in their communities, and across the lobe. 49 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: This year, our virtual host campus was Howard University. I 50 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: wanted our c g i USED students to hear from 51 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: Stacy because she's provided an incredible blueprint for achieving real, 52 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: meaningful change. No matter what you're setting out to do, 53 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: you need a clear vision, a realistic plan to get there, 54 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: the fortitude to stick with it, and the flexibility to 55 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: adapt to changing circumstances. Stacy Abrams has done that as 56 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: well as anybody I have ever seen. I hope you 57 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: enjoy our conversation. Stacy, thank you for joining us today, 58 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: and I think you should take it just a couple 59 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: of moments and tell the people who are with us 60 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: today how you got interested in this work and what 61 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: you would say to young people about what are it's 62 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: worth the time and effort and blood, sway tears put 63 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: into it. Well, Mr President, first of all, thank you 64 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: so much for inviting me to be a part of 65 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: this conversation. Like you, I am a child of the South. 66 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: I was technically born in Wisconsin, but I grew up 67 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: in Mississippi, and my parents were both civil rights activists 68 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: when they were teenagers. So by the time I came along, 69 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: I was part of the whole history of people who 70 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: had been fighting for the right to vote, the right 71 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: to have access to democracy. And as you know, Jim Crow, 72 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: the system in the South that denied access to the 73 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: right to vote to black Americans existed from the end 74 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: of slavery basically through nineteen sixty five, and so my 75 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: parents were teenagers in sixty five. My dad was actually 76 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: arrested helping register black people to vote. We tease him 77 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: that my mom was doing the same work. She was 78 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: just smart enough not to get caught. But I came 79 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: of age knowing that the right to vote wasn't just 80 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: about casting a ballot. It was the only way to 81 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: tackle the poverty we lived in. And my parents both 82 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: worked full time, and still we barely made ends meet. 83 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: We were what they called working poor. And so my 84 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 1: parents took us with them to volunteer because they wanted 85 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: us to work our hands to make people's lives better. 86 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: But they also took us with them to vote because 87 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,239 Speaker 1: they said, individually, we can make a little bit of change, 88 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: but when we vote, we make collective change. Society changes 89 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: when you vote. So when I was seventeen, I was 90 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: a student at Spellman College. I set up my first 91 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: table to register my fellow students to vote. And in 92 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety two, I got to work on my first 93 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: major campaign, and that was for then Governor of Arkansas, 94 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: Bill Clinton. And so the very first campaign I was 95 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: old enough to vote in, I voted in a primary. 96 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: And I've worked to get people to vote in the 97 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: nine two presidential election. And I used that one not 98 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: only is an example of how long I've been at this, 99 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: because that was thirty years ago. I also lifted up 100 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: because it is a part of who I am. I've 101 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: never stopped working on the right to vote. When I 102 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: was seventeen and eighteen, I was trying to expand access, 103 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: trying to make sure more people could vote. By the 104 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: time I was in my forties, I was fighting to 105 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: protect the right to vote because of the harm that 106 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 1: had been done by the Supreme Court to the Voting 107 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: Rights Act, the law that basically said states couldn't hurt 108 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,039 Speaker 1: the right to vote in the United States. And so 109 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: I say all of this to say that, to answer 110 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 1: your second question, it's worth doing this work because I've 111 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: seen what happens when the right to vote is made real. 112 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: When I was working on that campaign in ninety two, 113 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: I got to see Bill Clinton become the President of 114 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: the United States and start to address some of the 115 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: terrible challenges, especially that we're facing poor people in the South. 116 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: And in two thousand and twenty and twenty one, I 117 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: helped elect Joe Biden and Raphael Warnock and John ass Off, 118 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: and now we have a plan, the American Rescue Plan, 119 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: that will lift half of the children in poverty out 120 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: of poverty. And that's because of voting. It's because when 121 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 1: we fight for our democracy, when we do the work 122 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: not only to protect democracy but to encourage people to 123 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: participate in it. We've got to do both. You can't 124 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: do one and not the other. But when we do 125 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: both together, real progress does happen. It's slow, it's sometimes plotting, 126 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: it sometimes feels ineffective. But I know where I could 127 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: be but for the times I voted, at the times 128 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: my parents voted, and I know where we are, and 129 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: I am very grateful that democracy can work. When you 130 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,119 Speaker 1: are the leader of the Democrats in the Georgia House, 131 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: you ran for governor and you lost by volts, even 132 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: though you got more votes than a Democrat ever had. 133 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: And most of us who looked at the race or 134 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: convinced that you would have won if several hundred thousand 135 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: voters hadn't been purged, I think you believe that too. 136 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: And UH. Since the election, well over two hundred bills 137 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: have been introduced in more than forty states to restrict 138 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: the franchise again to make it harder for people to vote, 139 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: Some of them overtly targeted at African Americans, others more 140 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: broadly targeted at UH, younger voters, disabled voters, lower income voters, 141 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: people of color, immigrants. This used to be a by 142 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: part of an issue. George W. Bush signed the extension 143 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: of the voting rightside. Most Republicans voted for it, and 144 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: then they said, we're digging our own graves. We gotta 145 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: restrict the franchise again, and all of a sudden it 146 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: became party orthodoxy. So what do we do now? And 147 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: tell us a little about the John Lewis Voting Rights 148 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: Act and the For the People Act and why you 149 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: think it's so report to the president as you you 150 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:07,079 Speaker 1: very clearly laid out the the onslaught isn't new, and 151 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: and I want to give just a little bit of background. 152 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: The United States does not have an affirmative right to 153 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: vote in the Constitution. What the Constitution lays out is 154 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: how voting happens. It says that the Congress gets to 155 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: determine the time, place in manner, and it delegates to 156 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: each of the individual states and territories that get to 157 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: participate in elections that they can administer the election. So 158 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: there isn't a unlike in a lot of nations, especially 159 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: most democratized nations, where there's a central universe of how 160 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: democracy works. And then it plays out locally. Everything for 161 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: most American elections happens at the state level, and so 162 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: the federal government, like the work that was done under 163 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: your administration. We have some laws that say here are 164 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 1: things you can't do. And we have the constitutional amendments, 165 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,559 Speaker 1: the fifteenth Amendment that gave black men the right to vote, 166 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: the nineteenth Amendment that gave white women the right to vote, 167 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,320 Speaker 1: the Amendment that gave young people the right to vote. 168 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: And then we have the Voting Rights Act of nineteen five, 169 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: which said, no matter where you live, they can't create 170 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: laws that block you from voting. And we're going to 171 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: make sure that states that have the right to administer 172 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: these elections don't try to game the system. Because under 173 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: Jim Crow, that was the most recent example, you had 174 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: what we're called racially neutral and facially neutral rules. So 175 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: Jim Crow didn't say in law for voting that black 176 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: people couldn't vote. It just created restrictions that only applied 177 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: to black people. So it should have applied to everyone, 178 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: but they created exceptions so it only applied to black voters. 179 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: The reason this is important is that when you look 180 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: at what's happening today, they're using the same system you 181 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 1: hear these very they sound logical, these logical rules like 182 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: photo I D or you know, we're gonna limit the 183 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: number of days of early voting. We're gonna end voting 184 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 1: on Saturdays and Sundays, or make it uniform across the states. 185 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,679 Speaker 1: We're going to cut off the number of voters who 186 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 1: can vote by mail. It applies to everyone in theory, 187 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,719 Speaker 1: but they've targeted these laws so that the people who 188 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: are hurt by it are people of color, namely black 189 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: people in the South, Latino and Native Americans in the West, 190 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: young people across the country. And the intention is to 191 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: target these communities because they are the ones who are 192 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:37,719 Speaker 1: the most likely to vote in a way that is 193 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: opposite of what Republicans currently want. And let's be clear, 194 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,839 Speaker 1: Democrats did it first, and before Democrats, the federalists did it. 195 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 1: So voter suppression isn't the proxy of the Republican Party alone, 196 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: but they are the leaders now, and so any rules 197 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: that will mitigate that harm, that will make it better 198 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: or that can make it worse, Act Lee tend to 199 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:02,959 Speaker 1: start at the state level. And so, as you said, 200 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: in response to more black people, more Latino, more Asian American, 201 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: more Native American and more young people voting in one 202 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: than in any election. The response has been two hundred 203 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 1: and fifty three bills in forty three different states to 204 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: restrict access to the right to vote. And they use 205 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: this term of art election integrity, but it is absolutely 206 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: this code word for racial and age based discrimination. The 207 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: only way to solve the problem is either to convince 208 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: Republicans and the state legislatures that they control to not 209 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: be bad people, to not do bad things. But they 210 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: believe it's the only way they can win elections. They 211 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: don't think they can compete with their ideas, so they're 212 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: just going to stop voters they don't want to see 213 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: show up at the polls. And that leads to congressional 214 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: action that leads to the four The People Act HR 215 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: one slash S one and the John Lewisvoting Rights Advancement 216 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: Act h R four. What these bills do for the 217 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: People Act for the first time in American history, it 218 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: sets a standard for how people register to vote, for 219 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: the fact that everyone gets automatically registered if you're a citizen, 220 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: and that if you move from place to place, you 221 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,320 Speaker 1: can fix it the same day. The day you go 222 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: to vote, you can vote, you can register to vote. 223 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: It says that everyone gets to have at least two 224 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: weeks of early voting because our economy is not the 225 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 1: same economy we had in people who have different kinds 226 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,959 Speaker 1: of jobs, they can't all vote on a Tuesday. Number three, 227 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: it says that everyone can vote by mail, which in 228 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,840 Speaker 1: a pandemic became a really important issue. And then those laws, 229 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,280 Speaker 1: those rules become the rules no matter where you live, 230 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,079 Speaker 1: So for the first time in American history, there will 231 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: be a standardization of who gets access to the right 232 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: to vote. The second part, though, is how do you 233 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: stop the states that have a history of seeing good 234 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 1: laws and trying to make them worse from doing so. 235 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 1: And that's what the Voting Rights Advancement Act does. It 236 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: restores Section five of the Voting Rights Act, which said 237 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,680 Speaker 1: that before you could do bad things to election laws, 238 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: you have to get permission from the Justice Department. And 239 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: it's going to hopefully fix what we know the Supreme 240 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: Court is about to break, which is Section two of 241 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: the Voting Rights Act, which says you can't do anything 242 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: that is going to have an effect of diminishing voters 243 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: of color, and what they're arguing with the Republicans are arguing, 244 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: and they set it in their presentation that if we 245 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: don't stop these communities from being able to vote, Republicans 246 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: can't win elections. And so we need both HR one 247 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: S one, the four the People Act, and we need 248 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: the Voting Rights Advancement Act. We need both pieces because 249 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: we have to make sure everyone has the same rights. 250 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: And then we have to have a law that gives 251 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: people a remedy to go to court to fix what 252 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: they break. And what we have to remember is it's 253 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: happening from Republicans right now. But any time a party 254 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: gets into power, they are loath to give that power up. 255 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: And often the only way to hold onto power when 256 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: demographics shift, when ideology shift, you can either change the 257 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: way you run your campaigns and the policies you promote, 258 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 1: or you can block people from voting. And in every 259 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: authoritarian or autocratic government we see today that used to 260 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: be a democracy, you will find that they started their 261 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: dissent by limiting the voices of the minority because the 262 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: minority was getting too loud. You know, a couple of 263 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: years ago, representative of Attorney General's Office in Texas actually 264 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: said in an appeal and his defense of Texas voter restrictions. 265 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: He said, absolutely, we're trying to make it harder for 266 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: black and brown people to vote, but it's not race based. 267 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: We wren make and harder because they don't vote for us. 268 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: If they voted for us, we'd make it easy for 269 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: them to vote. So that's an ultimant anti democratic statement, 270 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: small D and I actually appreciated it. I wish I 271 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: could meet the guy and thank you for being honest. 272 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: I'm sick of all this, you know, sort of smarmy 273 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: talk about voter integrity, which doesn't have a look of merit, 274 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: and which many of them have already acknowledged about the election, 275 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: that it was the election was honestly held and and 276 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: the votes were honestly counted. I remember after the election, 277 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 1: I talked to an African American woman who lives in 278 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: not very far from me, and she and her husband. 279 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: You know, they're wildly successful, they're well educated. And I said, 280 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: I bet the place you live as a lot of 281 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: people voted for Trump. She said, yeah, they do. And 282 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: I said, did you ever ask him why they voted 283 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: for him? And she said that they were really honest. 284 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: They said, you had it for eight years we want 285 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: it back, and he said they weren't talking about party. 286 00:16:55,480 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: And so I think this is a sort of thing. 287 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: You see this in the ethnic and religious and cultural tensions. 288 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: We see it in Europe, we see it in Asia, 289 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: we even see it in Africa. Sadly, you know, when 290 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,880 Speaker 1: people don't want to ever give up their power, they 291 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: make up for reasons to hold onto it, and then 292 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: they have to have an information system that puts the 293 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 1: poison into the minds and hearts of the people they're 294 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: talking to so they can have a base big enough 295 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: to hold on. And this last election was really reassuring, 296 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 1: and partly because the people who weren't with us showed 297 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,400 Speaker 1: up in big number two I think the highest percentage 298 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: of registered voters where I saw a study that's at 299 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: other registered uh, conservative evangelical Christians and ultra white nationalists voted. 300 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 1: And you know, they didn't win. And I figured, we 301 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: can't get higher, man, so we better change the rules. 302 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 1: And the sad thing is that it looks like spring 303 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,439 Speaker 1: Court is going to back them and changing the rules 304 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:19,400 Speaker 1: or as they certainly have to this point, and therefore 305 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,120 Speaker 1: Congress is our only hope. Now let me ask you this, 306 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: since the Constitution gives the states a lot of leeway 307 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: and running these elections. How far can the Congress go 308 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: and telling them how to run the elections. There's a 309 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: false dispute that's out there. Article one, Section four of 310 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: the Constitution says Congress has essentially the ability to set 311 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 1: the time, place, and manner of elections. It delegates that 312 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: to the states to actually administer it. But by and large, 313 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,679 Speaker 1: for federal elections, it is the responsibility of Congress to 314 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,919 Speaker 1: do what they think is necessary to set the time, 315 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: the place, in the manor. Now they can't do that 316 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: for a local election, for a mayor, or for a 317 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: state legislative election. But the reality is there's not a 318 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 1: single state that runs two parallel systems, one that's just 319 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: federal and one that's just state. There there's some tweaks, like, 320 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,719 Speaker 1: for example, Louisiana. The state of Louisiana holds most of 321 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 1: their elections on Saturdays, except for the presidential election because 322 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: it has to be held officially on that Tuesday. But 323 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 1: on the rest of their elections they hold it on 324 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: Saturday because the federal government lets them do it. What 325 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: would happen with HR one with the For the People 326 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 1: Act is that there would be a baseline set where 327 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: the federal government, much like the Motor Voter Act, and 328 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: like the Act that created Provisional Ballots to Help America 329 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,920 Speaker 1: Vote Act, it would say that as a federal matter, 330 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,439 Speaker 1: we are saying that the time will be that you 331 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,879 Speaker 1: will have at least two weeks of early voting. The 332 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: place will be that you allow multiple people to vote 333 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 1: on different days, and the manner will be that they 334 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: can vote in person early, in person on the day 335 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: of or they can vote by mail. It is absolutely 336 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: constitutional for the federal government, through Congress to set that up. 337 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,880 Speaker 1: And that's all the Four the People Act does. Now, 338 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 1: the people pushing back against it don't like it because 339 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 1: they like the fact that in the state of Oregon 340 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,679 Speaker 1: you can vote by mail exclusively, and they do an 341 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: amazing job, have the single highest voter turnout, I think 342 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: in the country. But you get to Mississippi, you can't 343 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: vote by mail unless you are disabled, elderly, or you 344 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: can prove that you're gonna be out of town. You 345 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: don't get to vote early, and you can only vote 346 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: on election day otherwise, And so the that we have 347 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: such a disparate methods of voting means that the quality 348 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: of your democracy differs depending on the state you live in. 349 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: And here in Georgia, until we sued them and forced changes, 350 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: you could vote by mail in one county and they 351 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: would let you know if they saw a mistake on 352 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: your envelope, but if you voted by mail in another county, 353 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: they threw your vote out. So we sued them so 354 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,199 Speaker 1: that everyone got to be treated the same way. And 355 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: that's why the federal action is so important. When the 356 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: federal government says you have to vote this way, almost 357 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: every state is going to vote using those rules for 358 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: federal elections, but they're not going to change it for 359 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: local and state elections because they don't they can't afford to. 360 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: Running two separate systems is incredibly expensive, and so not 361 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: only as a matter of law, but as a matter 362 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: of practicality, Congress taking action will create a safe baseline 363 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: for elections for everyone in the United States who is 364 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,640 Speaker 1: eligible to vote. Stay tuned for more of the conversation 365 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: after this short break. Now we know the Congress is 366 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:19,479 Speaker 1: pretty closely divided in the House and the Senate, and 367 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,120 Speaker 1: the two of the Democratic senators have said they won't 368 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: vote to abolish the fellow bus are altogether, which requires 369 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: sixty votes to cut off debate on everything except the 370 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: fundamental budget. Do you believe that we should say right 371 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: now that when it comes two holding elections and who 372 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 1: can vote, and how that's just as fundamental as the 373 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 1: budget to our democracy and that there should also be 374 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 1: a carve out for that. Do you believe that that 375 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: we can can we justify if it comes to that, 376 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,920 Speaker 1: Let's say we got to senators that won't repeal the 377 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: filipbuster are altogether, or can't we justify saying we got 378 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: to protect our democracy here? Do you favor uh a 379 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: specific exemption for election related voting on the grounds that 380 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:22,479 Speaker 1: it's the building blocks of democracy and you shouldn't use 381 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: a procedural vote UH to destroy it. Absolutely, So let's 382 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: start with this number one. The filibuster is not in 383 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 1: the constitution. It is a rule that has been exacerbated 384 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: over time. But it was a rule that was designed 385 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: to encourage debate. It was designed encourage the minority to 386 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: have a voice and not be overshadowed by the majority. 387 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: But over time it became a procedural tool used to 388 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,920 Speaker 1: stop any bills that people didn't like, and the problem 389 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: there is that when you do so, you not only 390 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: shut down debate, you often shut down action against perfecty 391 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 1: and bad behavior. There are three exemptions exist right now 392 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: to the filibuster. The budget reconciliation one, so essentially, if 393 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: it's needed to fund the government and make the government work, 394 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 1: you can get around the filibuster. The second is for 395 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,400 Speaker 1: judicial appointments. If you look at Articles three of the Constitution, 396 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: we have to have judges. Congress has the responsibility to 397 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: confirm the judicial appointments of the president. So they said, okay, 398 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: we're gonna carve that one out that won't be subject 399 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:39,200 Speaker 1: of filibuster. The third is cabinet appointments. They were blocking 400 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,400 Speaker 1: cabinet appointments, and it's the application of the president, which 401 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: is Article two of the Constitution, to have a cabinet 402 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 1: to help him do or her eventually do their work. 403 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: And they carved out an exception for that. So I'm saying, 404 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,680 Speaker 1: if you've got a carve up for Article three, you've 405 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: got to carve out for Article two. Article one. Section 406 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: four also is an example of a carve out because 407 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,720 Speaker 1: it is exclusively the responsibility of Congress to decide if 408 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: the time, place, and manner of elections is meeting our obligations, 409 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: and right now it's not. Therefore we should absolutely carve 410 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,200 Speaker 1: it out. I don't want to have the debate about 411 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 1: the larger issue of the filibuster, because if we don't 412 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: get this part done, if we don't solve the democracy crisis, 413 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 1: the rest of it is irrelevant. It doesn't matter what 414 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: else they block, because most of the Americans who are 415 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: trying to be heard won't have a voice in the 416 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,240 Speaker 1: process at all. And so it is not only I think, 417 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 1: an existential crisis that we face. It is a moral 418 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,880 Speaker 1: imperative that we not allow a procedural rule to destroy 419 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: the most durable democracy the world has known. First of all, 420 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: thank you. That's as fine as accinct statement as I've 421 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 1: heard on the subject. There is no example in the 422 00:25:55,080 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: world of a truly successful society where there is real 423 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:09,040 Speaker 1: upward mobility and shared prosperity without shared responsibilities of citizenship 424 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 1: and a shared sense of community. And all is started 425 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: basically when President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act and 426 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: the Civil Rights Act, and then the reaction set in 427 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: and by President Reagan was elected saying government is the problem. 428 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: Announcing in Philadelphia, Mississippi, I liked Reagan personally, it broke 429 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: my heart when he did that, and it was a 430 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:42,679 Speaker 1: terrible thing to do, and uh, but it made the point. 431 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:48,719 Speaker 1: And ever since then, I spent eight long years trying 432 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:53,199 Speaker 1: to restore the legitimacy of the federal government in the 433 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,160 Speaker 1: minds of a majority of American people. And when I left, 434 00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 1: it was the highest that had been in thirty years, 435 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:04,439 Speaker 1: but it was it's not sustainable under these relentless attacks. 436 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,119 Speaker 1: So my question to you is, what do we do 437 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 1: to win the information war? What's your strategy for making 438 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: people continuously believe this matters, Because let's be honest, one 439 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:20,919 Speaker 1: of the reasons where the fix we're in is that 440 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: we passed off on too many mid term elections over 441 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: the last twenty years when only the Republicans were voting practically, 442 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: and they like that just fine. And so now you've 443 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 1: got state government and many states way to the right 444 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 1: of where people are. I would say three very quick things. One, 445 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: we have to be very clear with people that voting 446 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 1: is not magic. It is medicine. Magic makes things happen, 447 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:49,640 Speaker 1: makes things disappear. Medicine helps make things better. And when 448 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: you don't take your medicine things get worse in a 449 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: democratic society. When you are silent, then you are refusing 450 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: to take your medicine, and the disease that you're fighting, 451 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 1: whether it's a disease of racism, poverty, and justice, whatever 452 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,400 Speaker 1: the disease is that you think matters. If you are silent, 453 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: the disease gets worse. So that's first. Second, we have 454 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: to connect the dots. We unfortunately have seen not only 455 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 1: forty years of denigration of government, we've also seen forty 456 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: years of disinformation. People don't know who does what, and 457 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,000 Speaker 1: we've got so many layers of government and so many jobs. 458 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: One of the most important responsibilities is getting back to 459 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,719 Speaker 1: the basics, explaining that if you care about criminal justice reform, 460 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: you need to watch what the mayor is doing. If 461 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,240 Speaker 1: you care about housing, look at your county zoning laws. 462 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: If you care about abortion, about reproductive choice, if you 463 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,239 Speaker 1: care about the environment, make certain you know who your 464 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: state legislators are. Not everything happens at the federal government. 465 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 1: In fact, most things happen at the state and local level. 466 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: So that's number two, And then number three is stop 467 00:28:55,240 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 1: trying to proselytize and convert someone's ideology. I start with 468 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: the people that's who have never had anyone speak to them. 469 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,640 Speaker 1: And I would say this is true about your campaign 470 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: for president, the work that President Obama did, what we 471 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,479 Speaker 1: are seeing happen now when we go to people who 472 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,640 Speaker 1: have been left out of the narrative and we actually 473 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: talked to them by saying not just that we understand, 474 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: but we listen. When you go to the people who 475 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: are left out of the conversation, you expand the pool 476 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 1: of opportunity for change. And the work we do here 477 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: in Georgia, the work we've tried to do around the 478 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: country through fair Fight and fair count is by talking 479 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 1: to people who are so often ignored or silenced, because 480 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 1: when someone finds their voice, it is a rare occasion 481 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:40,959 Speaker 1: that they shut up ever again. And so if we 482 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: do that work, voting is medicine, not magic. That we 483 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: have to connect the dots to who does what, and 484 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: that we talk to the people who should be heard. 485 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: I think that's how we overcome disinformation social media that 486 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,200 Speaker 1: is never going to tell us the whole truth. But 487 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: it's also how we build the next generation of engagement 488 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: and the next generation of democracy. I agree with you 489 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: with one little caveat I think we talk about elections, 490 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: who wins, who lost, loses as if they got eight 491 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 1: percent of the vote, and very often it's a near 492 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: run thing either way. And I believe that for particularly 493 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:26,720 Speaker 1: for the party of government, if you will, though we're 494 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 1: not a party of government only, but a party that 495 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: believes you have to have a good government and a 496 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: good private sector to make a good society. What we 497 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: have to do is to realize that a lot of 498 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: these people out in the middle will respond to performance. 499 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: We don't have to get them allog, just a few. 500 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,480 Speaker 1: It's like a bunch of metal on the floor, and 501 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: to competing magnets, performance is the only thing. Once we 502 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,240 Speaker 1: get in, it makes our magnet stronger. And I think 503 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,080 Speaker 1: that's our aunts to get through this incredibly perilous time. 504 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,560 Speaker 1: We can do something about the increasing inequality of incomes. 505 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: We can do something about every single one of these problems, 506 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 1: but we have to have people committed to do it 507 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 1: and to believe it. It's easy to sell the truth, 508 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 1: I think if it's evident to people. But if you're 509 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 1: just going on a digging expedition and and they're digging 510 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,880 Speaker 1: in your hate and we're digging in your hope, we 511 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 1: don't always have a bigger magnet. If we had more 512 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: people like you, we'd have the most powerful magnet on Earth. 513 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: We'll be right back. What makes you hopeful about the 514 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 1: future in the United States and beyond? In I made 515 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:01,880 Speaker 1: my first trip of broad I went to Salzburg and 516 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: I was there as a fellow on youth civic engagement. 517 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: This was, you know, twenty years ago. I was there 518 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,240 Speaker 1: to talk about why young people had to be engaged, 519 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: had to be candidates, had to be operatives running campaigns, 520 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:20,240 Speaker 1: had to be activists encouraging people, and had to be 521 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 1: social workers in the sense of connecting people to their power. 522 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,200 Speaker 1: I did it because I believe then as I believe now, 523 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,960 Speaker 1: that we can win. My great great great grandparents were 524 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: slaves in the United States. My great great grandparents were 525 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: sharecroppers working on other people's land, making little money, barely 526 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: able to make ends meet. My great grandparents were domestic workers. 527 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,840 Speaker 1: My grandparents were cooks who worked at a college. Their 528 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: children were legally not allowed to attend because of their race. 529 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: My parents, as I said, we're working poor despite having 530 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 1: college degrees. But I became the first black woman in 531 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: American history to be a nominee for governor, and as 532 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 1: President Clinton knows, governors are powerful people who can help 533 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: change the future society. I do this work because I 534 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,400 Speaker 1: have seen change happen. I am not where my grandparents were, 535 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 1: I am not where they imagine me to be yet, 536 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,440 Speaker 1: but I am closer than we have ever been. And 537 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 1: my responsibility is not to bemoan what has been passed, 538 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: but to understand it and to do the work to 539 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 1: make the next generation stronger and make the next story 540 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,960 Speaker 1: an even better story than my own. No one says 541 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:34,640 Speaker 1: it better than to you as well. Thank you so much, sir, Hi, 542 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: I'm myshe Alexander. I'm senior Impact and Design Manager and 543 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: a proud alumni of the Clinton Global Initiative University c 544 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: g I U. President Clinton and Chelsea often say that 545 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 1: you're never too young to make a difference. Not c 546 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,800 Speaker 1: g I. You are working to engage the next generation 547 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: of leaders on college campuses across the country and around 548 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,680 Speaker 1: the world to turn their big ideas for social change 549 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 1: into meaningful action. Through our year round program of mentorship, 550 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:03,200 Speaker 1: skills training, and partnership building, we're cultivating a community of 551 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 1: more than ten thousand students in alumni who are committed 552 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,840 Speaker 1: to taking real, concrete steps towards working together and solving 553 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 1: the pressing global challenges that affect us all, from responding 554 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: to COVID nineteen to expanding access to clean water, to 555 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:19,840 Speaker 1: supporting refugees and so much more. The students of c 556 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: g I you demonstrate the future of impact. Learn more 557 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,320 Speaker 1: about this work and see how you can get involved. 558 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:33,879 Speaker 1: Visit www dot Clinton Foundation dot org. Slash podcast Why 559 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: am I telling You? This is a production of our 560 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, the Clinton Foundation and at Will Media. Our 561 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:45,240 Speaker 1: executive producers are Craig Manascian and Will Malnadi. Our production 562 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: team includes Mitch Bluestein, Jamison cat Sufis, Tom Galton, Sarah Harrowoods, 563 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,840 Speaker 1: and Jake Young, with production support from Tyler Scott and 564 00:34:53,920 --> 00:35:00,080 Speaker 1: LaTavia Young. Original music by What White. Special thanks to 565 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:04,840 Speaker 1: John Sichs, Tina Finois, John Davidson on Hell Arena, Corey Gantley, 566 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,640 Speaker 1: Oscar Flores, Kevin Thurm, and all our dedicated staff and 567 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,800 Speaker 1: partners at the Clinton Foundation. If you have an idea 568 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,040 Speaker 1: of suggestion for the show, we'd love to hear from you, 569 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,759 Speaker 1: so please visit Clinton Foundation dot org slash podcast to 570 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,120 Speaker 1: share your thoughts with us. If you like the show, 571 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,319 Speaker 1: tell someone else about it. You can subscribe to why 572 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,080 Speaker 1: Am I Telling You This on the I Heart Radio app, 573 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:33,120 Speaker 1: Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. By listening 574 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: to this podcast, you're helping support the work of the 575 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 1: Clinton Foundation, so thank you.