Thursday on MS NOW’s “The Briefing,” failed Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams said Republicans’ “intention” was to dismantle democracy for all of us.
Host Michael Steele said, “I just want out of the box. Just ask about Memphis, specifically where the ninth Congressional District, the one that the majority that was a majority black district, was completely erased. There were tons of protests when that happened, and I think it was my impression at least, that such an action could motivate Democrats and not just Democrats, but independent and even some Republicans, in that district to show up and vote today. Have you seen any evidence of that energy, either in Tennessee or in other states where Republicans have taken similar actions?”
Abrams said, “I was there, I testified in front of the Senate committee, a committee that convened and passed a map. It had not yet drawn. The Senate minority leader, Raumesh Akbari, asked for a copy of the map and they said, well, we haven’t drawn it yet, but we know what we’re doing. And as you pointed out, they intended to dismantle black voting power because they intend to dismantle democracy. And I think it’s so important that we recognize that while they target black voters for their animus, their intention is to dismantle democracy for all of us. They just start with the community they think is the easiest to attack. But what has always happened and what we saw happen that day, I testified that morning, but that evening I was in a church that was packed with more than 200 people who’d gathered to protest those maps, but also to start planning what could they do in response? And what we know is that it’s taken them 61 years to get what they wanted, which is a return to Jim Crow, a return to a moment where the 15th amendment didn’t actually work for everyone in this country, but it took them 60 years to dismantle it. We don’t have 60 years to wait to rebuild it. Now is the time for us to believe that we not only have the power and the agency, we have the numbers.”
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