00:00Well, let me thank everybody for taking the time to be here, and let me welcome all of
00:10you to Governor Ronald Reagan's home, reminded of Governor Reagan's last speech in the Oval
00:16Office where he talked about the life force of new Americans.
00:20He talked about Lady Liberty's torch.
00:22And here we are, fast forward decades later, appropriately with a portrait of Ronald Reagan
00:31looking down on the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, who's trying
00:37to light a torch on democracy, trying to roll back the last half century, wants to put America
00:44in reverse on LGBT rights, on voting rights, civil rights, on the rights of women and girls.
00:50We're here in that light at this profound and consequential moment.
00:56And we're here with six courageous leaders, as they've been described, from the Texas delegation.
01:02It is my privilege to have had now two delegations visit from Texas.
01:07And it's my honor to welcome all of you and to thank you for your courage.
01:11Thank you for faith and devotion to the cause that unites all of us across this country,
01:16regardless of party, and that are the enduring principles of our founding fathers.
01:22You know, we talked about the 249th anniversary of those principles.
01:26Next year we'll celebrate the 250th anniversary of those enduring principles, the best of the
01:31Roman Republic and Greek democracy, a system of co-equal branches, co-equal branches of government.
01:38This notion of a system of checks and balances, popular sovereignty, all of that on the line,
01:45all of that at risk.
01:46And so I'm very sober and mindful of this moment.
01:50And as a consequence, we have taken our relationship to this moment very, very seriously.
01:56Had it not been for the courage of the Democratic representatives from Texas to stand tall and
02:02to stand up, to walk out, as is their right, as old a principle, as American pie, the ability
02:14for a minority to walk out when it comes to the abuses of a majority.
02:21And they did just that to elevate not just their voices as representatives, but to elevate
02:28our voices to call out the consequential nature of what's happening.
02:33What's happening in the United States of America is not normal.
02:36We cannot allow this to be considered normal.
02:40Please don't say it's surprising.
02:42When you say something is no longer surprising, you normalize it.
02:47This is shocking what's happened.
02:50You heard Representative Johnson say it very powerfully and very clearly.
02:55And what more evidence did you need?
02:56You saw this take shape after Donald Trump tried to wreck the democracy after January 6th,
03:02where he dialed for 12,000 votes in Georgia.
03:06But a courageous leadership, regardless of party, that stood up against that tyranny.
03:13Now he's dialing up for seats.
03:15He called Greg Abbott, who doesn't have the courage, doesn't have the backbone, doesn't
03:21have the consciousness of the consequences of his action.
03:26And he has rolled over.
03:28And he said, yes, sir, and.
03:30And they're trying to dial now for new seats for precisely the reason that Speaker Pelosi
03:35and others have represented.
03:38They will lose in the midterms.
03:40He knows it.
03:41Why else would he make that phone call?
03:44His agenda's failing.
03:45His presidency is failing.
03:46He knows the headwinds in a midterm.
03:50He's dialing for seats.
03:52Not only did he dial for five seats in Texas, he just sent his vice president, the vice president
03:57of the United States, not to console those 137 families whose lives were torn asunder because
04:03they lost loved ones to the floods.
04:06There was, by the way, three members of my community in Marin County, Mark and Sarah and Johnny.
04:17Johnny Walker, 14 years old, died in the flood.
04:20Mark, 50 years old.
04:21Sarah, same age.
04:23Family friends.
04:24We were at their memorial yesterday.
04:26Vice president had come to console the family members of the lives lost.
04:30He went to Indiana to continue to try to rig the election.
04:38You have a special election in Texas.
04:41You'd think that's all they'd be focused on.
04:4337 kids dying in those floods.
04:47But they're focused on this.
04:49They power grab.
04:50And it's not limited to Texas and Indiana.
04:53You've seen what's happening in Florida.
04:54You've seen what's happening in Ohio and other states.
04:57So we have got to step up.
04:59Our state of mind is about accountability, responsibility.
05:02Again, taking this moment seriously.
05:04What is our relationship to this moment?
05:05And we recognize we have agency.
05:07We're not bystanders.
05:09That we can shape the future.
05:11Decisions, not conditions.
05:13And so we choose to be held to a higher level of accountability.
05:17It wasn't our decision to be here.
05:19It's reaction to.
05:21We are trying to defend democracy as opposed to see it destroyed district by district.
05:27And we will stand firm.
05:29And we will stand tall.
05:32And perhaps the expression today is the expression of unity.
05:38That's what we're trying to communicate.
05:39You have congressional representatives here, the leader of our congressional delegation.
05:46They are unanimous in their support of moving in this direction.
05:49You have the speaker and the pro tem, and they have strong support of their caucuses.
05:54And leaders of critical committees and caucuses are here to express support.
05:59We are moving forward.
06:00Make no mistake.
06:03California is moving forward as a state that's larger than 21 state populations combined.
06:08We are not a small, isolated state, state larger than 21 populations combined.
06:15We tried to play by a higher set of standards and rules with our independent redistricting,
06:19and we believe in that.
06:21And we are not talking about eliminating that commission.
06:25We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what's happening in Texas,
06:31and we will nullify what happens in Texas.
06:33We will pick up five seats with the consent of the people.
06:37And that's the difference between the approach we're taking and the approach they're taking.
06:41We're doing it on a temporary basis.
06:43We're doing it in a fully transparent way.
06:46And we're doing it by asking the people of the state of California for their consent and support.
06:53Mark that stark contrast to what's happening in Texas and other states.
07:00We are resolved, and we are aligned in this strategy.
07:06And I'm deeply in closing grateful for the leadership that's assembled here today.
07:10In unprecedented time, it required an unprecedented approach, an unprecedented leadership to build the kind of consensus that we believe we have.
07:21We have until August 22nd.
07:24With the leadership behind me, they will get this on the ballot.
07:28We're calling for a special election.
07:30That will be the first week of November.
07:32It will coincide with many other municipal elections.
07:35We will raise an unprecedented amount of attention, and we will garner an unprecedented amount of support because people understand what's at stake.
07:46Final words.
07:48Because I want to reinforce what the speaker in the pro temp said.
07:52You have people disappearing in the state of California, quite literally disappearing.
07:56Warrantless search.
07:57People literally being taken from the streets.
07:59I don't think this.
08:00I know it.
08:00A 16-year-old kid whose mom and dad working 20 years at the same packing facility, 16-year-old didn't even know how to get back into his own home because mom and dad disappeared going to work.
08:14Young child had no brothers and sisters.
08:17That's Trump's America.
08:18That's happening as we speak.
08:19The Guard has been federalized.
08:21And by the way, Donald Trump is continuing to federalize the National Guard through the election.
08:26Pause and consider what that may mean.
08:28There is nothing normal about this.
08:32Nothing normal about this.
08:34Conditioning aid.
08:36Let me make this clear in front of the Texas delegation.
08:39I am proud and thank you to Isaac Bryan.
08:41$83.1 billion more we provided the federal government and federal taxes than we received.
08:48Texas, for whatever reason, for its success and how Texas does punch above its weight,
08:54received $71.1 billion more from the federal government they received.
08:58But I'll tell you what, as a taxpayer, as governor of California, I am proud to stand tall to help them recover from these floods.
09:07No conditions.
09:08No politics.
09:10We're all in this.
09:11I was proud to send search and rescue teams to support the recovery of those floods.
09:17That's my responsibility.
09:19That's what it's like to be a member of a community.
09:21We're all in this together.
09:23The idea that we're even conditioning aid and allowing that conversation to persist, that's what's at stake with this conversation.
09:32It's not about lines.
09:34It's about drawing a line.
09:35And it's all about elevating a deeper consciousness of the line that Donald Trump continues to cross.
09:42It's not about him playing by a different set of rules.
09:44There are no rules for Donald Trump.
09:47This is a serious moment in American history.
09:53And so we are here to meet this moment head on.
09:57And we look forward to a successful campaign.
10:00And we look forward to continue to do what we can to have the backs of these courageous leaders
10:06who are back here in the state of California sharing their voice as we share their action and passion at peril
10:15that this democracy may not live.
10:17With that.
Comments