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PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton - Season 15 - Episode 16
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00:02Good evening and welcome to Politics Nation from Selma, Alabama.
00:09Tonight's lead, one bridge at a time.
00:23Minutes ago, I crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge here in Selma.
00:28An annual pilgrimage joining thousands of people in commemoration of Bloody Sunday,
00:35including the survivors that day and the movement that survived it.
00:41Following the recent death of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and others,
00:45I'm painfully aware of how far fewer of us who once crossed this bridge are still here
00:52and how so much of what they lived and fought for and died for
00:57is now threatened by Republicans' rabid attacks on voting rights ahead of a midterm election
01:04that could seriously impede the Trump agenda in just eight months.
01:10But in the moment, the nation is bracing for possible expansion of the president's war in Iran
01:18as he teases some form of boots on the ground.
01:23Moments ago, the Defense Department announced that another U.S. service member has died in this war,
01:29the seventh death following Iran's retaliatory attacks on U.S. troops in the region over the last week.
01:37And the costs already mounting.
01:40Congress expects to see a White House funding request for a war no one authorized or asked for,
01:48except the president.
01:50Joining me now is Congressman Greg Meeks, Democrat of New York
01:54and the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
01:58Congressman, let's start with the war in Iran.
02:01And some breaking news tonight.
02:03U.S. Central Command just announced that a U.S. service member passed away from injuries received
02:11during Iran's attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1st.
02:16There are now seven U.S. service members to die in this war.
02:24Back home, congressional Republicans just voted against war powers and resolutions,
02:30retraining Trump in Iran.
02:33At the same time, it's reported that Russia has been assisting Iran with tracking U.S. military targets.
02:42And Trump is considering boots on the ground in some limited capacity.
02:47For now, you're the ranking Democrat on House Foreign Affairs.
02:51Is it already too late to contain this conflict?
02:56Well, Rob, that's why Congress has to step up, in my estimation.
03:01And first, let me give my condolences to the families of the seventh soldier that has lost his life.
03:07Seems as though the president is not serious about that.
03:10You heard him talk about curtains and belting the White House.
03:14But Congress has to step up.
03:16We just had a war powers vote last week, and we had 219 individuals that voted against it.
03:26We have to continue at it.
03:28In about 60 days, this war probably will still be going on.
03:31I have another war powers act, and we are able to bring it forward at that time as a privileged
03:37resolution.
03:38I will be bringing it forward.
03:40Congress cannot stand on the sidelines.
03:44This is a war that has not been authorized by Congress, and it is a war.
03:49The president and everyone else says it is a war.
03:51So we've got to keep on pushing.
03:54We needed four votes.
03:56And I'm hopeful that if this is still going on and appears by every stretch of the imagination that the
04:04president said this could go on for a year,
04:06talking about putting troops on the ground, as he said, and this is his war of choice that no one
04:12wants, that we will put that resolution on.
04:15And then we've got to also speak with the power of the purse.
04:18I don't see how we can give him money to continue to fund this without a plan.
04:23He has not given the American people a plan.
04:25Now, let me stop you right there.
04:28Let me stop you right there, because the White House is expected to ask Congress for tens of millions of
04:34dollars in supplemental funding for this war.
04:37Take a listen to White House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and what he said when asked if he'd block any
04:45Pentagon funding, even if it casts a critical to military preparation.
04:55We'll cross that bridge when we get to it in terms of if the administration makes a request to Congress
05:01to consider additional funding.
05:03But at this particular point in time, the administration has failed to make its case as to the rationale or
05:09justification for this war of choice in the Middle East.
05:12Listen, candidate Trump promised that he was not going to get the country into an endless war, particularly in the
05:18Middle East, in the aftermath of what we saw in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
05:23President Trump has now done the exact opposite.
05:29Congressman, why should Congress approve more funding if the president's reasons for this war are nebulous at best?
05:40We should not approve the funding.
05:43There has not been a plan.
05:44He's planned.
05:45He's failed to plan individuals to get individuals home, American citizens.
05:51He's failed to talk about what the endgame plan is.
05:56He's failed to talk about what the cost is.
05:59So he should not be able to continue to move this war of choice.
06:05And I, for one, would not vote for it unless we get a plan.
06:11You know, Rev, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
06:17And that's what's happening here in the United States.
06:19And we've got individuals.
06:21You know, the only thing that's going to continue here is his tax cuts to the super rich.
06:26Folks are still going to be looking at health care and the cost of food and inflation is going up.
06:32We see gas prices moving.
06:34No plan on his part.
06:36And all he's doing is starting wars.
06:39You've heard what he's already done in Venezuela.
06:42You hear what he's threatening in Cuba.
06:43No wonder he changed the Department of Defense, where we were defending ourselves, to the Department of War.
06:52Now, yesterday, during clashes in New York City between anti-Islam demonstrators led by conservative influencer Jake Lang and a
07:05much larger group of counter-protesters,
07:08a lit device was thrown just outside of the official residence of Mayor Zoran Mandani.
07:17And today, the chief of police said that it was, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused
07:26serious injury.
07:27What are your thoughts of the growing fear of political violence, especially in this election year, Congressman?
07:34I am very concerned.
07:36Political violence has no place in our society.
07:40It will and it destroys our democracy and the very things that we stand for.
07:44As you've indicated, Reverend Sharpton, we just came back from Chicago, where we celebrated the life of the Reverend Jesse
07:53Lewis Jackson
07:55and how he talked about everybody's somebody and you've got to love somebody.
08:00You've got to keep hope alive.
08:01You've got to keep this democracy alive and you've got to work.
08:04We cannot condone violence.
08:06Violence is something and hate has to stop.
08:09You know, hating one side to the other.
08:12Generally, you would have a president of the United States who would try to bring people together.
08:17This president seems hell-bent on trying to make sure that we divide people.
08:23You can just look at the language that he utilizes.
08:26It encourages individuals to utilize violence and hate.
08:32Hate is what caused a lot of the violence, and we've got to stop it.
08:36It cannot be tolerated in our society.
08:40Let me raise this to you.
08:42Today, I just joined hundreds, if not thousands, of people in crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge here in Selma,
08:48commemorating Bloody Sunday and the push for voting rights that drove marches that day, 61 years ago.
08:56But eight months out from the midterms, Republicans are pushing restrictions they call the SAVE Act.
09:05The Supreme Court may effectively invalidate this Voting Rights Act if it rules against Section 2.
09:11And we have a redistricting frenzy threatening minority districts across this country.
09:17Are Democrats prepared for all of Magna's threats to voting rights this time around, Congressman?
09:26Democrats are ready, but all of America needs to be ready.
09:29This is a threat to our democracy.
09:32You know, you talk about the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and we saw individuals who crossed that bridge and take beatings
09:39severely.
09:39It's now about our generation and what we're going to do, Democrats and Americans and people of goodwill.
09:48No one can stand on the sideline right now.
09:51The camera of history is rolling, and the question will be asked, what did we do?
09:57When threats to the United States of America, democracy, and voting rights were at stake?
10:05It's going to take all of us.
10:06It's going to take Democrats, it's going to take political people, it's going to take church people,
10:10it's going to take good, average, everyday people who are just standing in their homes
10:14to stand up and say we will not allow our rights that were fought for, that people died for,
10:22to just evaporate from the United States of America.
10:24So I would think that we all will stand up.
10:27And as you've indicated in the show, just this November, that can make a big difference by going to the
10:32polls.
10:34All right. Thank you, Congressman Gregory Meeks.
10:37Joining me now is Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.
10:41Governor, I want to go back to the war in Iran.
10:45Back in 2006, during your Senate campaign, you took a hard line against the Iraq war
10:53and advocated for a measured and strategic approach in the Middle East.
10:59So I must ask you now, is this war in Iran justified?
11:06I don't believe so.
11:07But I've got to tell you, Reverend Al, it was you and Reverend Jackson.
11:11We stood up.
11:12You guys came to Connecticut.
11:13I remember that like yesterday, 20 years ago.
11:16And the parallels are eerie.
11:18Remember George W. Bush, mission accomplished.
11:20This war is going to pay for itself.
11:22We'll be greeted as liberators, weapons of mass destruction.
11:26I'm feeling like I'm hearing the same story all over again.
11:30And it's really dangerous what's going on.
11:33Back then, I used to say, that's $250 million a day we're spending over there.
11:39We ought to be investing in our people.
11:40Today, it's $1 billion a day.
11:44That's 50,000 people's health care for one full year in this state.
11:48So pay attention to what you're doing there.
11:51I think you're making the situation worse.
11:53It's dangerous.
11:55Let's pay attention to the folks at home.
11:58Now, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, Congressman Brendan Boyle,
12:03said he thinks the war is costing much more than $1 billion a day.
12:08And gas prices are rising nationwide.
12:11Governor, can you explain how this war will impact your constituents in Connecticut?
12:18Well, let's say everybody's talking about affordability right now.
12:22And look what's going on with the gas price of gasoline.
12:26It is up, you know, 15% right now.
12:29That's costing people 40 cents a gallon at the pump.
12:33That's making a difference.
12:34We're coming out of one of the very coldest January, February,
12:38as this state of Connecticut has seen in many a year.
12:41Look what's going on with your heating bills right now.
12:43And this is just going to continue.
12:45It's not just a strain of Hormuz, but it's going to be interrupting supply chains around the country.
12:51So you said over time it's going to be costing us more than $1 billion a day.
12:55You're right.
12:58I couldn't help but thinking, as I was marching today across the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
13:03I've marched across that bridge with John Lewis.
13:07It ended up being the last time that he came across the bridge with us.
13:12Last year, I helped Will Reverend Jesse Jackson across that bridge.
13:16Now it will be in history the last time he went across that bridge.
13:21And I thought about all of the division and hatred and animosity they had marched in their youth to get
13:27a Voting Rights Act.
13:29And here we are now, in 2026, facing the issue of voter denial, facing the issues of wars,
13:37and whether or not they will take an impact on us and oil and average citizens.
13:42Governor, talk about the impact that Trump and his policies, both foreign and domestic, is having on the unity of
13:51America today.
13:54Well, first of all, thank you for being in Selma.
13:57Go back to 1963.
13:59A majority of the people of voting age in Selma in 1963 were African-American.
14:04Less than 1% of the people registered to vote were African-American.
14:08They were making it impossible for people to vote.
14:11And that's why Reverend King stood up and Reverend Jackson stood up and you stood up.
14:15We had the flags in Connecticut at half-mast for Reverend Jackson.
14:19And now they're trying to make it more difficult to vote again, discourage people from voting, make them scared about
14:24voting.
14:25We're not going to let that happen.
14:27Here in Connecticut, we're making it easier to vote with integrity, absentee ballots, encouraging people to vote.
14:33But just as importantly, the division out there, you and I are about the same age.
14:38I haven't seen it so polarized, the hateful language, the hate speech, demonizing people.
14:44It makes the world a very dangerous place.
14:47I've got a lot of young Hispanic kids who are scared to go to school, and I think you know
14:50why right now.
14:52That's what we've got to turn around.
14:53We've got to bring this country back to the values that you and Reverend Jackson and Reverend King epitomized.
15:01The governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont, thank you for being with us.
15:06Coming up, Trump is accused of trying to overstep his authority again.
15:12And my next guest is going after him for just that.
15:16Be right back.
15:22Welcome back to Politics Nation, live from Selma, Alabama,
15:26as we wrap up the annual Jubilee Weekend.
15:30To those of us gathered here, it seems more apparent than ever
15:35that the politics of today and the echoes of the past seems to be on a collision course.
15:42Joining me now is one of the people committed to stopping that collision,
15:46Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown.
15:50Attorney General, yesterday you participated on the Civil Rights Panel
15:54as part of this Jubilee Weekend, discussing what we can learn from the courageous freedom fighters
16:00and how we can apply those lessons today.
16:04Why do you think it's important to be here and take part in these events?
16:09Well, first of all, thank you for having me on,
16:11and it's really a pleasure and an honor to be back in Selma
16:14and along with so many of my colleagues, attorney generals across the country,
16:18who are fighting to defend the rights in our states that so many of our forefathers
16:23and foremothers fought to defend as well.
16:25You know, they were marching principally for voting rights and economic opportunity,
16:29and those are the very same things that are at risk today.
16:32We see an attack on voting rights.
16:34We see an attack from the administration trying to make it harder for people to have access to the ballot,
16:38and it is very important that attorney generals are leading the effort to counter that
16:42because voting is the bedrock of our democracy.
16:45But there is so much work that we are doing to fight to defend our states and the people in
16:49them
16:49from what we see as really unjust actions from this president.
16:54Now, earlier this week, Washington State became one of 24 states to sue the Trump administration
17:01for its latest attempt to impose global tariffs without congressional approval.
17:07Tell the audience why this fight and why it's important now.
17:13Well, there's two principal reasons.
17:15And first and foremost, we do not need to sit on the sidelines and watch when we see
17:20illegal, unconstitutional actions from the president of the United States.
17:23And I've been the attorney general now for just over a year,
17:26and we've filed now 53 lawsuits against the administration because time and time again,
17:31they violate the law, they violate the Constitution,
17:34they ignore congressional authority, and they ignore the rights of states to govern themselves.
17:39And we've seen that when it comes to tariffs.
17:41We've already seen the Supreme Court strike down what was an illegal effort by the president
17:46to dictate tariff terms and have a really adverse impact on American people.
17:51And now he's back doing the exact same thing, advancing an argument that his own Department
17:56of Justice has already said he could not do.
17:58When they were fighting to defend the first rounds of illegal tariffs,
18:01they said that the actions that he's now attempting were not an option, not a legal option.
18:06But that didn't dissuade this president because he has no regard for our Constitution or the laws of this state.
18:13Now, attorney generals across the country play a crucial role in overseeing elections.
18:19As we approach the midterms, what are AGs across the country doing to ensure fair elections
18:27and minimize election interference?
18:31Well, we are getting ready now.
18:33We are not waiting until November to do this work.
18:35And I have the pleasure of chairing the voter protection working group
18:38for all the Democratic AGs in the country.
18:40And we are meeting now on a regular basis to share research, to game plan,
18:45and to try to think of all the situations that this administration might use
18:49to interfere with people's rights to vote.
18:51And it's really interesting because we have to throw common sense to the side.
18:55We have to throw logic and the rule of law to the side because we know that those things
18:59do not put any parameters on this president.
19:02So we are preparing for the president to do things that we know are illegal.
19:06I mean, particularly in the wake of what we saw in Fulton County, Georgia,
19:10when he sent the FBI and his director of national intelligence in
19:13and seized voting material from that local district.
19:17That is the type of thing that we are most worried about.
19:19But this is very clear.
19:20The law gives the ability to govern elections to the states.
19:24There is no legal debate about that.
19:26But we know that this president might violate the law,
19:29and we want to make sure that we are getting ready now in advance of the November elections.
19:35I must ask you this.
19:36I'm out of time.
19:37But I noticed that attorney generals around the country,
19:41some were here today along with you, Keith Ellison from Minnesota,
19:45Tish James from New York, and others.
19:47And a lot of them seem to be in a collision course having to file lawsuits and question things with
19:56this administration.
19:57How are attorney generals combating the overreach that many feel this administration is engaged with,
20:05and how successful can they be?
20:09Well, we work together on an almost daily basis,
20:12and our staffs work together on an almost daily basis to combat what we see as a torrent of illegal
20:18action.
20:19And no one state can lead this work because we have so many different areas where they're attacking the rule
20:24of law
20:24and attacking programs in our state.
20:26But the good news is, Reverend Sharpton, is that we are winning the vast majority of these cases.
20:31In just over a year, in Washington state alone, we have successfully protected $15 billion in money
20:37that would have been cut to Washington state residents and agencies and organizations.
20:41We're talking about money for children, for education, for health care, for environmental protections,
20:46and for what it means to be an American in the United States.
20:51And we need to work collaboratively to do that work.
20:54And I'm really just proud to be part of that coalition that has been really successful thus far.
21:00All right, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, thank you for being with us.
21:06Up next, we'll head to the Windy City to check if things have blown over in the wake of Trump's
21:13immigration operations.
21:22Welcome back to Politics Nation, live from Selma, Alabama.
21:26We go now to Chicago, which just buried one of its most prominent residents, the Reverend Jesse Jackson,
21:34while trying to turn the page on months of violence under the president's anti-immigrant surge last year.
21:41Joining me now, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat.
21:46Starting the night with the recent loss of Reverend Jesse Jackson, a fixture of Chicago life and politics for more
21:57than 40 years.
21:58You and I both spoke at his funeral services on Friday.
22:02That included remembrances from several former presidents.
22:06How would you assess his legacy, but specifically his impact on your city of Chicago, Mayor Johnson?
22:15You know, so thank you, Reverend Al, for your leadership and for your kind words and always being there for
22:21the Jackson family.
22:22Of course, we're still praying for Mrs. Jackson, the Jackson children and grandchildren.
22:27Look, you know, Reverend was our brother.
22:29He was our friend.
22:30He was our mentor.
22:31He was our neighbor, right?
22:32I mean, you know, we could see him at any time and he showed up for Chicago.
22:38You know, I'm thinking about the longstanding community organization, the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization.
22:45Fifty years ago, he was their first executive director.
22:48That organization is still standing up for working people and standing up for for poor people,
22:54fighting for affordable housing and public housing in our public education system.
22:58And so, yeah, I mean, it's incredible organizer, strategist.
23:02He is so beloved, I know, around the world.
23:05But we're glad that we're able to claim him as a Chicagoan.
23:09And I remember and, you know, I was a mentee of his.
23:13I think the last time he came to your office, I was coming to see you and he met me
23:18to go and surprise you.
23:19And I know of his respect for you.
23:21But let me bring this issue up.
23:24DHS has ended Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago nearly four months ago.
23:30A fraction of the hundreds of people arrested by the federal agents in that surge had actual criminal records.
23:39But the fear of ice rays had an economic chilling effect that has continued in minority neighborhoods.
23:46And at least two people were shot, one of them killed, during encounters with DHS agents,
23:52while violent confrontations between ICE and protesters were a common occurrence for months.
23:59Is your city healing from Midway Blitz, Mayor Johnson?
24:05Yeah, well, look, the trail of tears that the Trump administration has left behind are quite severe.
24:11And we are still healing from those wounds, not to mention all of the things that you expressed of the
24:17terror
24:18and the harm and the anxiety that the Trump administration has caused.
24:23You know, we saw the Trump administration raid an apartment complex on the south side of Chicago,
24:28the South Shore community.
24:29In fact, that's where Mrs. Obama was born and raised,
24:33where Black Hawk helicopters surrounded an apartment complex
24:37and zip-tied children and stuck guns in the faces of Black women
24:41and separating Black families from, you know, individuals who are ostensibly undocumented,
24:47not to mention the illegal chokehold that a brother was put in on the west side of Chicago
24:52that could have led to his death by these federal agents.
24:55Now, look, we put forth these executive orders to protect the people of Chicago,
24:59ICE-free zones, knowing your rights,
25:02ensuring, of course, that we create a pathway to accountability.
25:06And now there are at least 30 million people around the country
25:09that are living under executive orders that we've started here in the city of Chicago.
25:14There's still a lot more work that we have to do,
25:16especially around protecting elections against the Trump administration.
25:19We are on our way to healing.
25:22But that healing, I think, is going to ultimately take place
25:25when we win back the House and we win the Senate
25:28and when we build political movements around this country
25:31that Reverend Jackson laid the foundation
25:33and created a model for, a rainbow coalition to fight for working people,
25:37that's how we're ultimately going to heal.
25:41Now, despite a decline in hate crimes,
25:45almost most identity groups in your city has experienced.
25:50Anti-Semitic hate crimes have increased by nearly 60 percent from 2023 to 2024,
25:58according to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
26:02Some Jewish leaders are calling on you to establish an anti-Semitism task force,
26:08claiming they're not doing enough to protect their community.
26:12What has been your reaction to that claim, Mr. Mayor?
26:16Yeah, well, first of all, you know, hate has no home here in the city of Chicago.
26:20And we do know that our Jewish siblings have been targeted.
26:24And that's why I commissioned a report that had a public hearing
26:28that laid out steps that my administration is going to take
26:31to ensure that we protect the Jewish community.
26:33You know, look, we were one of the first cities in America
26:36to condemn the attacks against the Jewish community on October 7th.
26:40And we will continue to stand firm shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish siblings
26:45to ensure that they're experiencing safe communities,
26:49working with my police department as well to make sure that we're protecting
26:53the Jewish Americans and the Jewish communities that make up the soul of Chicago.
26:59And so, again, this public report that I issued through this commission
27:02has detailed steps that my administration will continue to take
27:06to ensure that we keep the Jewish community safe.
27:11As I asked Congressman Greg Meese earlier,
27:14I want to get your reaction tonight to the violence that occurred in New York yesterday
27:19when improvised explosive devices were ignited
27:22outside of the official residence of Mayor Zoran Mamdani
27:27during a clash between anti-Islam demonstrators and counter-protesters.
27:32And in connection with this ongoing investigation,
27:35the NYPD has identified a suspicious device in a vehicle on the up-east side of Manhattan.
27:43Officers have frozen the area around the vehicle
27:47and are conducting limited evacuations of buildings in the vicinity
27:53while the bomb squad assesses and removes the device.
27:57What's your reaction to this rise in political violence,
28:00and what can be done about it?
28:03Well, it's absolutely abhorrent, and it has no place in our political discourse.
28:08You know, look, the, you know, political violence that has led to death
28:13and harm to people across this country is absolutely reprehensible,
28:18and we have to ensure that those individuals are held accountable.
28:21Here's what we're calling for.
28:22We're calling for peace.
28:24You know, the Rainbow Coalition that Reverend Jackson established created global peace,
28:30and we have that motto, not just peace here in our respective cities in our country,
28:36but peace around the world.
28:37And so I'm calling on people to peacefully protest
28:40and to challenge our systems to improve the quality of life for people,
28:44whether, you know, you are a part of the formerly enslaved
28:48or you're an immigrant that finds refuge here in this country.
28:52I believe that the nation of America has the opportunity, quite frankly,
28:56the privileged, Reverend Al, to be able to demonstrate what peaceful protest needs to look like,
29:01because ultimately, man, we are all in this together.
29:04It's going to take all of us to ensure that working people have all the needs that they deserve,
29:10and whether that's good-paying jobs, housing, health care, transportation,
29:13and good education, environmental justice, all of those things that Reverend Jackson fought
29:18and literally died for, all of those individuals that crossed that bridge,
29:22the Edmund Pettus Bridge to secure, you know, safe and affordable communities face hatred,
29:28and they faced it nonviolently, and that's what we need in this moment.
29:34Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, thank you for being with us this evening.
29:39We have some breaking news out of Iran.
29:41Iranian state TV says Mojtaba Kamenti,
29:49Kamenti, the son of the late supreme leader,
29:52has been named his successor as the new supreme leader.
29:57He will have a total control over Iran.
30:01Earlier today, Trump said any leader wouldn't last long
30:04if the U.S. wasn't involved in picking them.
30:08Well, up next, voters are putting politicians on notice early in the midterms here,
30:14what Democrats can take away from the early primaries.
30:18We'll talk about that after a short break.
30:26Welcome back to Politics Nation.
30:28Today, I am in Selma, Alabama, to honor the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday,
30:35and also one of the architects of that movement, Dr. King, sent here.
30:40Bernard Lafayette also passed this week,
30:43and certainly our marching across that bridge was in no short measure the work he and others did.
30:49But this afternoon, I joined thousands of others retracing those steps of Bernard Lafayette and John Lewis
30:57of the historic march they did from Selma to Montgomery over the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
31:04My next guest was one in attendance and has been here many times,
31:08the former Democratic Alabama Senator Doug Jones.
31:11He's now a Democratic candidate for Alabama's race for governor,
31:16and he's joining me from his car following the march.
31:20Let's start with this year's midterms, Doug,
31:25because as voters have started to head to the polls in primary races around the country,
31:30while I know the primary for your race is still several months away in May,
31:36U.S. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has been the general frontrunner so far in terms of fundraising.
31:46But I want to hear from you.
31:47You stunned deep red Alabama once before by winning the Democrats' ascended seat there in 2000,
31:58well, here in 2017.
32:00What made you want to enter this race for Alabama's governor,
32:03and what's your pitch to the voters this time around?
32:08You know, Al, I think the main thing that we looked at was just generally the threats to democracy that
32:15we see,
32:15particularly from Senator Tuberville and others.
32:18I mean, they're challenging every institution.
32:20They're taking away civil liberties and civil rights, trying to take away voting rights.
32:24And, you know, at the end of the day, there are things just worth fighting for.
32:27And it looks like, you know, to me, the governors and state attorney generals are those on the front lines
32:32right now
32:33more than the Congress in protecting democracy.
32:37We saw we had a couple of those governors in Selma today with us earlier today.
32:41And I think, you know, when you look at something like that,
32:44it's the governors and it's where the rubber meets the road of state action.
32:48And I think right now people are looking for a change.
32:51They're not looking for a divisive figure like Tommy Tuberville.
32:54They're looking for someone who can get things done, reach across the aisle,
32:58but yet fight for the values that we have in this country.
33:02And the values in Alabama are the same as in America.
33:06We're Americans and we love freedom.
33:09We love our freedom of speech and liberty and freedom of religion.
33:12And those things are not incompatible.
33:15It's not an us versus them, good versus evil manner.
33:19And I think the record that I have demonstrates that we can get some things done.
33:22And we're really excited.
33:24There are some things going on out there, Rev, that gives us a lot of hope,
33:28gives us a lot of faith.
33:30You talked about that today.
33:32And we're really excited at where things are.
33:36Now, primary contests in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas took place last Tuesday.
33:43And the results gained national attention for James Tallarico's popularity has put pressure
33:50on the Democrats to potentially have a shot at flipping the Senate this year.
33:56As you once ran for Senate in a red state as a Democrat.
34:01And one, what have been your takeaways from the midterm results so far?
34:07Well, you know, it's not just the midterms.
34:10And we saw back in November, we saw two public service commission seats flip in Georgia against
34:16incumbents.
34:17We saw the margin of victories in New Jersey and Virginia.
34:21We saw the Mississippi legislature break a supermajority of Republicans.
34:27All of that is giving, I think, a lot of wind in the sails of Democrats across the country.
34:33And I think that the Texas race in particular was really interesting because it was not just
34:39the winner.
34:39It was the fact that there were more Democrats voted in the primary than there were Republicans
34:44when you had a very hotly contested Republican race as well.
34:50I think people are looking for change, Rev.
34:53I really do believe people are looking for change.
34:56They do not like the chaos.
34:57They do not like the injustices.
34:59And they are looking and they're seeking out other things.
35:03And that's why I think that race in Texas was so important.
35:06It's why the race in Alabama is going to be important, because no one really expects Democrats
35:12to do well.
35:13And for the first time, we have, you know, we're feeling every constitutional office has
35:19a very, very good candidate running.
35:21It's the first time since 2006.
35:23So we're really excited.
35:25And I think the midterms are showing that Democrats are finding their footing, getting the messages.
35:32And this is all about people.
35:34All politics is personal, Rev.
35:36And Democrats are not only understanding that, they're getting that message out and talking
35:42to people.
35:44Now, let's turn to Selma, where we commemorate the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday here
35:50this weekend.
35:51You joined me on the Edmund Pettus Bridge today to remember the late, great John Lewis leading
35:57600-foot soldiers in a peaceful protest in pursuit of voting rights, which was then met
36:04with brutal, brutal attacks by state troopers here in this Alabama state.
36:09Now, 61 years later, the Voting Rights Act is hanging by a thread, and the Supreme Court
36:17could decide to dismantle it this year.
36:20Can you speak to the fight that we're still in for the sacred right to vote and protect
36:27that right 61 years later?
36:31Yeah, you know, I think that everybody recognizes that we've got a real problem right now in this
36:37country.
36:38Unfortunately, people are not having faith in the elections.
36:43It's because of the rhetoric we see coming out of this administration, the things that
36:50they want to do with the SAVE Act to try to prohibit people voting, the difficulties they
36:54want to make in voting.
36:55And now with the Supreme Court, the tea leaves are showing that the Voting Rights Act that
37:00John Lewis got beat up for, Amelia Boynton got beat up for, right there on the bridge.
37:04Those kind of things may go away simply because the Supreme Court of the United States sees
37:11things in a little bit different light.
37:13That Voting Rights Act, the last time it was passed, Rev, was done almost unanimously by both
37:20houses of Congress.
37:21We need to reenact that.
37:22But, you know, I think Selma today was especially important.
37:28Selma today was not as much of a commemoration as it was a call to action, a real clarion call
37:34to action that, as Dr. King said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
37:40And people in Selma today are seeing that injustice across the country.
37:45And they knew that Selma was the front and center.
37:48Selma was ground zero for the demonstration of fighting against injustice.
37:54All right.
37:55Thank you, former Alabama Senator Doug Jones.
37:58Up next, my final thoughts.
38:00Stay with us.
38:13I started this weekend on Friday speaking at the funeral services in Chicago of my mentor,
38:20Reverend Jesse Jackson, where three former U.S. presidents also joined us.
38:25And I closed this weekend marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Martin Luther King
38:31III and Governor Westmore of Maryland and other governors, Governor Prisca of Illinois and
38:38others, as well as Yousef Jackson, Reverend Jackson's son.
38:43It says to me that even as giants in history pass, it's up to us to continue to fight.
38:50It's not enough to mourn if we're going to mock them by allowing things they fought for and
38:58gave their lives for to expire.
39:00No, it's on us now to keep hope alive.
39:03It's on us now to maintain voting rights and the rights of citizens of all colors of the
39:11rainbow.
39:12We cannot just commemorate people that served or marches that have happened.
39:19We must not have just commemorations.
39:22We must have continuations.
39:25That does it for me.
39:26Thanks for watching.
39:27I'll see you back here next weekend at 5 p.m.
39:30Eastern.
39:30But first, you can catch me at the 6 a.m.
39:34hour tomorrow on Morning Joe right here on MS Now.
39:38The weekend primetime starts at the top of the hour.
39:49We'll be right back there on YouTube.
39:52We'll be right back into then.
39:56So let's go.
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