MSNBC "The Beat with Ari Melber" - Transcript: Interview with Barbara Lee

Interview

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MELBER: We`re joined now by a special guest, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Democrat from California.

She`s the subject of a new documentary on her life and activism. We`re going to get into that in a minute.

You are known as a progressive. At one time, some might have said you were a lonely liberal. That seems to be shifting, which may be because you and others have led where the party heads.

So, you seem like someone that would be good to respond to Mitch McConnell. He used that term permanent socialism with regard to the safety net.

Your response?

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): Nice being with you, Ari.

First of all, let me just say it`s outrageous what he said. And I have to ask you and ask the public, is it socialism to want people to have a good- paying job? Is it socialism to want to lift people out of poverty? Is it socialism to want our children to have clean air and clean water? Is it socialism to want to make sure we have good accessible health care for all?

Is it socialism to want to make sure that everyone is lifted into the quality of life that they so deserve as Americans? And, finally, is it socialism to want to have everyone to have access to the ballot box?

So, come on. This man is just trying to -- in many ways, it`s a dog whistle. In many ways, it`s a distraction. In many ways, he`s just trying to have a tagline to distract from the fact that they have no agenda for the American people.

MELBER: I mentioned the doc. It is interesting. I think some viewers have some familiarity with the arc of your career. Some may not. Let`s take a look.

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LEE: Working in the community with the Black Panther Party, making sure people have something to eat. Social justice, that`s always been just part of who I am.

The president is authorized to use force. This is going to set the stage for endless war.

Central to democracy is the right to dissent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MELBER: And this is what I`m most interested to ask you.

People may or may not agree with everything you have stood for. But in a town with a lot of people basically pretending to be whatever`s popular, what some of the kids call just cap, you`re a no cap leader.

And you have taken these risks. And what is it, do you think, in your life or upbringing or your soul that made you take some of those very lonely positions, as I mentioned, whether or not they were popular?

LEE: Thank you, Ari.

I always say that I`m a black woman in America. I was born in El Paso, Texas, during segregation. My mother went to the hospital to deliver me. She needed a C-section. They would not admit her because she was black. She almost died when she finally got admitted.

I almost didn`t get here into this world. I almost was not afforded the opportunity to breathe. So, since a child, racial justice, economic justice, women`s health, fighting for justice for everyone in our country, so that people don`t have to go through what my mother went through, and so they don`t have to worry about not getting into this world, like I almost did not arrive.

MELBER: I didn`t know what your answer would be, but that resonates, because even, for example, some of the positions you took in the Bush era, when most of the party, most of the Democratic Party, was definitely pushing a different foreign policy, but you`re educating us that political opposition or unpopularity is nothing compared to what you and your family were up against.

That makes some sense.

My last question to you, somewhat related, the House has already passed the George Floyd Act. We have gone through here, we`re approaching what will be the last month of summer, so we`re over a year out. Stuck in the Senate. Republicans were saying, oh, well, as long as they get what they wanted on watering down police immunity reform, maybe they would be for it.

[18:40:08]

What happens next? And are you worried that this is another Mitch McConnell game to delay in the Senate?

LEE: The country is not going to allow for any more delays.

I think that our negotiators, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Senator Booker, Senator Scott, are trying to get this George Floyd bill passed. Once again, you see obstructionists from the Republicans trying to play games.

This is about police reform. This is about black and brown lives. This is about accountability. This is about making sure that no one is above the law, including police officers. So we must get this passed. We must begin to address police reform in a way that has never been addressed before.

And this is a modest step. We passed it in the House. And so the Senate should act. And I`m really pleased that the negotiations are taking place. These are tough negotiations, because you have a Mitch McConnell standing in the way.

But let`s hope and work and make sure that the Senate sees the light and understands that black and brown communities need public safety and police reform, and police officers need to be held accountable.

MELBER: Congresswoman Lee, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

LEE: Thank you. Nice to be with you.

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