MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Val Demings

Interview

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O`DONNELL: Last night, House Democrats passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on a party line vote 219-212. Not a single Republican voted for the bill. The legislation would restore key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act weakened by the Supreme Court rulings by restoring federal oversight of state changes to election laws and by making it clearer how to challenge discriminatory voting laws.

"Slate" described the bill as, quote, "Court reform. It is the clearest indication yet that House Democrats are getting serious about reining in an out-of-control Supreme Court."

At least 18 states have enacted 30 laws that restrict voting access just this year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. ABC News identified at least eight states, including Arizona, Georgia and Florida, that have, quote, "enacted ten laws so far this year that change election laws by bolstering partisan entities` power over the process or shifting election- related responsibilities from secretaries of state."

Joining us is Val Demings of Florida. She`s a member of the House Judiciary Committee and she is now a candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida.

Congresswoman Demings, thank you very much for joining us tonight. The House passage last night with zero Republican votes suggests that that could very well be the same Republican count in the Senate. So how do you go forward from here?

[22:39:55]

REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): Well Lawrence, it`s great to be back with you.

And let me just say, it wasn`t that long ago when we had a Republican president who signed legislation supporting expanding -- extending the Voting Rights Act. It wasn`t that long ago when we had Republicans in the House of Representatives stand with John Lewis and join him in protecting the precious and, as he said, almost sacred right to vote.

But as you indicated, we`re in a different house now. And you know, to just hear you say it again, it`s still shocking to believe that zero Republicans in the House of Representatives stood up and supported protecting the right to vote. And also to fight against discriminatory practices at the ballot box.

But we`re not going to stop, just like John Lewis and so many other people of all races did not stop. Some lost their lives in the fight, we know that. We`re not going to stop. We`re proud of the legislation that we passed last night in the name of that voting rights hero, John Lewis.

It is headed to the Senate. We expect the Senate to do the right thing. You know, I said awhile ago that if the filibuster, that antiquated procedural process, stands in the way of pertinent legislation, particularly voting rights or civil rights, then we should get rid of it.

So we`ll see what happens. But our expectation is now changing, our commitment will not change, we`re not going anywhere. As Hakeem Jeffries said last night, we`re not going backwards.

O`DONNELL: Senator Amy Klobuchar is going to join us in the next segment to discuss what happens when you send this bill that`s passed by the House to the Senate.

You`re running statewide in Florida now. What is your confidence level at this point that you will be running in a fairly run election for United States Senate in the state of Florida?

DEMINGS: Well Lawrence, you know, last cycle our governor said that Florida had an election process that really should be a model for the nation. Yet as you`ve already indicated, Florida too, has joined the efforts to institute discriminatory practices at the ballot box.

Look, I`m going to run my race. And I`m going to control the things I can control. I`m going to demonstrate that Marco Rubio (AUDIO GAP) voting rights. He`s certainly not going to stand up to protect civil rights. He didn`t even stand up to help Floridians in the middle of a public health pandemic.

And so we`re going to run, we`re going to run hard. And if there are people who are listening to this and they want to support candidates who will stand up for the precious right of voting, then I would ask your viewers to visit my Website, ValDemings.com.

O`DONNELL: Florida is in a very difficult position with COVID-19 tonight, the worst numbers the state has ever seen. Florida`s doing worse than any other state in the country right now. The death numbers, the infection rate -- all-time high.

What is failing in Florida`s governmental approach to this?

DEMINGS: Well Lawrence, you know, the numbers are absolutely painful. And we`re watching every day the numbers go up. We`ve seen increases in the number of our children who are contracting the virus.

If you look at hospitalizations and deaths in Florida, those numbers are startling. We need to -- those who are in elected office need to lead the decisions that are made regarding the response to COVID-19 and now the new delta variant, up to our health officials or health professionals. We need to lead with science and not politics.

We`ve seen one time after the other where our politicians have made this -- the health and safety of Floridians, the health, safety, and well-being of our children -- a political issue. I certainly haven`t seen our senior senator from Florida speak out on this issue.

We know that the best way -- the best weapon against the virus is to get vaccinated. We`re pushing that with everything that we have. But we also need to listen to the health care professionals and let them lead.

O`DONNELL: Congresswoman Val Demings, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

DEMINGS: Thank you.

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