LEADER JEFFRIES ON MSNBC: "EXTREME MAGA REPUBLICANS HAVE LEANED INTO LAWLESSNESS AND DISORDER"

Interview

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Well, good afternoon, Rev. It's great to be with you. And it is quite unfortunate. These charges are incredibly serious and relate directly to the safety and security of the American people, which is a president's--a former president's most solemn responsibility. And at least according to the indictment, one that was undermined in severe ways by the former president, who, of course, is innocent until proven guilty. And there will be a process that will formally begin on Tuesday. But to your point, it is very sad and unfortunate that Republican presidential candidates, Republican members of the House of Representatives, Republican members of the Senate, have leaned into the lawlessness and disorder that has become the modern day Republican Party, many of whom sympathize with the violent insurrectionists in the immediate aftermath of the storming of the Capitol and, in fact, voted to affirm the Big Lie that led to the attack on the Capitol. You would think that perhaps some of my colleagues would have learned their lesson and moved away from the type of lawlessness and disorder that does get people hurt, but instead have been fanning the flames in an irresponsible way.

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It's certainly appropriate and important for federal law enforcement officials, in partnership with state and local officials, to take every available precaution to prevent the type of violence that we saw on January 6th because of the extreme rhetoric that is coming from many right-wing ideologues in this country. It's important to understand what is perhaps at the root of what we're seeing in terms of this irresponsible rhetoric. The right wing in this country wants to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it. They want to strip away reproductive freedom. They want to undermine the right to vote and believe that voter suppression is their pathway into maintaining power. They want to cut taxes for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected, while at the same time trying to undermine middle class folks, those who aspire to be part of the middle class, the poor, the sick and the afflicted. Their policies are out of step with the American people, and that's why they've been losing elections and underperforming, as they did in the 2022 midterm elections. And so, many of us have long been concerned, Rev., and you've been a leading voice in this regard. That is, right wing folks in this country concluded that they can no longer win elections democratically. It wouldn't abandon conservatism. It abandoned democracy. And what we're seeing from some of these calls to violence coming from some of the more extreme members of the right wing in this country is an abandonment of democracy and that should frighten everyday Americans.

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Well, with respect to the Voting Rights Act decision, Dr. King, of course, made the observation that the time is always right to do what is right. And thankfully, five justices in the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh, did what was right, in an obvious case where a map had been racially gerrymandered to undermine the ability of Black voters in Alabama to have an opportunity to elect a second African American Member of Congress or a Congress Member of their choice. By the way, there are also racially gerrymandered maps in Louisiana, in Texas and in Georgia and a flawed map in New York that is in the process of potentially being re-evaluated. When you take all of this together, what it means is that the extreme MAGA Republican majority in the House of Representatives right now is only in the majority because of extremely gerrymandered maps that now are in the process of being dismantled. So, we're thankful that the Supreme Court has done the right thing and now the various legislative bodies are going to have to do the right thing to create lawful constitutional maps and then put it in the hands of the voters. In terms of the potential decision as it relates to affirmative action, these values of diversity, equity and inclusion are important for a fair and an open and a just society in a racially diverse democracy that we have, that, of course, has a very imperfect history in the area of racial justice. And it certainly is our hope that there will be at least five enlightened justices who understand that this principle of diversity and using race as a factor in a multipolar pluralistic society, a very diverse society, is the right thing to do. And as study after study has shown, the more diverse a school, the more diverse a university, the more diverse a company, the more successful that entity happens to be as well.

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I appreciate it.

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Well, this is an extreme group of people and I'm thankful, as a result of President Biden's leadership, that we were able to avoid a default, prevent the extreme MAGA Republicans from crashing the economy and triggering a recession, which they believed would have benefited them politically in 2024, even though it would have hurt millions and millions and millions of everyday Americans. And we were able to arrive at that resolution and protect Social Security, protect Medicare, protect Medicaid, protect veterans and protect the American people from the draconian cuts that the right-wing wanted to jam down our throats. But they're not finished. They will continue with diabolical intensity to try to arrive at policies that are inconsistent with the health, the safety and economic well-being of the American people. And that's why we've got to continue to stay in the fight. House Democrats played a very important role in avoiding a default and we'll continue to play a very important role in doing the right thing by the American people and pushing back against the extreme MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives.

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