Justin Jones: The Assault On Multiracial Democracy in the South

- Hello and welcome to the Board podcast. I'm your host Tim Miller.

“We are gonna get to my guy Justin Jones here in a minute”

and talk a lot about what's going on in Tennessee and across the Deep South really when it comes to the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. And we'll react to JD Vance's comments about the slush fund reparations

that the administration is offering to mega insurrectionists and why he thinks that's important because nobody has any empathy for them. And people have too much empathy for those black criminals. Anyway, we'll get into all that with Justin Jones, great guy.

But first, we pre-taped that yesterday

some flying to San Diego for our event tonight today. And so I wanted to run down some thoughts on all of the political news we've had over the last 24 hours, which is a bunch. First and most note where the, I think,

is the Thomas Massey loss in Kentucky for primary. I have a little bit of a different take on this than what I've seen out there. Massey ends up getting about 45% of the vote at the time of this tape being there's about 4% more to trickle in.

But he's going to be at about 45% of the vote. That's not nothing. And it's not that close to winning. But to think that 45% of Republican primary voters

in a somewhat suburban exerving

with somewhat rural district in Kentucky, thought Trump is a change. Like, it is a side that, like, his grip is loosening somewhat on the party faithful. We haven't had anything else like this.

When there's Cheney Rand for reelection to her house, see, after she had voted to impeach Trump, she got 28.9% of the vote ties. She was annihilated. Like, this is meaningfully different than that.

And it's meaningfully different because Massey went after Trump on a couple of issues that are core to the base and that Trump has betrayed either his promises or Republican party thinking and rhetoric on those very issues. So, like, for example, with the Iran War vote,

Massey, I think now has gained a lot of credibility with people who were genuine and they're believed that America should not be involved in stupid foreign wars in the Middle East. And he bucked Trump on that.

Obviously, the Epstein files and covering up for the elites that have access and wealth. And we're not being held accountable for their crimes. Massey was aggressive on that. And obviously, Massey is strong on debt and spending.

“Another issue that I think is going to continue to plague”

Trump as interest rates increase. So, like, that is like a basket of issues that Massey has distinguished himself from Trump on

that is different than kind of like never

Trump or one point out, right, like my people. Like we opposed Trump on some issues, sure. But it was mostly about his character, about whether he was qualified to lead the country, his corruption, whether we had trust this person

to be in charge of a fucking dairy queen. Forget the country, like we opposed Trump because of Trump, the man. Like Massey opposed Trump because of Trump's failure on three issues where he perceives.

And I think I agree with him that he's closer to the Republican based in Trump's. And the results of that was getting 45% vote, not too far from 50%.

“I think that, to me, shows that there's a lane there.”

And I think that that lane could get bigger. If Trump gets worse and worse. And I said this a lot of times on TNL talking with Sarah and JVL. I think for people who really locked into politics in 2016,

and this is an important kind of recent history lesson. Like George W. Bush, like part of the reason why the Bush line that Sarah talks about matters. Like George W. Bush got so impopio that he wasn't invited to another Republican convention ever again.

He wasn't invited to wait for McCain at 12 for Romney, obviously, any of the Trump conventions. The party based aside, they wanted to move on from him. That feels possible with Trump, right? And what I bet on it is that the most likely outcome.

Now, of course, it looks like we have come is that Trump is a kingmaker and that the cult sticks with him and that he anoints whoever he wants to be the next nominee, be that a family member or Marco or JD

And that's the most likely outcome.

But like, that's not guaranteed outcome. And this kind of reminds me a little bit of the platner discourse that we had a couple of weeks ago where JBL flowed. It's like, I don't know, I mean, he overstated the case. So he said, like a 33% chance partner is the nominee,

but his range is like five to 33%. And everybody's like crazy crazy. This is crazy. It's like, well, yeah, I mean, obviously, it's crazy in a certain extent, but like in recent times

in politics, like the successful two-term president, Obama and Trump, like both ran against the party establishment because the prior party establishment wasn't popular. And like right now, the Democratic Party establishment isn't popular.

“And I think Trump's popularity is on the way.”

Like, is it gonna fall enough that someone who

challenge him as directly as Massey could be the nominee? I like that's a crazy thing to set, right? But like, does the Massey result show like what a successful challenge to Trump could look like two years from now?

If the war isn't even greater catastrophe, if the economy is even worse, if the corruption and the cover-up of absteen looks even worse once we learn new information, if the Democrats take control of the House

and Robert Garcia and his crew are successful and uncovering one information, that's possible. And that is like in the potential range of outcomes right now. And so when they were chanting Massey, 2020 hate at his concession speech, that's a little bit

intriguing to me.

I'm not saying Massey's gonna be the 2018

I'd be a ridiculous thing to say. But like, he now has demonstrated that you can gain a basis of support within the party. You can overcome the most amount of money ever spent against someone in a House primary.

Offer a clear issue set, offer a clear rationale for your candidacy and get 45%. And if that's a four-way primary, he wins. So, I don't know.

“I think that obviously, the Trump team is gonna grow.”

The political, prognosticators and pundits are gonna talk about how you can't portray Trump in the party. You look at Cassidy, look at Massey, look at the Indiana State House. And that's true, it happened.

But there's something happening under the surface that I don't want to dismiss. And so, it sucks the time as Massey lost. It sucks that there's gonna be another mega AI chat bot in Congress.

It sucks that Trump can grow. It sucks that next year, there'll be one less vote for potential bipartisan chip on issues of war, obscene, et cetera. But Massey gets to stay in there to the end of the year.

And I think he's gonna continue to cause Trump trouble. And I think that his critiques of the administration are gonna continue to re-born out. So I guess all I'm saying is, let's see how it plays out. That's maybe have a little bit of humility

and predictions in the possible outcomes and analysis about how things might develop in our politics. 'Cause things have changed really quick. I said it like the old days, man.

These political, tectonic plates are moving a lot quicker than they used to. So that's that, speaking of Massey continuing to create trouble for Trump over the next few months, as he is a lame duck member of the house,

we're seeing that already in the Senate, build Cassidy on Tuesday. I said he was opposed to the ballroom funding and he supported the resolution that would end the Iran war without the Trump administration coming to Congress

and getting a vote for a war powers resolution vote. So on the one hand, it's sort of revealing and it's a little lame. It's kind of like the old line from a football coach in his green, they are what we thought they were.

Like, Cassidy is what they said he was. Not a mega, a phony, that was faking it to try to win real action.

“And that is contemptible, honestly, and a little embarrassing.”

That said, we are we are. And guess it's better to have him up there being the turret in Trump's punchball for a couple of months than the alternative. And opposing the ballroom was good,

but the war powers vote is pretty significant. So what happens here is you have Cassidy ran Paul, Susan Collins and Mark Cowsky voting, yes, on the resolution. So Collins also flipping, and she's, I think, very vulnerable in this issue, and I don't know if this vote is going to save her.

So she's been lukewarm, supportive of Trump throughout this disaster.

in Iran.

So you've Cassidy Paul Collins and Mark Cowsky voting, yes,

with the Democrats, you had Federman voting, no, with the Republicans, there's a procedural vote, but there's me a final vote on this. She's assumed that the vote stays the same. That's 52, 47.

So that's a majority in favor of the war powers resolution. So yeah, that would have to go to the house. That was a tie vote in the house. Thanks to Maine, hungers been Jared Golden, who was for some reason.

“I think it's important pretty importantly”

to find out what that reason is. Actually, there's a lot of speculation in rumor out there, but for some reason, gave the tie breaking vote to block this resolution in the house, but things are changed really fast down there.

And so, potentially, this could go to the house

and put some type of limit on Trump's war power.

So all that remains to be seen, but it is definitely significant and notable that Bill Cassidy's true colors are showing. It's funny, isn't it? It's kind of frustrating, honestly,

that as soon as Republicans no longer need Trump's support, because they're retiring or because they've been defeated or their careers over, all of a sudden, they start sounding like the board. Which makes me think that there's a lot of Republicans

who are privately with the board. And I fucking hate those guys more than I hate the mega guys. It's like, where are you? Come on out, come on the show.

I've invited Bill Cassidy on the show. Come on the show seems like we agreed this whole time on the ballroom and the Iran War, but you don't wanna say it. Oh my, frustrating.

The other big political news, of course, is the Texas Senate seat. I did a big rant about this over on the board. Takes feed 'cause I couldn't say it for the pod. I was too, was I fired up, what's the right word?

I was just, I was kinda giddy. I was too giddy about big bad John Coranan getting totally cucked by Donald Trump. Go sit in the cuck chair, John. For those of you, sickos like me,

“who remember God, what would have been 2014,”

Senate race, probably if the news in. Coranan had this ad, big John, big bad John. Talked about how big bad John were a big bad cowboy hat. And sat on a big horse and rode around big Texas. 'Cause he was a man, and big bad John,

graveled the Trump, tried to name a highway after Trump, pretended like you read Trump's book. Was Trump's little, you know, kind of Trump's little, but boy, on airplane, yes, service for Trump. So you're so great, sir.

All for nothing. Trump didn't care a wit. He knew that he didn't need the mag of base any more upset than then they already were. And so he's gonna stick with the mag of guys.

And now John, Coranan, big bad John, goes into retirement. Tiny bad John, little bad John, little man. So that tickled me. That text rate's gonna be interesting.

I think it helps tell Riko, maybe not as much as the conventional wisdom with indicate, but it helps him a little bit. That it's gonna be passed in that Coran for sure. And boy, is that gonna be a fundraiser to watch now?

So the politics got gifted us on that one. All right, y'all know that I have been on the leading edge of doom or as I'm when it comes to the economic fallout from the war lately. And listen to my business pilot cash.

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“That's the end of my politics ramp for you guys.”

We will have more on tomorrow's show, of course. But now I'd like to welcome back to the show. An activist and Democrat representing parts of Nashville in the Tennessee State House of Representatives. One of the Tennessee three, a trio of Democrats

who first drew national attention in 2023

when they were expelled by Republicans so they're advocacy of stricter gun laws after a mass shooting in Nashville. And now he's been at the forefront of pushing back against Tennessee's racist, jerrymandering scheme.

It's Justin Jones. Good to see you again, man. How you doing? Good to see you, Robert. We're pushing forward.

Man, I want to focus a lot on what's happening in Tennessee and then a couple other national things. But why don't you just paint a picture for folks about what's been happening since the gutting of devoting rights act, and then we can talk about some of the elements

of it. And since the Louisiana V. Collat decision, Tennessee was the first state to dismantle black political power in our state, diluting and eliminating the last remaining majority-like district. What I tell of toll folks is that when I walked into the capital

that day, it was 26, and when I walked out of those pre-1965, we've seen the biggest attack on black political representation in the South since the end of reconstruction. And it all came because when that decision came out, Donald Trump called the governor of Tennessee personally,

and we were back in a special session a few days later. Within 24 hours, between the committee and the House floor, this map had become law. And that's what we saw. We've seen some, you know, with surgical precision,

the carving out of majority-like districts, not just in Tennessee, but Louisiana. You know, we see your maps are now under threat. As well as Mississippi, South Carolina, and Alabama. The Tennessee case is so stark, and I don't know.

We'll probably head that way, eventually, in Louisiana.

“But I just think it's particularly egregious, is it example?”

The way in which they divided up Memphis, and I played the audio the other day of, you know, the Republican representative, like pretending like he didn't know, you know, what the black makeup of Memphis was, even though they divided the city up into thirds,

and like now you have a situation with the new maps where

Memphis and Nashville, like basically don't have representatives.

And obviously, you know, there was a racial context in Memphis is as stark, but just from like a democracy standpoint, you know, I don't know how can you even call Tennessee a democracy if people in the two largest cities don't have representation? - Just to give a visual for viewers,

Memphis, which is a 51% black population, is now connected to a county 300 miles away, you know, all the way to Williams and County, 300 miles away as a way to dilute that black vote in a majority black city. My district, where I represent here in Nashville,

my community, I represent the most diverse district. And so what we saw here at the federal level, was if you drive from one crispy cream in Nashville to another crispy cream on the outskirts of Nashville and Brentwood, you pass through five congressional districts,

driving just 30 minutes, 30 minute drive, five congressional districts. That's how absurd these maps are. And it was done intentionally, and for the speaker of the house to say he did not know the racial breakup of Memphis

or he's not familiar with those demographics. I just want to show you some, just to show you where these ideas are coming from, the speaker of the house posted this yesterday. And it's him with Stephen Miller in the White House,

giving him a proclamation for the partnership between Stephen Miller and Tennessee's state government. And it shall we see, or this racialized politics is coming from, it's coming from directly from 1600 Pennsylvania, Avenue, Donald Trump again called the governor

as soon as the Louisiana Collet decision came out. Stephen Miller is now celebrating with the speaker of the house, all of these races attacks on the black and brown community. And black and browns in the scenes make up 25% of the population.

Now every single one of Tennessee's nine congressional districts is majority white, that is not sounding like multi-racial democracy to me. - I mean, they're expanded to the statehouse stuff. I mean, this was the big fight in 2023,

and you guys got expelled, but they're doing it again. I am last week, all members of the House Democratic Caucus were removed from their committees and some committees. That's right.

“- To make it more egregious, I think there's an agenda”

man added that we found out.

I think that Tennessee Hall was the first report on this,

all Democrats accept the white men in our caucus were removed from their committees and that. So what came out was that the white men, four of them, represent of climate, represent of Mitchell, represent of Freeman,

represent of Hammer, were not removed from their committees. And so they were kept on the state website, and then they just were allowed to resign on their own 'cause the speaker did not remove them. So it does show that they see race,

even in that regard. And I think it shows that we are dealing with a Jim Crow legislature, and what we saw was intentional. It was an attempt to turn back the clock of history,

and they represented the George Wallace in the bull corners of the 21st century. And I think that, you know, Tennessee's the tip of the spear, but as we've been saying when we said, when you were here in Nashville,

we said the same thing, Tennessee is the front line, but we had to fight it here because of we don't. It's gonna spread across this nation. - Yeah, we're seeing it. I mean, look, like this is where it sounds alarm ass, right?

right, we put together no representation for these big cities,

no representation for people of color and the federal legislature, the banishment of you guys from committees, you know, the expulsion in 2023. I mean, this is a state autocracy, right?

“Like it's not a democracy, and that I think probably,”

if you accept that, it changes what a response to it should be, right? - Yeah, I mean, if this was happening anywhere else in the world, we would call it, you know, authoritarianism. We would call it, you know, an attack on democracy, and yet it's happening here in a very subtle sophisticated way,

they're using the language of jerrymandering, and they want to make it partisan to him. And one thing that we've been very intentional about is that this was a racial jerrymandering. This was not a partisan fit for tat.

It was about explicitly, you know, in response to the dismantling the Voting Rights Act, the crown jewel, the civil rights movement. And in the fact that it's happening in the south, you see the language being used in Mississippi, the governor talked about the last black congressman there

about ending his reign of terror. And these are the types of things you heard at the, you know, at the end of re-construction, when they, when they, you know, ran out of all the black representatives at the federal level.

And so I think it'd be very keen on what is happening here. We're seeing an assault on a multi-racion march across the south. You're hearing people talk about the southern strategy again, like congressman annual rules from Tennessee. I mean, it is, it is very, it's not alarmists.

And I think that history of judge is not by what we do, but by what we don't do in this moment. We have to respond with proportion of response. And we have to, you know, call in our allies across this country to stand with us in the south in this time,

because the south, again, is the front line and our fight for democracy in this nation. So what is proportion of response look like? Like, what are you, what are you thinking about doing down there? - I mean, multiple things, I just got back from Montgomery.

We saw on the largest mass mobilization since the 60s, a folks from all across the south and all across the country gathering federal leaders, moral leaders, clergy, mothers, activists gathering in Montgomery. We're Dr. King Stood in 1965 fighting for the Voting Rights Act.

Number one, lift up that this is a struggle rooted in the civil rights movement. We're seeing an assault on the civil rights movement. That's why you saw people crossing the Edmund Pettis Bridge again. And so telling people, when we have to invest in the south,

they're not just quote unquote battleground states, like North Carolina and Georgia, but coming down Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, the state that have soaked for so long been forgotten, South Carolina.

And number two, we need some of these, you know, other states to respond. California, Virginia, I think were the only ones that responded by doing their own, new maps and response to Texas and response

was happening across these other states. But there's other states I can follow in New York in Colorado and New Jersey, you know, in Illinois, there's states that need to respond because what John Trump is doing,

he's making it almost impossible for us to retake the house from his maga extremists who are taking hold of our government right now. And so we have to respond proportionally. And recognize that this is not an ordinary moment.

And so we have to do things out of the ordinary, as we fight back against these maga terrorists who've taken our country hostage.

“I think that's the only thing we can call them.”

- Yeah, I need to go down there and tell them, I said you're going to Jackson, you know, where this kind of fight is ongoing. You know, I think we probably have a lot of listeners who are frustrated, like what can I,

especially if they're living in other states, like what can I do, like how can I engage, what does mass mobilization look like? Like I have a campaign question for you

in a second, but I don't like table that.

Like what does it look like from just from a protest from public actions standpoint? - Yeah, I mean, I think one, if you're in these states, you can call on the governors of these states

to say, you know, we are not in the South right now, but we can send this holiday here to the South, you know, in response to Tennessee's Jerry Mander, Illinois, should respond, you know, again, proportionally, or New York should respond and say, okay,

we are in the fight against this new Confederacy. And it's going to take a united front of United States to take on this Confederacy again. It's, this is like a civil war. We're in the midst of right now with these Southern governors.

I'm number two, looking at, you know, folks in these states to help build infrastructure. I think a lot of people are paying attention to the federal level right now, but all these changes are being done at the state level.

And these states, seats can be flipped with, you know, infrastructure with investment.

“And that's how we can stop these Jerry Mander from happening.”

I mean, ultimately, we need to have a federal ban

on partisan Jerry Mander. I think that's the only logical response. But as it stands now, we have to ask these states who have control, who have democratic control to respond in kind, what the South is doing,

right now with these red states. And but also if you're a regular person, I think, you know, really finding ways to find organizations on the ground, whether it's in Mississippi or Alabama,

we had so many organizations when we were Montgomery who are doing the hard work of trying to respond by having a massive voter registration and responses, mass voter suppression that we're seeing. And so like supporting those organizations,

supporting independent media who are telling the actual truth of your podcasts, like I see your head of my dear brother, their Tennessee Holler. I mean, these are the, these are the ones who are the folks who are on the ground

that's amplifying these stories that are all getting erased in mainstream conversation. And so we need to come to me and amplify that what's happening right now is not normal and that we have to sound the alarm

where we can potentially lose democracy in the South

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“And I think that some of that was like you're”

saying voter registration, getting people engaged, people to wake up that hadn't been as engaged in 2024. I think we're seeing some of that. I think it's possible to do persuasion on this too. And it's just so overt that I think that a lot of people,

I mean, obviously, in particular, black voters. I think even a lot of white voters and voters on the race is like, look at this. And I'm like, this is not the country that I want to beat. Like I don't want to be in a country where we're eliminating

all of the black representation in the South, like we're going back to Jim Crow, right? And so, is do you think that there is a persuasion

and mobilization possibility that can create some backlash

from a campaign standpoint? And in Tennessee, I do think it's a big uphill battle. Those districts were all carved out quite intentionally, but I don't know. And what do you think?

Is there a democratic hope here at the ballot box? Or did they rig the system so much that that's not likely? I think so. I mean, there were members, I want to say, who had conscience and who did not vote for this. It was very few, but I think it was just six of my Republican colleagues.

But I think that we're hearing from Republican voters that this does not represent conservative values. So this does not represent those who believe the process should work, where you can just choose your voters. Voters should choose who their elected officials are.

It shouldn't be the other way around. And particularly when it's so blatant where you're drawing, literally like it looks like a scorpion or a sea monster, where it's like starting here a little tip and Memphis and coming out into this big Leviathan 300 miles away.

I mean, it's going to end up with rural counties being disenfranchised as well. Because if you have a congressman who lives four hours away, they're not going to come and pay attention to your constituent relations when you need to get a passport

or when you need help with unemployment. Because we're seeing that right now. We have when the most extreme members are up in Nashville and the ogles. And he doesn't serve urban or rural counties.

He served himself. And he's in what we're seeing is that he's serving his pocketbooks by stealing money, but that's a whole nother conversation. And so I think, we have to build coalitions. I've seen it serving on the agriculture committee.

These unusual coalitions that can transform are state and transform the south. And so I think there is hope. I don't lose hope in our voters. But I do think that there are some men in some room

strategizing how to make this, so that no matter what happens, they maintain control. Because Donald Trump is so desperate to hold on to the congress because he knows that he can't win fairly.

“And so I think that's why as soon as the decision came out,”

they had these maps ready. These maps, they had been working on all year waiting for the Supreme Court rule. And then we were back within less than three days. We were back in session.

You mentioned ogles a couple times. Corrupt, Scott Desialet, jumps out to me also. Somebody is particularly corrupt and they're both disgusting and they're rhetoric and extreme. And have horrific personal judgment.

I know all of these guys are pretty abat across every possible metric. What is the thought about getting democratic candidates into those races, like finding somebody that can win, that can get a big tent coalition? Like, how are you thinking about that?

Well, the deadline has passed. That's how quick this happens. It's like all those races the deadline has passed. I know there's candidates running. But again, this all happened in such an unusual way.

It gave them just five days to finalize who the new candidates are.

They're like, well, I wasn't this district. And my neighbors in this district, but I'm in this district.

“Like, that's how absurd this is. So people don't know what district”

that they're in. They don't know who's even running anymore. You've had candidates who've been campaigning for the whole year. And now they're in a completely new district. And the locals was running it for a district in Nashville.

And now he's running for a district that is part of Memphis. And so that's what we're looking at right now.

The one at the court, when you're first expelled in 2003,

you sued Speaker Sexton over that, was dismissed by a judge. What, what's your sense for the legal potential opportunities are? Yeah. I mean, there's still, I know there is four lawsuits filed after this. But unfortunately, it was a Supreme Court that created this mess. And there's not seen like the Supreme Court's going to get us out of this mess.

We have a captured court right now. And the sixth circuit, which we are in at the federal level, is has a lot of Trump appointees. And so we don't expect a lot of relief. I believe that they block the injunction to try and stop these maps from taking effect.

That the court has already blocked that injunction from taking effect. And so, you know, that's the difference between now in the 1960s. And the 60s are in the civil rights movement. You had a Supreme Court that was friendly to civil rights about protecting minority voice. And now we have a Supreme Court that's the opposite.

That is full of stuages of the president and who don't roll based off of equal protection under law. But who rule under, you know, whatever the Trump administration says, that's what they do.

“And so that's what we're facing, unfortunately, with the legal system here.”

But we do have, there's litigation on going, you know, I sue the speaker. And unfortunately, the court ruled that he has sovereign immunity. This Trump appointed judge rolled in my case of two years. He has sovereign immunity. And so, it just involdens them even further to do these, you know,

reprehensible things that are taxed against our democracy. What do you feel like your fellow dams? And you're with AOC and Selma? Like, our folks, given you the fight and support that you need down there. Like, what, I guess what's your thought on the party, broadly?

I mean, I mean, I think everyone who showed up in Selma, you had AOC, you had Rafael Warnock, you had, you know, members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Including those who are going to be impacted, because we may lose up to up one third of the Black Caucus at the Congressional level,

which is something we haven't seen since at the end of reconstruction. And so, you have Melanie Stansberry, you have folks who showed up, and I thought, I think that matters, you know, for so long, you wouldn't see these national folks coming to the deep South. They would come to just two states, North Carolina and Georgia. The quote unquote battleground states, and I don't think you saw them in Louisiana, either where you live,

and with the speed of the house lives. But you're, I think you're seeing people understand the importance of the South, you know, as AOC said, it's time for the North to pull up on the South and to stand up, because what happens in Tennessee is connected to what happens in New York. And what happens in Alabama is connected to what happens in Massachusetts.

We are interconnected in this fight right now. And so, I think that was encouraging to see, we do need to see more support from the federal DNC. You know, to, to showing up, not just in swing states, but in states that AOC, I like to say that we'll swing back, and that we're fighting with everything we have, you know, with very little resources and infrastructure.

I think we're seeing that shift now. You know, I was in California, I met with the governor there talking about what's happening here. I know he's been vocal and lifting up what's going on. You know, to be talking to folks across this country, and people are asking how they can help. They want to show up for like a freedom summer where they come to the South and help do voter registration,

canvas launches. That's the type of thing we have to be thinking about right now. And so, I think that gives me hope, and it gives me, you know, some, some clarity to recognize that people are, are seeing what's at stake, and, and they're recognizing the fierce urgency of now. And they're seeing with more clarity that if they come for one of us, they're coming for all of us.

I want to ask you about a couple of other issues that are going on down there. I, and people don't even really talk about it anymore, because there's so much other crazies going on. But there is the Memphis Safe Task Force, now in the invasion of Memphis from the federal government. Like, what, it feels like all that's out of the news. Like, what, what's actually happening on the ground?

What's the latest with that? Yeah, I mean, you still have the National Guard occupying the city of Memphis. You have ice agents who are running rampant across our state, terrorizing folks who are just trying to get to work. And, and the difference between folks and you're, again, in this house. So, you know this, but for those who are not like, if you're a Minnesota or California in New York,

the difference is that the state government is trying to at least protect their people. They're not doing this in coordination. A lot of these operations are joint operations in between the state government and Tennessee and the federal government. And so when ice was doing their raids of my district, it was a Tennessee Highway Patrol who was a part of those who, there, it was a joint operation where they're using THP to make traffic stops about your tail light was out,

or your tent was too dark, and then ice would arrest people who had committed no crime, but under those pretextual, you know, stops. And so that's what we're seeing here. And that's also why, you know, Stephen Miller has been championing his partnership with Tennessee.

He was the first state to pass 10 bills that came directly from Stephen Miller going after undocumented immigrants.

“That's why the speakers up there celebrating that partnership because we're the first state that he's”

and he wanted to test these bills out, like English-only drivers license about going after undocumented kids in schools, not adults, children in schools and getting their data, or then you can target their parents.

On the next, I want to talk to you about this slush fund that Donald Trump has created for himself. I guess he felt like he had emotional distress because his tax returns got leaked.

So he's suing his own DOJ and his own DOJ said, "Hey, $1.8 billion that Donald Trump and his friends

can hand out to whoever they want. We won't know what they're doing with it." I was going to kick this round yesterday with my colleagues about how this is just basically like reparations, but for white insurrectionists. That's really what it is. It's not the government to hand out reparations to their friends. I maybe it's also corruption too. But I just, like, what do you think,

you know, and is this kind of thing that you think could resonate? Like, what is your reaction to that?

“Yeah, I mean, that's the best way to put it. I think it should alarm us that we are basically”

rewarding those who folks who violently attacked our nation and attacked our democratic process. We had many of them from test C, the zip tie guy. You know, these are folks who came here who, you know, were planning to commit violence against both Democrat and Republican officials.

And yet, we're rewarding that on the 250th anniversary of America, I think them out was 1776-1.776 billion.

And it is, it is so blatant that this is what this, you know, it's kind of like a column response. This is, it seems like this is what he wants to continue to instigate. And we're seeing these vigilante forces. That's what ISIS has become. This rogue police force that is at the whim of the president, not even, you know, enacting an accord with a constitutional within its guidelines or parameters. You know, these insurrectionists, it seems like he's doing a column response.

Are they going to be at our polling places next? You know, come November, are they going to be targeting brown people and like people when we try and go vote? I mean, this is what we have to worry about. Particularly when the president is rewarding them financially for behavior that should have been criminally punished and was, and then he pardon them. And so, I mean, again, it's, it's back in the back to, if you study the Confederacy and the end of reconstruction, this is what happened.

And then we got Jim Crow, and we got the terrorism of that Jim Crow enacted across the South, and on all this, across this nation. I bet you haven't thought about this, but I'm going to throw

“this idea out to you. Maybe you should think about it as an opportunity. I don't know, you've been”

targeted by the government unfairly. Maybe the Democrats can get back in power and think about the types of people you could, you could compensate with a flush fund. I don't know, the next Democratic president could just go in there and go to the DOJ and say, I think we should settle for 3.2 billion. Think about all the different groups you could hand out that money to. Yeah, I mean, you know, I see, I don't think that, that our side is things like this, like, you know, this is, this is,

this is a man who thinks about how Jim Rich has pockets and his cronies and his friends, and you know, we're thinking, how do we make this a nation at peace with itself? You know, how to, you know, post Trump, we're going to have to go through a truth and reconciliation process like South Africa after a part-time. I think we're going to have to do something to heal this nation, because there's a wound that's been open. And, and, you know, I hope we get to that point post Trump,

because it seems like he doesn't want to leave. He has a lot of projects going on that are going to require more than four years of his time in office. And so to me, I think it's very terrifying what we may see in the years to come. We'll see what happens in November. It's not going to be a fair election. We're starting to see that now. But, but what extent will he go to to maintain a hold of power? There's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal, and he's wounded and he's opened, you know,

and retaliating. And so I think we have to really have our guard up and be prepared to respond with rapid response. But, you know, I hope that whoever is the next Democratic president will not make the same mistake, and that we cannot allow this behavior to go on unchallenged without accountability.

We have to hold these folks accountable. He should have never been able to run for president

to begin with post-insurrection. You know, I think, Mayor Garland has a lot of answers that the public is looking for, and he should be doing, I think, Mayor Garland. He should be offering free legal support to folks who are being targeted right now. He should hit him in his firm, because he did not do his job as attorney general. And so maybe he should find me finding pro bono lawyers or people being targeted by the Trump administration. But I think there's going to be

a lot of reckoning to happen. And I hope that, you know, Pam Bondi, Steven Miller, you know, all these folks in this administration will be held accountable with some type of tribunal. That we hold them accountable for violating human rights and civil rights and civil liberties in

“this nation. It's a great idea for Mayor Garland to pass that on. I don't know, I think you should”

apply. I mean, you know, you've been targeted by the government. I think I think you qualify, isn't that all? It was the period of 20 to 20, 20 to 20, 24, it's 2023. And you were talking. I think, yeah, you are the wrong color for Asians for whites. Get glory in there. Yeah, glory in there to apply. But it seems like, you know, when you attack the government and you're, um, why you get rewarded, but, you know, as some of my colleagues now are up in

arms about me burning the Confederate flag and calling me an insurrectionist. So if you, if you, you know, I think it's telling as well that they're more concerned with the burning of a Confederate flag,

And that these are neocon federates, and we cannot, um, you know, that that is not alarm is that's

not a far jump. It's the reality if you study history and you study this time of deconstruction that we're in there just following the same playbook as the, the competitors when they re-took control of the South after reconstruction. And it's, it's the same, um, if we don't act as going to be the same end, um, of enacting this, this white power structure. But it's, but I want to be clear too, you know, and doing that they're talking in black and brown communities, but who's

going to be heard or not? Just like in brown people, but it's our poor white role, you know, friends and, and, and, and, and, and, and fellow tennis scenes and fellow southerners who, you know, they're only grocery stores and dollar general. They're, they're, they're defunding their public schools.

“They're making it so that you can't get your prescriptions if you want to afford your groceries.”

I mean, these are the same folks. As, at the same time, he's pushing out the slush fund. He's saying we can't help people who are struggling from the tear of the farmers that he's enacted, who are struggling from rising in, put an output cost. I, I saw when I had committee farmers have been screwed over the most, you know, at, by this administration. And so I just want to be clear that he's going after black and brown people, but all of us will get heard in the end.

What do you hear from the farmers down there? Have you heard from any, uh, Trump supporting farmers to a pest? Yeah. Well, just at the Supreme Court, um, within a very unusual coalition of Mahamans and farmers, um, because they feel betrayed by Trump, where he's selling out to the pesticide corporations. He, there's a bill, um, in, in Congress, and also a lawsuit at the Supreme Court about giving a immunity to pesticide corporations who are making our farmers in our,

in our, in our community sick, and the Trump administration siding with the, these foreign pesticide corporations, like Bear and Monsanto at the expense of Maham and all these people who had all this trust and belief in him. So I'm seeing people who feel buyers or more, so I'm talking to them, um, you know, as well as the farmers who are, we, we lost 400 farms in Tennessee last year, 400, family farms because of the, the rising costs and climate, the climate crisis, but also

because of the tear wars where our soybean farmers had so many contracts. Um, with USAID and also, I'm going to have contracts and trade agreements with China and all these other countries that are now been eliminated. And so Trump is, is, is an anti-farmor president. Um, he's somebody who's destroying agriculture. Um, particularly small family farms and you're hearing that type of

“remorse and, and I think it's important for us to not go to these communities, say, well,”

we told you so, but to say, welcome to this coalition. We want to build together, uh, because now's the opportunity and an opening to organize not an opportunity to be, you know, we were right, you were wrong, but to say, you know, we, we, we're learning together and this administration is harmful to all of us. And we have to be clear that this is a, uh, a administration that serves white supremacists and, and corporate sellouts, but does not serve the people, um, you know,

whether you live in an urban or rural community. Yeah, I think that's right. I mean, this is an moment for reaching out to them and winning allies. I don't know what is, um, with all, all the way of the administration's been hiring them. I wanted to just play for you one thing that, uh, device president was saying about the slush fund on Tuesday afternoon and get your reaction to that. One of the interesting things about the American media is there is a fascination. If you go

to any American law school, there are these, you know, prisoner rights clinic. There are people who objectively committed heinous crimes, but the American media and the American legal academy has decided that even though they committed bad crimes, their sentence was disproportionate.

They were mistreated in some way. You know, who never ever gets an ounce of sympathy when it comes

to that disproportionate sentencing is people who voted for Donald Trump and participate in the January 6 protests. No sympathy for the January 6 rioters. Too much sympathy for, you know, other people who have gone to prison and, you know, done what they could to pay back their debt

“to society, et cetera. I he didn't mention the races, but I think we have a, I think we have”

a mental image of who he's talking about. Yeah. I mean, I wonder what would have happened of JD fans would have stayed in that chamber on January 6 and was an escorted out. You know, as a UC picture of Republicans, lawmakers countering because they knew that these people were threat to their safety. I mean, why did they hang a gallows outside the Capitol? It wasn't, as a, you know, welcome man. It was, it was be clear to be used as for violence. And so I think

JD vans, again, represents somebody who he doesn't even recognize anymore because if you study the JD vans before he was vice president and the JD vans now, it's completely two different people. And so I think he's, he's, he's having a sole crisis right now. There's a hold on the middle of his sole. He doesn't even know who he is. But, but we, it's clear that there, there are sympathy, you know, we have two systems of justice for this country. If you're, if you're white and

in an insurrectionist, you get grace and sympathy. And then if you're black or a person of color, you get what we're seeing here in Tennessee tomorrow and execution a man who even, you know, clergy and Kim Kardashian are calling for the governor to stop his execution. It he's going to be executed here tomorrow in Tennessee. No grace, no sympathy, no, you know, even though he has, you know, mental issues and things like that. And so it's just so clear who this administration serves.

I mean, JD vans is somebody who's auditioning to be, I guess, the inheritor of this

mega movement, which we know is never going to happen, no matter how many boots he looks. That's

not going to happen, JD. And so just might as well have a little bit of integrity. And, and that's the former vice president, you know, what, what that looks like. But I think it's, it's very clear

be cognizant because what they're doing this kind of dog whistle for, this calling response,

is going to create issues of violence that will arise around the election time as we go for, because they're giving people a license to commit this behavior and to be excused for it.

“I think we should be terrified of what that will mean. I'm going forward because of people”

feel like they can commit something like January 6th and be rewarded. What does that mean for other people who will be inspired to commit similar acts of violence against our communities and against our democracy? That's such an important point. There's a threat forward not just back. I mean, it's outrageous and enraging that they would pay off these people. I'm like my tax dollars, the harder in tax hours, people who got their work for a living,

work harder than me in a podcast or paying like a percentage of their paycheck to these people.

It's from the capital of that's outrageous. But like if you're making a message that it sends

going forward, it's pretty alarming. I noticed recently, you did something that I'm wishing more and more demos are doing, particularly in this moment. I think in the same way that it's kind of a good time to reach out to rural communities. I think it's a good time to reach out to Trump supporters in general. Like UC has betrayed them in a lot of ways and they might not be getting that information. It'll be a little back and forth with Sean Hannity that was going around

social media. It was pretty funny. I'm talking about that. Why are you doing that? Why are you going on Hannity? What's the goal? What's the opportunity? I think we have to meet them where they are and speak to them in a language they understand. Sean Hannity loves to bring on Democrats who can beat down on and perpetuate these lies. If you're on his show, one thing I noticed is he turns his

“mic up. 10 cranks higher than yours. So you have to even speak up so loud to even be heard because”

he just spends a time talking over you because he knows that he doesn't have the truth. So he is the yell. I want to unbox because I thought I was important to speak directly to the people

being screwed over. I talked to people about how this man has been paid $45 million a year to

create fear to make them fearful of their immigrant neighbors instead of recognizing the threat from his friends in the White House. He went through a list of all the crimes that Emirates created. He was like assault, sexual assault against children. I said, Sean, are you going through Trump's crimes? Who's crimes are you going through? Because we want to make clear that this is not a law and order administration. These are the biggest criminals in our nation who are now

been empowered to be in the White House. Sean Hannity is talking mouthpiece who gets paid so much to do so much harm to this nation. We had to go on spaces like that to lift up and I'll turn the voice and to push back and to do so unapologetically and without compromise. Because we're not going to change his mind. But maybe something on that show will hear that someone like me is not their enemy. But people like him who want to make us enemies of each other are really

the danger toward democracy because they want to create a country where you're fearful of your neighbor and your suspicious of your neighbor. If you watch Fox News, you get your fighter flight activated consistently because it's like being aware of this person, this person, and this like it's that's they they prey on fear because that's all they have. I'm a close to this. I got to say it's kind of disappearing. It's been a little, I mean,

I'm a downer podcast usually, but I heard you a Nashville. You can get a room going. You can get people excited. But it's just a tough moment for that. If you feel like the democratic voice is being silenced and nobody has representation, if you feel like the courts are not going to be a

“useful vehicle for addressing ways in which we are treated unjustly. Where do you find it help?”

Where do you find in the energy for it? You can move out to, you know, I don't know, you could get you can find yourself a little spot on a farm or something and hang out and vibe out, check out from society, live your life, smoke the hookah, whatever brings you joy, go on hikes. I mean, I think what gives us hope right now in this moment is people power. I think seeing people turning out people, you know, when I was just in Montgomery, I saw a grandmother who had been there

60 years ago, but also saw new generation of voices. I saw people who were black, white, Latino, Native American Asian. I've been seeing that even here at our capital when they pass these maps. And I think what they're going to do is create the atmosphere in which we see even more energy in our movement to get these folks out of power. You know, when the dread Scott decision came out in the Supreme Court, you know, dehumanizing black folks and saying that there's no right

said like people have that white people have to follow. Frederick Douglass said, you know, let this decision not disappear to us or just harm us, but let it embolden and inflame our movement. I think this is the same opportunity. You know, in the South, we have a saying that a dying meal kicks the heart is in this meal of white supremacist tears dying, which is why they're, you know, this is a death rattle. You know, this is the dying breath of the Confederacy. Maga is just a new manifestation

of the Confederacy. And we defeated them before and we can do it again, but it's going to require long-term organizing, long-term infrastructure building. And recognizing that's not going to be like a microwave instantaneous shift, but we're seeing it. I mean, if Trump was confident in his power, he would not have to cheat to rig map. He knows that he can't win fairly. And so I think the hope is again, that this is a very fragile administration and regime and that if we continue pushing,

sawing in the same place. I think we can take this tree down and we can take down this new Confederacy.

And so that's where my hope is. And I just think we have to have practices of care. So, you know,

“like music, being with community. And a lot of this online is important. I love, you know,”

I love podcasts. I love being here with you virtually, but there's nothing that will give you more hope than being in a room with people in person, being out in the streets and personal with people.

That's the most important thing is a show up in person because it's online stuff if you go on

hacks, if you go on any of these apps, TikTok. I mean, there's many money to make you feel hopeless. You know, that's their strategy. And you just see things that are disappearing. You see people finding each other, you see racist people. You know, like the man here, Nashville, who's

“concave then, where who's now in court. I mean, that's what that's all my timeline was. And I'm like,”

this is not the America I believe, but when I went out into the streets, that's where I found hope.

And so I think we have to just show up together and build together in person. And I think that we will outlast these fascists and these these Confederates. And I look forward to, you know, seeing you and celebrating on the other side of this brother. And I'd like to some type of community in which

“we're not constantly in in in confusion and chaos, but we can build it and really think about not”

just us, but I know you have children about the next generation. That's really what we're doing. This is not about us in this time, but it's for those who are coming up after us. Amen. And I appreciate that. Get out of your house, people. You know, get off this thing for a little bit because it is, it is, it is a downer. All right, man. Well, if there are things we can do and elevate here, you just, you don't hesitate. All right, to let me know. And if you find yourself

down on Louisiana, you let me know. All right, man. Appreciate your brother. All right. Thanks so much to Justin Jones. Appreciate that guy. We have our live show in San Diego to night. So on tomorrow's show, you'll get a little bit of fresh potting and a bonus segment from San Diego. I don't know, whatever's the most fun part. We'll let you guys have on the podcast tomorrow. And then we'll have podcast regularly scheduled on Friday. So appreciate you all very much. See you tomorrow. Peace.

The board podcast is brought to you. Thanks to the work of lead producer Katie Cooper, Associate Producer Ansley Skipper, and with video editing by Katie Lutz and audio engineering in editing by Jason Brown.