Sign up for the Guardians Fight to Vote newsletter
There may be no politician better suited for a moment when democracy is under attack than Stacey Abrams. A decade ago, when few saw any chance of Georgia becoming a Democratic state, Abrams pushed to invest in turning out Black, Latino and Asian American voters, who had long been overlooked by politicians campaigning in the state.
And when she ran for governor in 2018, Abrams made voter suppression a centerpiece of her campaign, underscoring the way that America fails to live up to the promise of its democracy by denying the right to vote to so many eligible citizens.
Now many of the issues Abrams has been raising for years have exploded and are at the center of American politics. The Guardian spoke to Abrams, who is widely expected to run again for governor next year, about this uniquely dangerous moment in American democracy.
How is what were seeing now similar to and different from what weve seen in the past?
The coordinated onslaught of voter suppression bills is not the norm.
Whats happened over the last 15 years has been a steady build where weve seen bills passing in multiple state legislatures over time. It was absolutely voter suppression, but it was this slow boil. Its that terrible analogy of the frog in the water as the water starts to boil. Unless this is what you do and unless this is what you pay attention to, folks like me were watching, but it was fairly invisible to the untrained eye that voter suppression was sweeping across the country, especially beyond the boundaries of the south.
What is so notable about this moment, and so disconcerting, is that they are not hiding. There is no attempt to pretend that the intention is not to restrict votes. The language is different. They use the veil, they used the farce of voter fraud to justify their actions. Their new term of art is election integrity. But it is a laughable word or phrase to use. It is designed based on anything but a question of integrity. The truth of the matter is there is no voter fraud. The truth of the matter is we had the most secure election that weve had.
And therefore, their integrity is really insincerity. They are responding to the big lie, to the disproven, discredited and, sadly, the blood-spilled lie of voter fraud. And they are responding to it by actually doing what the insurrectionists sought, doing what the liars asked for.
In your view, how linked is this to race? Would we be seeing these kinds of restrictions if there wasnt that kind of explosion of turnout among Black voters that we saw in the election?
Well, I would say its inexorably linked to race, but I want to be really clear. Black voters are of course at the center of the target, but what is happening in Arizona, what is happening in Florida is also attacking Latino voters. They are attacking the energy and enthusiasm of Native American voters. They are attacking Asian American voters. While Black voters are of course at the center because of the historical animus that seems to exist towards our participation in elections, this is also about attacking other communities of color. And we are seeing it being done with an assiduousness and an attention to detail that is, as we said before, unparalleled, except for when you look at the actions of Jim Crow.
And then the corollary is that they are also attacking young people. Because it wasnt just the increase in voters of color. It was the increase in young people and its that cross-pollination of young people of color that I think is also ginning up a great deal of this anger.
What we are seeing are also bills that are designed to thwart young people taking possession of the power that comes with their generational might. They are the largest cohort. And they showed signs of leveraging that in the 2020 election. And now we are seeing a reaction to that, a response, that is lumping them in with every other undesirable voter class, which primarily is driven by race, by age and by income.
What would the implications for our democracy be if these measures pass and are enacted and upheld by the courts?
It would be the exact intention of voter suppression. Which is that we shut duly eligible citizens out of participation in setting the course of the country.
We will not have effective responses to challenges that disproportionately harm communities of color. We will not tackle the existential crises that we face as a nation, as a world. We will not hear conversations in the legislative body about racial injustice, about climate action, about bodily autonomy.
When you can cordon off and extricate entire communities from participation, their voices are not only silenced, the policies that have allowed their participation in just our larger civic life are also chilled.
The larger ethos is this. There are those who say, Well, OK these communities get harmed, its a dismal reality, they will not be moved by that. But as I keep repeating, when you break democracy, you break it for everyone. Because while they may start with communities of color and young people and poor people, there are intersections in terms of policymaking that affect those who want to be benefited by these processes. And benefited by these policies. Theyre not going to stop with simply poor Latino voters. Theyre also going to attack wealthy Latino voters who may need to vote in a different way because of the way they make their money.
When you break the machinery, you break it for everyone. When that happens, the durability of our democracy is immeasurably weakened to the place where we become just as vulnerable to authoritarian regimes, just as vulnerable to majoritarian instincts and just as vulnerable to the collapse of democracy as any other nation state.
You were quoted the other day about the need for businesses to come in and play a larger role in taking a stand against some of these measures in Georgia and elsewhere. Have you been disappointed to see the muted stances companies have taken?
As someone who served in the legislature, I am very aware of the delayed engagement that tends to happen with the business community. And so Im not surprised by the current reticence to be involved. But I am challenging the intention to remain quiet.
We are obliged at this moment to call for all voices to be lifted up. And for the alarm to ring not only through the communities that are threatened directly, but by those businesses that rely on the durability of our democracy.
Thats my point, the fact that no one can escape the scourge. We know that the consequences of a disconnected democracy, the consequences of a lack of civic participation are that we have a weakened civil society. That costs money. When people arent invested, when they feel that they have been pushed out of participation, they have no reason to trust or to conform.
And so for the business community, it is a danger to their bottom line, to see a disconnection develop and be embedded in state laws that essentially say to rising populations that you are not wanted and therefore we are not going to countenance your participation. Because if you tell someone they arent wanted theyre going to assume you cant say anything else to them.
It is a dangerous thing for the business community to be silent.
We have a conservative supreme court, were about to undergo another round of redistricting where Republicans have a clear advantage in the states again, a green light to use partisan gerrymandering. The filibuster in the Senate. I think a lot of people look at that and its so hard for them to have hope that any of this is going to get fixed or that there is a path to fixing it. Im curious what you see when you look at those institutions and how people should think about them as obstacles to achieving full democracy?
Id begin with the most efficient tool. And that is the filibuster.
There is a credible argument to be made that the exceptions that have already been accepted for the filibuster should apply to protecting democracy.
It is unconscionable that given the visible and ongoing threat to our democracy, that had its most tragic example in the insurrection on January 6, it is unconscionable that we would not treat the protection of our democracy as an absolute good that should be subject to an exemption from the traditional filibuster rule.
Every other mechanism will take time. Every other mechanism will require the inevitability of demographic change. This is one piece that will ensure that rather than 100 years of Jim Crow, which is what we had to survive last time Congress abdicated its responsibility with regard to election law, that rather than 100 years of stasis and paralysis and ignominy, that this is an opportunity for us to get it right.
This interview has been condensed and edited
See the article here:
- NBC's Chuck Todd Explains Why He's Changed How He Reports On Republicans - The Daily Wire [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- 'Red State Blues' Explores What Bolsters And Tempers Republicans' Success - Texas Standard [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- In leaked audio, a top Trump adviser said the Republican party has 'traditionally' relied on voter suppression - Business Insider [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- 'A rocky road': Wisconsin Republicans recap the first year of split control under Gov. Tony Evers - Madison.com [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Iowa swung fiercely to Trump. Will it swing back in 2020? - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- In the Time of Trump, Are Republicans Crazies or Cowards? - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- How a 'legislative terrorist' conquered the Republican Party - The Week [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Republican group to run ads in target states demanding testimony from White House officials in Trump impeachment trial | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Decade in review: Justice Antonin Scalias death and the Republican delay in filling the seat - SCOTUSblog [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Republicans Are Fiscally Reckless and Irresponsible - Washington Monthly [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Fear and Loyalty: How Donald Trump Took Over the Republican Party - The New York Times [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Blumenthal: Five to 10 Republicans have 'severe misgivings' about McConnell strategy | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- House Republicans and Democratic governor feud over the Louisiana budget, again - The Advocate [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Republican governors grapple with whether to accept refugees - Press Herald [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Why Shouldnt Pelosi Try to Strong-Arm the Republicans? It Has Worked for Decades. | News and Politics - PJ Media [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Outmaneuvering the Republicans (letter) | Letters To The Editor - LancasterOnline [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Wisconsin Democrats say Republicans have made thwarting Gov. Tony Evers their priority - Madison.com [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Republicans are leaving the House at a record pace. Why? - CBS News [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- ANOTHER OPINION: Trump completes takeover of Republican Party - Goshen News [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- For evangelicals, climate change causes a split between young and old that could hurt Republicans - The Boston Globe [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Eric Hubner: Republican senators should stand up to the appeasement of Trump - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Brent Budowsky: The patriotic duty of Senate Republicans | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- 'Too personally invested': Republicans demand FISA court explain why Obama official picked to oversee reforms - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Never Trumpers flame out - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republican leader who sent their child to conversion therapy says child abuse makes people gay - LGBTQ Nation [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- As Democrats resurrect carbon bill, Republicans leave all options on the table including another walkout - malheurenterprise.com [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Pen-t up anger: Republicans pounce on Pelosi over ceremonial writing tools - The Guardian [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Franklin Republican wants to make it a crime to burn symbol of liberty - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans vote down teacher pay boost plan - The Herald [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- How Tim Kaine convinced Republicans to vote to rein in Trump's war powers - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans face reckoning on impeachment witnesses - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Matt Gaetz Is in an Internecine Beef With Another Florida Republican - Esquire.com [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Rand Paul on Senate trial: 'I don't think any Republicans are going to vote for impeachment' - msnNOW [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- 'The New York Times' Is Enabling Republican Lies - The Nation [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Trump and Republicans are courting Florida's Latinos. Democrats in the state are worried. - NBC News [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans face internal brawl over impeachment witnesses | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Rand Paul threatens fellow Republicans with explosive witness votes - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- The Real Risks of Republicans Burying Their Heads in the Sand - The New York Times [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Abortion laws give Republican politicians what they crave control | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans will pay on Election Day for politicizing Trump's impeachment | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Nationalist 'antics' or the future of the GOP? College Republicans are at war - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- A Few Republicans And The American Public: Democrats Target Their Impeachment Message - NPR [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Senate Republicans Are Bathed in Shame - The New York Times [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- There Were No 'Moderate Republicans' in the Senate on Tuesday. Only Collaborators. - Esquire [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- The Values We Share (or Why I Am A Republican) - The Bulwark [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Republicans are schooling us in the definition of 'chutzpah' - Cape Cod Times [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Grieder: Dan Crenshaw is right to say that Republicans cant afford to ignore climate change - Houston Chronicle [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- This Former Co-Host of 'The View' Says She Was Told To 'Act Republican' - Showbiz Cheat Sheet [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Sorry, But Democrats Have to Compromise and Republicans Don't - Mother Jones [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Flake: Republicans don't speak out against Trump 'because they want to keep their jobs' | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Republicans upping investment in Florida and other key battlegrounds - Florida Politics [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- No Republican in Congress Is Thinking Past Tomorrow's Lunch Menu - Esquire [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- DCCC to run ads tying 11 House Republicans to Trump remarks on entitlements | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- How Republicans made millions on the 2017 tax cuts they pushed through Congress - Vox.com [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Republican Senators May Save Trump, but Trump has Already F*cked Them - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Why Democrats Still Have to Appeal to the Center, but Republicans Dont - The New York Times [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Why Hillary Clinton is the world's greatest gift to Republicans - New York Post [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Buttigieg on plan to win over Republicans: 'I'm not trying to trick anybody' - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Readers respond: Republicans must do the right thing - oregonlive.com [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Commentary: Note To Republicans- When You Are Innocent, Witnesses And Documents Should Be Welcomed - KRWG [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Equality Should Not Be A Partisan Issue: Where Do Key Republicans Stand On It? - InsiderNJ [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Republican senate candidates disagree about whether a border wall is the solution to illegal immigration - Chicago Daily Herald [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Kobe Bryant: Reaction to his tragic death; career highlights - Waterbury Republican American [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Democrats step up pressure over witnesses after Bolton bombshell | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Republicans grew our economy - and in the process, turned Arizona purple - AZCentral [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Senate Republicans have final chance to stand for country - The Daily Herald [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Managing an unruly world far and near: Q&A with Republican congressional candidate Todd Kent - Waco Tribune-Herald [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- After Trumps Acquittal, It Will Only Get Worse for Republicans - Yahoo News [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Senate Republicans push back on calls for more impeachment witnesses - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Trump Boasts That Republican Lawmakers Have Turned Him Into A King - PoliticusUSA [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Meet the Candidate She's aiming to be the next Republican Jewish woman in Congress - Jewish Insider [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- 'What Have We Become?' New Republican Video Rips Trump Revenge On Lt. Col. Vindman - HuffPost [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Why Democrats And Republicans May Make The Best Teammates At Work - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Anderson: Why the Democrats - and Republicans - are doomed - The Ledger [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Democrats and Republicans agree on this: Social Security and Medicare need help and soon - MarketWatch [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Trump struggles to win over Republicans on immigration - POLITICO [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- The Democratic Party Is Collapsing. Just Like the Republican Party Did. - The Bulwark [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Republicans Think President Trump Had Every Right To Fire Government Officials Who Testified Against Him - BuzzFeed News [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- With Republicans, the best is yet to come - Youngstown Vindicator [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Washington-Based Republican Partnership Supports Non-Sitting Candidate In Iowa Race For First Time - 1380 KCIM [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]