This is Gavin Newsom - And, This Is The Texas Democratic Legislative Delegation

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:30.000 on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

00:00:35.200 Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art or music or poetry and thought,

00:00:39.140 that's just a bunch of pretentious nonsense?

00:00:41.360 That's exactly what two bored Australian soldiers set out to prove during World War II

00:00:45.740 when they tricked the literary world with their intentionally bad poetry, setting off a major scandal.

00:00:51.140 We break down the truth, the lies, and the poetry in between on Hoax,

00:00:54.600 a new podcast hosted by me, Lizzie Logan, and me, Dana Schwartz.

00:00:58.700 Every episode, Hoax explores an audacious fraud or ruse from history.

00:01:03.860 Listen to Hoax on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:01:28.700 Listen to Fun Around and Find Out, a production of iHeart Women's Sports in partnership with Unanimous Media,

00:01:34.260 on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:01:38.020 Your entire identity has been fabricated.

00:01:43.020 Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace.

00:01:45.980 You discover the depths of your mother's illness.

00:01:48.800 I'm Dani Shapiro, and these are just a few of the powerful stories I'll be mining on our upcoming 12th season of Family Secrets.

00:01:56.980 We continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories.

00:02:03.600 Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:02:10.480 I'm Dr. Joy Harden-Bradford, host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast.

00:02:15.160 I know how overwhelming it can feel if flying makes you anxious.

00:02:19.320 In Session 418 of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Dr. Angela Nealbornette and I discuss flight anxiety.

00:02:26.060 What is not a norm is to allow it to prevent you from doing the things that you want to do.

00:02:32.580 The things that you were meant to do.

00:02:34.820 Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:02:42.800 Thank you, Governor.

00:02:43.800 How are you?

00:02:45.720 Governor, how are you? It's good to see you.

00:02:46.980 Glad to see the ties on. I didn't know if you guys were.

00:02:49.740 Hello, Governor.

00:02:50.660 Nice to see you.

00:02:51.180 So nice to see you.

00:02:52.340 Thank you. You guys just literally just got in, huh?

00:02:54.680 Yes.

00:02:54.900 Thank you. Amazing.

00:02:57.520 And I'm grateful for everything you're doing, and I'm grateful for this opportunity to have a chance to dialogue about it and talk about, you know, what exactly is going on at this moment.

00:03:06.400 Where do you see things going?

00:03:08.060 But in order to paint the picture of this moment, I want to just formally welcome you to Ronald Reagan's old mansion.

00:03:15.020 The place that Nancy Reagan infamously said was a fire trap before they moved out. 0.78

00:03:21.220 It's been since remodeled, so you should feel more confident and comfortable here.

00:03:25.900 But it's nice to be here.

00:03:27.360 And I say that mindful of our history in the state of California and mindful in many ways how far we've gone and how far we have traveled away from some of the core principles that defined the best of the Republican Party.

00:03:46.280 And so without getting nostalgia for that, I just want to acknowledge the journey that you guys are on and express gratitude that you're not just here in California, but you've been all across your colleagues all across this country.

00:04:00.800 But first, if I could, I just want to briefly contextualize because yesterday I experienced in a modest way a little bit about all that you've experienced in Texas coming from July 4th.

00:04:15.280 A very close friend of my wife's family passed away, Mark, and his wife, Sarah, and his son, Johnny, Mark Walker, the Walker family, passed in the floods.

00:04:30.800 In Texas, my wife, my wife had the privilege of speaking a little bit at the memorial yesterday, and it was beyond intense.

00:04:41.620 Johnny's 14 years old, the age of my son.

00:04:44.860 They live in the neighborhood, and it really brought me back to what this is all about, this special session, what this special session should be about.

00:04:55.600 I think, what, it was 137 people lost their lives, 35 children, kids.

00:05:04.380 And that's what a special session as a governor should be all about.

00:05:08.040 That's right.

00:05:09.440 Exactly.

00:05:09.720 And I haven't heard a lot talked about those families torn asunder, those lives lost, people that are still healing.

00:05:19.540 What a dry eye in the church is.

00:05:21.640 And the sad part about it.

00:05:22.380 The warrants for our arrest are for redistricting, not for flood relief legislation, for redistricting legislation.

00:05:28.900 It says everything you need to know about this moment.

00:05:31.000 So, if I may, I'd love, as we go around, and I want to make this as easy and casual as it possibly can be, just jump in.

00:05:41.940 If you could introduce yourself so people that are listening know who you are.

00:05:46.500 But what you just said just strikes the core of what this is all about.

00:05:50.520 So, you have been threatened to be hunted down by the Attorney General of Texas, Paxson.

00:05:58.560 You are being fined $500 a day in a job where you don't make a lot of money.

00:06:03.960 $7,200 a year.

00:06:06.040 $7,200 a year.

00:06:08.360 A year.

00:06:08.880 Yes.

00:06:09.500 And you're being fined $500 a day.

00:06:11.400 Okay.

00:06:11.700 You've got a guy named Cornyn, who's running for re-election, Senator.

00:06:16.980 I say that because it's pretty obvious that it needs to be said, running for re-election, needed to get in on this.

00:06:24.840 Now threatening to send the FBI to find you, even though you're hiding in plain sight.

00:06:30.340 What's interesting about it is I kind of feel like we're in the perfect storm.

00:06:33.900 Because you've got Cornyn running against Paxson.

00:06:36.600 And they're trying to outdo the other on who's going to apprehend us first.

00:06:40.940 Then you have the governor, who's also working on it.

00:06:44.220 And I think maybe a little embarrassed, he and the Speaker both, because we still haven't gotten back.

00:06:49.840 So, your Attorney General is running for the United States Senate against incumbent Senator Cornyn.

00:06:54.800 And they're trying to one-up each other.

00:06:56.460 Exactly.

00:06:57.260 And attacking you rhetorically and substantively.

00:07:00.140 And in the courts, breaking news, they just filed to remove me and 12 other of my colleagues in the Texas House.

00:07:07.200 And the voice we're listening to is?

00:07:09.900 Gina Hinojosa.

00:07:11.220 Gina, so you have been picked with 12 of your colleagues?

00:07:16.140 Not all of your colleagues, but 12?

00:07:18.240 Interesting.

00:07:18.600 What's that about?

00:07:19.120 I have no idea.

00:07:20.180 We're all wondering the same thing.

00:07:21.960 But yes, myself and it was just filed by our Attorney General in the Texas Supreme Court.

00:07:28.940 It's called a quo war... 0.98

00:07:30.640 What is it?

00:07:31.040 Quo warnto.

00:07:31.640 Quo warnto proceeding to remove us from office.

00:07:35.080 So, you've got the governor himself claiming some authority on that basis as well for simply, quote-unquote, breaking a quorum.

00:07:45.460 Which has been done for 150 years by Texas legislators, to be clear.

00:07:49.680 As American as, dare I say, apple pie.

00:07:51.760 Yes.

00:07:52.240 Breaking quorum.

00:07:53.040 To protect the minority against the whims of the majority.

00:07:57.280 Yes.

00:07:57.620 Because if you don't have some rule in place for the minority, then the majority just completely runs you over.

00:08:03.520 And this is an extraordinary step.

00:08:06.200 It is not something that we take lightly.

00:08:08.600 It is an exceptional and extraordinary act to break quorum.

00:08:12.440 And so, my name's Ann Johnson, and I'm from Houston.

00:08:15.000 I'm proud to sit with these other Democratic colleagues.

00:08:17.400 And for some of us, this is now the second time we have had to do this in the last few years.

00:08:22.840 And it really is an act.

00:08:24.680 It is the last tool that the Founding Fathers gave to us, the minority, to have available when you know that the majority has gone off the rails. 0.91

00:08:33.600 And so, we have been threatened with financial ruin, with arrest, but we are undeterred.

00:08:40.740 And I think it highlights how important it is that if they will come at us this hard, and we actually are in positions of power,

00:08:49.480 look at how easily they run over those that are most vulnerable and don't have a voice.

00:08:53.600 And so, I think that's why we are really resolute and are resolved that this is the right thing to do.

00:08:58.500 And you said this is not the first time.

00:09:00.460 It was 2021.

00:09:02.080 Yeah, right.

00:09:03.060 And that was for different reasons.

00:09:05.280 Remind me what those reasons were in 2021.

00:09:07.760 It was an anti-voter bill.

00:09:10.060 Go ahead.

00:09:10.800 Well, it was a bill that made it much harder to vote.

00:09:14.260 Two provisions in that bill that were the most egregious was one that banned Sunday morning voting,

00:09:21.300 which was a target on African-American churches that have a long-standing tradition of going after service as a faith community to vote together.

00:09:30.860 Yeah.

00:09:31.200 Called souls to the polls.

00:09:32.680 Souls to the polls.

00:09:33.980 We know it well.

00:09:34.520 That's right.

00:09:35.100 That's right.

00:09:36.020 The other provision would have given elected judges the ability to overturn election results, to overturn the will of the voters.

00:09:44.240 And when those provisions were added in the middle, literally in the middle of the night, with no record of how they got into the bill, we left.

00:09:57.220 Right.

00:09:57.900 But you didn't have the level, or did you, of threats?

00:10:00.760 You didn't have the $500 fine that was being assessed.

00:10:03.680 You didn't have senators calling for the FBI and calling the head of the FBI to sort of track you down.

00:10:10.260 Right.

00:10:10.900 Well, it seems to me, and my name is Ray Lopez.

00:10:13.060 I'm from San Antonio, and I've been in the House for a few years, a few sessions.

00:10:17.980 And it seems the difference between where we were a few years ago when we broke the war and where we are today is that while we have a lot of evildoers,

00:10:26.220 and we've talked about who those people are, whether it's the governor, the attorney general, all the political gamesmanship that's being played,

00:10:33.120 we also recognize that they are dancing to another evildoer.

00:10:37.640 And we did not have that kind of engagement before.

00:10:40.860 And that's the president of the United States is encouraging them, giving them the path forward, giving them the tools like the FBI and others.

00:10:49.320 We didn't battle that last time.

00:10:51.260 We are battling it now.

00:10:52.660 But it is layers of evildoers that are out there.

00:10:55.720 And, I mean, at some point, we all need to understand, you know, who it is that we're up against.

00:11:01.220 And it isn't just that one front that's attacking us.

00:11:03.920 It's all those individuals that are behind them, providing them that level of support.

00:11:08.020 And it happens.

00:11:08.800 It grows every day.

00:11:10.120 It grows every day.

00:11:11.220 What, I mean, so that's important to remind everybody, just, you know, people that are not tracking this hour by hour day to day.

00:11:17.420 They're not watching cable news, which is one has to confess the vast majority of people.

00:11:22.860 The president of the United States, the origin story on this is the president called your governor, Greg Abbott, and the president asked him to do what?

00:11:34.940 So, I'm Retta Bowers, Retta Andrews Bowers from Dallas.

00:11:39.260 And thank you for having us today.

00:11:42.460 But it's really about what's at stake.

00:11:44.920 And I think that's what Ray was leading us into.

00:11:48.520 So many people out there don't understand that this Texas special session is not an isolated incident.

00:11:55.420 And it truly has implications that will carry across the United States.

00:12:00.320 It's, you know, if this goes through with Texas, it can happen in so many other states.

00:12:05.880 And you look at North Carolina, they already had something like this happen.

00:12:11.100 So, we're so glad to be here having this opportunity to chat with you today.

00:12:15.480 I appreciate it.

00:12:16.220 And it happened because Donald Trump made a call and said, find me five seats.

00:12:19.800 Yep.

00:12:20.600 He's made those kinds of calls before, as we well know.

00:12:23.180 Called into Georgia, I need 11,000, 12,000, whatever it was.

00:12:26.060 Right.

00:12:26.580 Because he thinks he is above the law.

00:12:28.720 He thinks he's the one that can interpret all action and that everybody has a loyalty to him.

00:12:36.160 And they do, but it's a loyalty to the devil to do his bidding so that they can get in a position of power.

00:12:42.340 And the difference in Georgia, of course, was Ray that he was told no.

00:12:46.640 He was told no.

00:12:47.560 But in your state, your governor said yes.

00:12:50.280 Ben Denis. 0.93

00:12:51.320 And the only way you can get five additional seats in Texas is if you aggressively discriminate against the Hispanic and black populations.

00:12:59.080 You know, something's happening in Texas that's unique.

00:13:01.460 For the first time, the Latino population is actually going to exceed that of California on a percentage basis.

00:13:06.380 On a percentage basis.

00:13:06.900 So, we have over 40% now Latinos in Texas.

00:13:10.180 It is one of the most diverse states in the nation.

00:13:12.540 But under this proposal, we have 11 million white residents, 11 million Latino residents.

00:13:18.520 26 out of the 38 seats will be under white control districts, while Latinos are only being relegated to eight.

00:13:24.960 That means that the value of a Latino resident in Texas is one-third the value of a white resident. 0.83

00:13:31.620 So, that, I mean, there's, and am I right to have learned or read accurately that four out of the five seats they're talking about taking are majority Hispanic districts?

00:13:40.520 Well, three, three, Sylvia's for sure. 0.83

00:13:45.540 Three out of the four were African-American.

00:13:48.380 Three out of the four were African-American, but minority districts nonetheless.

00:13:50.680 Yes.

00:13:51.240 All minority districts.

00:13:51.860 Yeah, all minority districts.

00:13:52.860 So, voting rights, acts, issues here, I mean, they're just self-evident.

00:13:57.000 Yes.

00:13:57.540 They were previously held by heroes in Texas.

00:14:00.400 Heroes that have gone out and fought that fight for generations, and they're changing the demographics to be able to put someone else in there. 0.76

00:14:09.100 That's just unheard of.

00:14:09.780 Like Barbara Jordan. 1.00

00:14:11.260 Right.

00:14:12.280 Congressional District 18.

00:14:14.180 You know, she was the first African-American woman of color from the South elected to the Congress.

00:14:19.540 She was part of the impeachment trials against President Nixon.

00:14:22.400 Legend.

00:14:22.860 That district is a historic African-American community of which now that seat sits open.

00:14:30.420 Yes.

00:14:30.960 Because Governor Abbott, after the death of Congressman Turner, refused to allow a special election in that seat.

00:14:36.720 And so when you look at the big, ugly bill that has passed by one vote, you know how important the voices of that community are.

00:14:43.640 And so, yes, it is shameful that being at 60 years of the Civil Rights Act signed by President Johnson from Texas,

00:14:50.600 that we now face discrimination by Governor Abbott bending the knee to Trump and wanting to steal five seats before the next election cycle.

00:14:59.620 And so that's what we know is on the line, not just for Texas.

00:15:02.980 This sweeps across the nation.

00:15:04.940 And that's the point a number of you have made.

00:15:08.280 This is not, again, just about Texas.

00:15:11.480 And we're already reading about, we saw yesterday, J.D. Vance himself, the Vice President of the United States,

00:15:17.440 made his way to Indiana to try to convince the folks there to do the same.

00:15:22.960 We've already heard the Speaker of the House and the Governor of Florida talk about their efforts or their desire to do their efforts.

00:15:30.640 We know Ohio is already moving in this direction.

00:15:33.780 Missouri, other states that likely will follow suit.

00:15:37.080 So, to your point, this is not, this is about rigging the election before a vote is cast before 2026.

00:15:44.220 And that's, is that, so is that fundamentally why you guys, not only are breaking quorum,

00:15:48.720 not only for yourself and standing tall and firm on behalf of the people that you represent,

00:15:54.200 and your own values and your own conscience, I imagine, we'll get to that in a moment,

00:15:57.900 but also to raise the alarm bells across the country.

00:16:01.220 This is not about your state, it's about our country, the United States.

00:16:04.860 I didn't see how we couldn't not break quorum, because it wasn't just about us.

00:16:10.700 It was about saving democracy for the entire United States.

00:16:14.140 Once this trickle effect, if everyone can do that, why do we have laws?

00:16:18.400 You know, to me, it was so serious because of the future of the United States.

00:16:23.880 And what district do you represent in Texas?

00:16:25.960 I, I'm in Houston.

00:16:28.140 I represent House District 144.

00:16:30.780 And are your constituents, are they behind you?

00:16:33.360 Are people applauding you?

00:16:35.240 Are they cautious and concerned and concerned for you, concerned for their country?

00:16:40.000 Don't know if this is appropriate?

00:16:41.740 What's been the reaction?

00:16:43.340 Well, I'm probably the only one here who has a swing district, right?

00:16:46.480 I'm like 50, a 50-50 district.

00:16:49.500 So it's on, I guess, on social media, I get certain comments,

00:16:54.480 but I have enough friends that they will correct them and try to enlighten them on what's really going on.

00:16:59.440 Some of them are obviously bots, and you just kind of don't pay attention to those.

00:17:02.840 But, you know, I've had a lot of support, which I think is great, even from the other side, which I think is wonderful.

00:17:09.320 Are you finding that as well, most of you?

00:17:11.200 I mean, I think it's relevant to mention that I had a swing district the last time we broke quorum in 2021.

00:17:18.080 Things changed for me after the maps were drawn that they thought were okay.

00:17:25.500 And so I came back with a more democratic district, and now my constituency is spot on, like, yes, please do this.

00:17:34.940 We appreciate what you're doing.

00:17:36.660 And I wasn't getting that last time.

00:17:38.500 Last time it was like, you better get.

00:17:40.600 You get back.

00:17:41.440 Yes.

00:17:42.140 And how long, by the way, let's go back to 2021.

00:17:44.280 How long did that last?

00:17:46.200 How long was quorum broken?

00:17:47.620 About six weeks.

00:17:48.360 We stayed 35 days?

00:17:49.140 Yeah, six weeks.

00:17:50.160 35 days.

00:17:51.060 I mean, a quorum break, as a member, one, this is the ultimate act of public service.

00:17:57.780 We all wanted these jobs.

00:17:59.480 We all put ourselves in the position that if we ever had to do it, we would.

00:18:02.740 And we recognize this is bigger than any seat, any job, any individual.

00:18:08.780 And we have left everything behind.

00:18:10.940 We have left our families.

00:18:12.660 We have left our businesses.

00:18:14.000 We have left our homes.

00:18:15.400 It means our neighbors are checking on our houses.

00:18:17.960 Our families are picking up all the things that are left behind.

00:18:20.860 People are asking how can they pitch in.

00:18:23.100 But we all recognized the unfortunate circumstance of being in a state right now that is run by a 0.77

00:18:29.440 almost supermajority of Republicans, where when they rammed through this attempt to steal five

00:18:35.540 seats, and 99% of the thousands of people that came to testify against this bill said,

00:18:41.340 don't do it.

00:18:41.840 We don't want this.

00:18:42.820 This is not for Texas.

00:18:43.940 This is purely for Trump.

00:18:45.800 Within a couple of days, they put it down, got a vote, threw it on the calendar, and tried

00:18:51.540 to get it on the floor.

00:18:52.940 We all recognized the only way we could uphold the voice of our voters was to physically have

00:18:58.700 our body leave the state.

00:19:00.620 And that is a sad comment on where we are right now.

00:19:03.780 And at a time where you talk about every state in the domino effect of just trying to make

00:19:08.160 it purely red or purely blue, at a time when voters desperately want us to find common ground,

00:19:13.660 find a way to talk with each other, find a way to cross the aisle, when our colleagues

00:19:17.800 just refused to participate in that, and again, bent the knee to Trump, we have had to take

00:19:23.260 this extraordinary act.

00:19:24.800 And so, yeah, a couple extra days.

00:19:26.400 It does mean a lot, because you have more than 50 members held up together, in unison

00:19:32.560 together, desperately trying to do the right thing against the vitriol of attacks that

00:19:37.760 are so much worse than four years ago.

00:19:40.320 We weren't experiencing the threats that we are now getting that is being, I mean, I'm

00:19:48.760 your former chief human trafficking prosecutor in Houston.

00:19:51.480 Houston, I've had criminals threaten my life before.

00:19:54.540 I never thought it would be coming from the governor or the attorney general or others

00:19:58.080 in elected office.

00:19:58.800 And using libraries like hunting people down.

00:20:01.100 That's right.

00:20:01.340 That's very, I mean, come on.

00:20:03.820 What you were, didn't you write an op-ed showing a little bit of, I mean, potential

00:20:09.140 resonance?

00:20:11.120 I mean, just you weren't necessarily, I mean, you didn't come to this lightly.

00:20:13.560 Oh, no.

00:20:14.260 I mean, you really, you struggled with this decision.

00:20:16.960 We all did.

00:20:17.760 I mean, we all did.

00:20:18.800 We all have been hearing the rumors that this might happen.

00:20:22.380 I think we all had a hope and an expectation, because we know nobody really wants to do

00:20:27.560 this.

00:20:28.100 I think we all had a hope and an expectation that maybe our colleagues would come to their

00:20:31.820 senses and not attempt this, because it is going to be a domino effect.

00:20:35.260 And it is going to hurt democracy nationwide.

00:20:37.640 This is not just about Texas.

00:20:38.780 But when they filed the bill, and then when they effectively put up sham hearings, we

00:20:45.000 didn't even have a bill at the time that they went to Houston or Dallas and asked the voters

00:20:50.340 to comment.

00:20:51.260 They didn't have the lines.

00:20:52.620 They held the lines in secrecy.

00:20:54.560 They didn't have a map.

00:20:55.720 No map.

00:20:56.140 And they dropped it at the last minute.

00:20:57.860 At that point, you not only realized that this was rigging the election, this was a sham

00:21:02.380 of a process of transparency.

00:21:03.780 The whole time.

00:21:04.520 So at the time that government is supposed to work, at a time where at least 137 people

00:21:08.780 died in Central Texas.

00:21:09.920 I still can't get my arms around that.

00:21:11.500 Again, where the hell are your priorities?

00:21:13.300 Yeah.

00:21:13.900 And we've been there for two weeks.

00:21:15.640 Yeah.

00:21:15.860 We've been there for two weeks.

00:21:17.020 There are 18 items on the call.

00:21:18.760 Not one bill had been put forth.

00:21:20.880 Not one bill.

00:21:21.500 Except for redistricting.

00:21:22.720 Only one.

00:21:23.340 And that does show their priorities.

00:21:24.240 Related to recovery and misalias.

00:21:24.620 That's the first thing we did the first two weeks that we were there.

00:21:26.740 Not just anyone listening.

00:21:27.740 I don't care if Democrat or Republican.

00:21:29.120 It's a human being.

00:21:30.000 Just consider, pause, and reflect on that for a moment.

00:21:33.140 Right.

00:21:33.400 In terms of your values and your priorities.

00:21:35.060 The things you lay claim to.

00:21:37.140 Particularly as we bring people to the, you know, I think about Sunday service.

00:21:41.860 Yes.

00:21:42.300 I think about the good book.

00:21:43.700 Yes.

00:21:44.320 Try to square that with their priorities as it relates to this.

00:21:48.080 But are there colleagues of yours that are quietly saying, you know, just got to do this

00:21:54.140 one for the team.

00:21:55.100 You know, Trump called.

00:21:57.040 It's, I've got to wear my red cape.

00:21:59.620 You know, I don't see a single Republican defending the actual details of the bill.

00:22:05.380 And I think part of the issue is this bill was so rushed.

00:22:08.020 I don't think anybody has really fully looked at the level of discrimination that exists

00:22:12.620 in this map.

00:22:13.860 If this passes, Texas Hispanics will be the most underrepresented group in America, exceeding 0.98

00:22:21.440 the levels of discrimination that still exist in many parts of the Deep South with black

00:22:25.920 residents in the state.

00:22:27.120 The level of underrepresentation is something that will take Texas Hispanics back to the

00:22:31.320 1960s.

00:22:32.600 But, you know, but because Donald Trump wants it, he wants this temporary gain of power. 0.91

00:22:38.000 He's going to sacrifice Hispanics, blacks to get it. 1.00

00:22:40.960 Yes. 0.98

00:22:41.140 And I think that Republicans know that this is illegal.

00:22:45.320 But the problem is they want to deliver those five votes at all costs to Donald Trump.

00:22:50.420 But it's going to deliver a temporary gain in power because they're leaving it up to the

00:22:54.160 courts to clean up this mess.

00:22:55.480 So it's going to have an impact on California.

00:22:57.800 It's going to have an impact in New York that they're proposing an overtly racist map to

00:23:02.600 try to get two years of political power for Donald Trump.

00:23:06.220 We've seen this in North Carolina and we've seen this in Louisiana.

00:23:08.560 North Carolina, perfect example.

00:23:10.160 And that's a, I'm sorry, that's a word.

00:23:13.020 Thank you, Vince, for saying that.

00:23:14.760 That's a word that we're not even allowed to say on the House floor.

00:23:17.900 What word?

00:23:18.940 Racist.

00:23:19.740 Racist. 0.97

00:23:20.160 What do you mean you can't say that on the House floor?

00:23:21.320 We're not allowed to say racist or call it what it is.

00:23:26.580 We're not allowed to call it what it is.

00:23:29.160 And so we are encouraged to not call it a power grab, to definitely say that this is racial

00:23:35.980 gerrymandering.

00:23:37.800 And it really is.

00:23:39.940 You know, Vince talked about the reduction of power for Latinos.

00:23:44.840 But for black people, it means that it will take four black votes to equal one white vote.

00:23:51.860 So, you know, and I have to talk about some of what it means to me.

00:23:58.340 And you talked about the 18th Congressional District that I grew up in.

00:24:02.720 You know, one of those members, Barbara Jordan, was my sorority sister. 0.98

00:24:07.420 But Mickey Leland, I held his hand as he announced his bid in my home for Congress when he left

00:24:15.500 the statehouse.

00:24:17.020 And the fact that the 18th has no representation right now, though I represent in Dallas, it

00:24:24.700 still matters to me.

00:24:26.160 You know, that's my family that is not represented right now.

00:24:30.400 And just let me add, and it's been vacant.

00:24:33.660 Sylvester died March 5th.

00:24:35.900 And so that's how long it's been.

00:24:37.740 And he set the election for November.

00:24:41.420 For November.

00:24:42.140 Just so that they could have the votes the way they have it in Congress.

00:24:48.220 Hey guys, it's AZ Fudd.

00:24:50.220 You may know me as a gold medalist.

00:24:52.320 You may know me as an NCAA national champion and recent most outstanding player.

00:24:56.860 You may even know me as a people's princess.

00:24:59.260 But now, you're also going to know me as your favorite host.

00:25:02.360 Every week on my new podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out,

00:25:05.560 I'll give you an inside look at everything happening in my crazy life as I try to balance

00:25:09.960 it all.

00:25:10.440 From my travels across the globe, to preparing for another run at the Natty with my Yukon

00:25:14.420 Huskies, to just trying to make it to my midterms on time.

00:25:17.260 You'll get the inside scoop on everything.

00:25:19.300 I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball, and what it's like

00:25:23.460 to be a professional athlete on and off the court.

00:25:26.140 You'll even get to have some fun with the Fudd family. 0.72

00:25:28.400 So if you follow me on social media or watch me on TV, you may think you know me.

00:25:33.500 But this show is the only place where you can really Fudd Around and Find Out.

00:25:37.580 Listen to Fudd Around and Find Out, a production of iHeart Women's Sports in partnership with

00:25:41.660 Unanimous Media on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:25:46.320 Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art or music or poetry and thought, that's

00:25:53.260 just a bunch of pretentious nonsense?

00:25:55.540 Well, that's exactly what two bored Australian soldiers set out to prove during World War

00:26:00.040 II, when they pulled off what was either a bold literary hoax or a grand poetic experiment,

00:26:05.560 publishing over a dozen intentionally bad but highly acclaimed works of expressionist poetry

00:26:10.640 under the name Urn Malley in an incident that caused a media firestorm and even a criminal

00:26:16.280 trial.

00:26:17.300 The Urn Malley episode made fools of believers and critics alike and still fascinates poetry

00:26:22.260 lovers to this day.

00:26:23.880 We break down the truth, the lies, and the poetry in between on Hoax, a new podcast hosted

00:26:28.900 by me, Lizzie Logan.

00:26:30.360 And me, Dana Schwartz.

00:26:31.920 Every episode, Hoax explores an audacious fraud or ruse from history, from forged artworks

00:26:37.900 to the original fake news, to try and answer why we believe.

00:26:42.100 Listen to Hoax on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:26:48.320 The Stuff You Should Know guys have made their own summer playlists of their must-listen

00:26:52.700 podcasts on movies.

00:26:54.060 It's me, Josh, and I'd like to welcome you to the Stuff You Should Know summer movie

00:26:58.000 playlist.

00:26:58.820 What screams summer more than a nice, darkened, air-conditioned theater and a great movie

00:27:03.300 playing right in front of you.

00:27:04.580 Episodes on James Bond, special effects, stuntmen and women, disaster films, even movies

00:27:09.400 that change filmmaking, and many more.

00:27:11.580 Listen to the Stuff You Should Know summer movie playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple

00:27:15.320 Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

00:27:18.820 A foot washed up, a shoe with some bones in it.

00:27:22.400 They had no idea who it was.

00:27:24.080 Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable.

00:27:29.020 These are the coldest of cold cases.

00:27:32.360 But everything is about to change.

00:27:34.840 Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in

00:27:40.220 our lifetime.

00:27:41.320 A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA.

00:27:45.420 Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss

00:27:51.100 it.

00:27:51.540 He never thought he was going to get caught.

00:27:53.720 And I just looked at my computer screen.

00:27:55.880 I was just like, ah, gotcha.

00:27:57.160 On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors, and you'll meet the

00:28:02.720 team behind the scenes at Othram, the Houston lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to

00:28:08.020 finally solve the unsolvable.

00:28:11.580 Listen to America's Crime Lab on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

00:28:16.360 podcasts.

00:28:18.960 American history is full of wise people.

00:28:23.140 Well, women said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is gory. 0.68

00:28:29.800 Those founding fathers were gossipy AF. 0.90

00:28:33.940 And they love to cut each other down.

00:28:36.000 I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions

00:28:41.280 about American history.

00:28:42.700 And I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer.

00:28:48.220 Hamilton pauses, and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar.

00:28:53.900 And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption.

00:29:00.920 My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said.

00:29:03.700 It would have been harder to fake it than to do it.

00:29:07.080 Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

00:29:12.420 you get your podcasts.

00:29:14.060 Music

00:29:14.860 Music

00:29:18.220 You mentioned earlier just threats, and, you know, we talked about language.

00:29:25.500 We talked about some of the threats we know about, but we also had a notable bomb threat

00:29:32.600 in Illinois just a day or so ago.

00:29:37.340 I mean, back to your families and someone checking, and you said just checking in on your home.

00:29:42.660 I, you know, I still go back to the financial pressure, but this is, you know, a part-time

00:29:49.320 job, and then you're going to end up paying fines that are greater than your entire gross

00:29:52.480 salary.

00:29:53.720 They even made it more difficult to even get paid, I'm told.

00:29:57.880 Right.

00:29:58.440 No longer direct deposits.

00:30:00.280 Correct.

00:30:01.360 Your meager check.

00:30:02.660 In person.

00:30:03.340 A little petty.

00:30:03.980 Pick it up in person.

00:30:04.900 Yeah, well, petty doesn't even describe some of this.

00:30:07.760 But back to just your personal, your family, your safety.

00:30:14.020 I mean, I don't want to be mulling about it, but, I mean, that's got to be a real concern,

00:30:18.960 no?

00:30:19.580 Well, on the flight over here, I got a text message from the daughter of my 90-year-old

00:30:23.660 neighbor.

00:30:24.440 And there were six police units that showed up to the neighborhood today.

00:30:28.220 They got down, they tried to get into the backyard, and they looked around.

00:30:31.820 It stretched the length of the entire street.

00:30:35.520 It was clearly an excessive show of force, an expensive use of tax dollars that is just

00:30:41.560 clearly designed to intimidate and just cause anxiety.

00:30:44.900 And that's all it did, is just cause anxiety in my neighbors, in my neighborhood.

00:30:48.980 But that was just this morning on the way over here, and other members had similar experiences,

00:30:53.680 you know, where there's just been this level of intimidation.

00:30:56.520 Well, it's a lawlessness that comes from the top, right?

00:31:00.560 It's not surprising that vigilantes will engage in lawlessness when our president turns on

00:31:08.880 its head the idea of elections by saying, we're going to have, we're going to predetermine

00:31:14.440 the election by manipulating these maps so as to segregate racial minorities so that we

00:31:22.640 get five more members of Congress.

00:31:25.200 We have our senator acting outside the bounds of the law to ask the FBI to surveil political

00:31:33.240 opponents in the United States of America, our governor backing that plan.

00:31:40.260 So I have a son at home who is in middle school.

00:31:43.940 And yes, it's hard to leave my family behind.

00:31:47.420 But we went to Philadelphia this summer for vacation, family vacation.

00:31:52.880 And it hit different this time around to be at Independence Hall to remember, this is

00:31:59.260 who we, this is why we exist.

00:32:01.680 Representation is why we exist.

00:32:04.020 And so, yes, the pull away from family, being apart from them is hard.

00:32:09.460 But I do it because of my son.

00:32:12.020 Yeah, I love that.

00:32:13.100 And we're about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the principles of the founding fathers of

00:32:18.640 the best of Greek democracy, the Roman Republic, co-equal branches of government, popular sovereignty,

00:32:25.080 rule of law.

00:32:26.420 It's not exaggerated.

00:32:28.320 All of it at risk.

00:32:29.680 And this is, I mean, I really applaud you because you've given us, I mean, it's, you

00:32:35.280 know, it's like we talk about in psychology where, you know, so often those old enough

00:32:38.800 to remember record players, but we're, you know, there's sort of a predictability until

00:32:42.520 you scratch the record.

00:32:43.720 There has to be a pattern interrupt.

00:32:45.580 And I think for me, this quorum has done that and it's forced a national conversation,

00:32:51.300 as uncomfortable as it is.

00:32:53.320 But behind that is your son.

00:32:56.420 Behind that are your families.

00:32:57.840 Behind that is your reputation.

00:32:59.680 I mean, you know, you're putting out, put it all out on the line, financial and otherwise.

00:33:05.860 And, you know, politics is, this is tough.

00:33:09.100 And to your point, my question to you, in a swing district that could go either way,

00:33:14.920 this doesn't necessarily aid and abet and advancing your prospects necessarily.

00:33:20.340 So just, you know, just once again, why are you doing, what's the why?

00:33:24.600 What's the burning why?

00:33:25.940 I think it's the big picture, democracy.

00:33:27.820 Yeah.

00:33:28.220 Yeah.

00:33:28.600 That's really why we're doing it, right?

00:33:31.280 To save the rest of the country.

00:33:33.720 I believe my colleague here said it best the other day.

00:33:37.000 She said, we get to keep our seats, but the entire country will lose their voice.

00:33:44.220 And I just, that really hit home with me when Ann said that.

00:33:46.860 And that's, that's the truth, right?

00:33:50.480 Speaking of losing, just, I walked in, I guess Ken Paxson's just declared 13 seats vacant just seconds ago.

00:33:57.900 So, the United State of Ken Paxson, dictator in chief, just with this kind of declaration.

00:34:05.920 I mean, I guess we're at a point where nothing surprises you.

00:34:08.340 No.

00:34:08.760 No.

00:34:09.080 I love it.

00:34:09.500 I say that and you're all just nonplussed.

00:34:11.500 You know, and it is frightening because you bring up Ken Paxson.

00:34:14.680 Wow.

00:34:14.840 I was also on the impeachment team where he was put before the Senate.

00:34:20.400 The Senate had an opportunity to try to do the right thing.

00:34:22.580 It was their Republican colleagues that were saying, hey, this guy.

00:34:25.320 That was recently, right? 0.84

00:34:26.140 Is corrupt.

00:34:26.520 Yeah, it was two years ago.

00:34:27.440 But, you know, it's a challenge because we have two split courts, the Texas Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals.

00:34:35.960 When the Court of Criminal Appeals, all Republicans, when three of them took a stand and gave a ruling opposed to Paxton on constitutional grounds, he went after them politically.

00:34:46.680 And unfortunately, he won.

00:34:48.540 And that's what we talk about right now.

00:34:50.920 The guardrails are missing.

00:34:52.780 The guardrails within the Republican Party are missing.

00:34:55.520 When you have them taking these steps, these extraordinary steps, this didn't happen four years ago.

00:35:00.540 This is at a rapid fire that they think they can go to the courts, they can manipulate the courts, that the courts will not be there to be a backstop.

00:35:08.420 It is part of the reason that we are trying to get catch fire with the people, with the people.

00:35:14.020 They are the last line of defense.

00:35:16.720 The folks within the Republican Party will not say no to this.

00:35:19.680 It is up to the voters.

00:35:20.620 And that's why they are so desperately trying to cheat and change the lines, because it is up to the voters.

00:35:27.360 And that's why we are desperately trying to have everybody stand up, as California is doing, and saying, you cannot let these dominoes start to fall, because we will completely lose our way.

00:35:37.140 Because Republicans aren't free.

00:35:39.940 The elected Republicans, I had a Republican member of Congress from Texas say, I don't want this.

00:35:48.120 None of my colleagues want this, but none of us will say no to Trump, so it will happen.

00:35:53.840 And time and time again, we hear this refrain from our Republican colleagues.

00:35:59.720 They don't agree with what's happening, but they won't stand up against it.

00:36:04.280 We had Donald Trump weigh in the day of the vote, this regular session, on vouchers.

00:36:10.820 We had a big fight that lasted years on taking money out of our neighborhood public schools and putting it into private schools for kids who already attend.

00:36:21.320 Texas is through and through.

00:36:26.560 Public schools are through and through part of our identity as Texans, right?

00:36:30.200 And many Republicans were against vouchers, but Donald Trump called on the day of the vote and talked to all of the Republicans, and they supported it, even though their constituents were against it.

00:36:42.300 They will not say no.

00:36:45.480 And in return, they were all endorsed by Trump.

00:36:49.000 Of course.

00:36:49.340 All of them have their little letters.

00:36:50.440 Yeah, they all have their little letters.

00:36:51.860 And they post them proudly.

00:36:52.760 Yeah, and the other, I think, if you start to kind of think about the far-reaching implications of what these shenanigans are going to create, you know, the world is looking at us.

00:37:05.140 They're looking at the American democracy that we've been trying to nurture for the last 250 years and saying, gee, we wish we could get to where you are.

00:37:13.300 What they're going to see is that it's being eroded.

00:37:16.780 They're going to see that the value of the American system is not what it used to be, and it puts us in a completely different position.

00:37:25.760 Knowing that world politics are very, you know, right now, very fragile, and they need someone with the strength that we've had in the past to be able to firmly say what we need to do and how we're going to lead democracy forward, that hand is gone, is going.

00:37:46.100 It's fading, and now what are we going to do?

00:37:49.320 There are a lot of countries that look to the United States, to the democracy, to the way of life that we've established over 250 years and saying, what are we going to do now?

00:38:00.860 That's important, and that is what's going to go in the history books, if they allow those history books to be printed, of course.

00:38:07.260 But that's what's going to go down in those history books.

00:38:09.520 That's what people are going to remember.

00:38:11.060 That's what my 14 grandchildren are going to remember.

00:38:13.740 When they say, Grandpa, what did you do during that time?

00:38:16.720 I can tell them exactly what I did, but we've got to be able to tell that story to generations coming up so that we don't repeat the mistakes that we're creating right now.

00:38:26.940 So there's a big stake in this.

00:38:31.860 I love everything you said.

00:38:34.720 I love the spirit, which brought you to say it.

00:38:38.380 And just for what it's worth, you're in a library with a lot of books that have been banned as they're rewriting history, censoring historical facts.

00:38:46.480 You're seeing that in real time.

00:38:47.940 So what you said was, I hope people paused and reflected on what you said.

00:38:52.160 It wasn't just throwaway line.

00:38:53.960 It's quite literal and real at this moment.

00:38:56.480 So it begs the question, you know, held out 37 days, 2021, outcome didn't necessarily go your way ultimately there.

00:39:06.320 Governor, I'm intimately familiar with this, forgive me, has the ability to call another special session and then another special session.

00:39:12.700 I heard your governor yesterday say he'll call another, you know, until the end of time or at least end of his time as his tenure as governor.

00:39:23.120 So where does that leave you in the private conversations?

00:39:26.900 I don't need to get into tactics or any of that.

00:39:29.760 But, you know, how we're all asking, how long are you willing to hold out?

00:39:35.080 What's when's when's the end date of this special election?

00:39:39.840 When when are you going to be back seeing your grandkids?

00:39:42.700 When are you going to see the family?

00:39:44.600 When are you going to, you know, reconcile the books and figure out how to pay these fines?

00:39:48.920 So that is the question we always get.

00:39:51.260 Everyone wants to know, how does this end?

00:39:53.480 It's human nature.

00:39:54.780 Our lesson from the 21 quorum break was we stood up to fight to win for the day.

00:40:01.440 We could win for the day.

00:40:03.460 And the next day we took it as it came.

00:40:06.760 Because of our bold act of defiance last time, we shamed Republicans into taking out those two egregious provisions that I described at the beginning of this program.

00:40:17.320 And they couldn't defend them.

00:40:19.800 So they took them out of the bill ultimately, the most egregious parts.

00:40:24.080 And so essentially we we save free and fair elections in Texas with our quorum break.

00:40:30.140 The bill passed, but it wasn't the same bill.

00:40:32.300 You just can't know what tomorrow brings.

00:40:34.680 We can only fight to win today.

00:40:36.760 Yes.

00:40:37.360 Like that.

00:40:38.300 So day by day.

00:40:39.680 Surely.

00:40:40.060 I have to go back to the financial stress, though.

00:40:47.200 I mean, you've got now have threats that anyone who aids in a bets, quote unquote, you seeking some support related to these fines will somehow be charged for bribery.

00:41:02.480 They've quite literally threatened that on multiple occasions, your elected leaders in your state.

00:41:10.460 So people that are I mean, I imagine I'll be on that list shortly if we're not already being surveilled by the FBI with this visit.

00:41:20.840 But I mean, how do you talk to your kids about that?

00:41:25.960 Say, don't worry, honey.

00:41:27.600 We're good.

00:41:28.680 Your husband or wife, you know, home saying, you know, you're already I mean, this is again, you're not getting rich working in this.

00:41:36.620 I definitely thank you for bringing that up.

00:41:38.980 I want to speak to that because I am one of the only or maybe very few that are full time legislators in a part time legislature.

00:41:48.120 I don't have another job.

00:41:49.420 Wow. Yeah.

00:41:50.140 So I don't think any of us are in it for the money, though.

00:41:54.200 I want you to clearly know.

00:41:56.280 I don't think we are.

00:41:58.060 I don't think we are.

00:41:59.380 And I honestly think, you know, my husband has given up on, you know, that she's not about public service.

00:42:06.700 And so it really is about us serving the people and the constituents that we have listening to them, representing them in a way that they know that we're their voice.

00:42:19.480 You know, when they go to that ballot box, we want them to know that their voice really does count and their vote counts and that we're going to speak in their best interest and on their behalf.

00:42:30.700 And I think nobody can buy that.

00:42:33.540 You just really can't buy that.

00:42:35.620 And I think in a district that in 2018, with the help of my community, I was able to flip.

00:42:43.360 I think they know that that's the person they have sitting there.

00:42:48.180 And I can't be bought.

00:42:49.920 And I'm going to always stick up for them.

00:42:52.980 Nice.

00:42:53.460 And it does show how desperate they are.

00:42:55.880 I mean, they have threatened our leadership positions.

00:42:58.620 They've threatened our job.

00:42:59.500 They're now trying to vacate.

00:43:00.720 They're threatened direct deposit.

00:43:02.300 I mean, they literally are throwing anything and everything at the wall, these allegations of bribery.

00:43:06.000 They're throwing all this stuff that they can at the wall.

00:43:08.080 And I think it shows how desperate they are that they have to perform for Donald Trump.

00:43:12.160 And they're going to look embarrassed if they don't get it done this time.

00:43:14.880 I will say it's a little rich for these guys to make an allegation of bribery, given the fact that Dan Patrick took $3 million on the eve of the trial before he presided in Paxton from one of Paxton's biggest donor.

00:43:26.860 It's a little rich for the governor when he took $12 million from an individual out of Pennsylvania who had an interest in getting the vouchers passed.

00:43:34.960 And so we know that what they are is just throwing up desperate allegations because they're doing anything and everything that they can to try to force us back.

00:43:42.540 But, again, it just strengthens our resolve because it shows us how desperate they are to not serve the interests of the people but to serve the interests of Donald Trump.

00:43:51.180 And that's not who we serve.

00:43:52.800 And it has not slowed down contributions.

00:43:54.840 Yeah.

00:43:56.780 I can imagine.

00:43:58.300 Maybe the opposite.

00:43:59.680 I imagine it's only accelerated that.

00:44:01.560 And it is.

00:44:02.720 We, like anybody else, it's also ironic that Governor Abbott sent out an email talking about us and how to donate link at the bottom.

00:44:08.980 Of course.

00:44:09.340 So, yes, we are elected officials who campaign and people can send us contributions.

00:44:15.640 And that is, you know, what keeps us having the ability to lift our voice and be able to campaign and be able to put out an opposing position to these guys that are out there.

00:44:24.980 And, look, the damage that's going to be done to generations of Texas kids who are going to grow up in a society where, if you're Hispanic or black, the government's not going to feel they're accountable to you.

00:44:36.880 The way these lines are drawn, the government's only going to be accountable to one particular group.

00:44:41.300 I mean, what kind of society are they going to grow up in?

00:44:43.260 It is going to take us generations if we go back to the 1960s and have our own version of the civil rights struggle all over again here in 2025.

00:44:51.620 So, the damage that's going to be done to future generations of Texans honestly pales in comparison to whatever it is they're going to do to any of us. 0.99

00:44:58.720 And I think a lot of members feel that way.

00:45:00.800 And that's why I think they're just so determined in the result.

00:45:02.620 I love it.

00:45:03.560 And I appreciate it.

00:45:04.960 I mean, just a reflection.

00:45:05.880 California has about 39 percent of its population is Hispanic, 27 percent of its population foreign-born, a majority-minority state.

00:45:13.020 It's a point of deep pride that we don't tolerate.

00:45:15.320 We celebrate that diversity at our best.

00:45:17.500 We celebrate that diversity.

00:45:19.060 Texas is right there and now looking to exceed.

00:45:21.660 It's an extraordinary state, isn't it?

00:45:23.320 And so this notion of representation, of representing and everybody having a voice, seeing themselves as well, is so critical.

00:45:32.320 And so I really appreciate you highlighting that.

00:45:34.520 What do we need to highlight, though?

00:45:36.800 What's the message?

00:45:37.600 Look, you're here in California.

00:45:39.020 I'm grateful.

00:45:39.780 We're about to have a press conference with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, other congressional representatives.

00:45:45.300 You're going to be here with my pro tem and speaker of our legislature.

00:45:49.700 We're moving forward very aggressively to neutralize, neuter, to eliminate the five seats.

00:45:55.560 We'll do the same here in California.

00:45:57.820 So all of this is for naught, Donald Trump.

00:46:01.120 All this is for naught.

00:46:02.040 It's show.

00:46:03.380 And we will fight fire with fire.

00:46:05.700 And we will punch above our weight.

00:46:08.780 California is the size of 21 state populations combined.

00:46:11.980 We're not here for a press conference.

00:46:14.780 We're here to take action.

00:46:16.320 And we're here to deliver results.

00:46:18.440 And we're going to do it in a transparent way, a temporary way, because we believe in independent redistricting.

00:46:23.700 We'll do it on the basis of a vote of the people as well, respecting, and as you said, the people.

00:46:29.940 And in democracy, the most important office, Brandeis said, is the office of citizens.

00:46:33.820 So this notion of transparent maps and active non-inert citizenry is foundational.

00:46:39.380 But what more do we need to do?

00:46:41.080 What other states need to do?

00:46:43.360 You know, I think folks, when they talk about redistricting and they say, oh, those guys are just redistricting, I don't think they understand this is not normal.

00:46:50.680 We don't redistrict mid-decade.

00:46:52.280 And even if we think about the last time we redistricted, states like yours, where you have an independent commission, you allowed the people to draw the lines.

00:47:00.440 Many of us have offered legislation in Texas to have an independent commission, to have the people draw the lines.

00:47:06.420 I think people forget Republicans in those states started the game last decade already carving up districts to give them a heavy advantage.

00:47:13.860 And even with that cheat, when other folks are letting their people do it, here we are four years in, they know they're about to lose, and so they want to redraw it again.

00:47:22.800 We appreciate greatly the courage that California is stepping, is showing.

00:47:26.760 The fact that you have stepped up and immediately said, Texas, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

00:47:31.540 But what we hope to do is lift a conversation in which, wouldn't it be great?

00:47:36.800 Wouldn't it be great if the nation said, you know what, we should all let the people draw the lines.

00:47:40.900 We should all do an independent commission and get politicians out of drawing our lines.

00:47:45.280 And so we are grateful that you are willing to, as you say, fight fire with fire, because when one group is playing by one set of rules and not allowing the others to play by an equal set of rules, it violates the fundamental fairness of who we are as people in a nation.

00:48:00.800 Appreciate that.

00:48:01.340 And one of the things that we intend to do with the consent of the legislature and ultimately present to the voters in a special election the first week in November.

00:48:09.440 So in a very short period of time is also a commitment to support a national independent redistricting commission.

00:48:19.060 So we want to reinforce that principle and that paradigm.

00:48:22.280 And that's why we're looking at this as an emergency response to this outrageous act in this mid-decade redistricting.

00:48:30.900 But again, it's not just rhetorical.

00:48:32.660 And I think, look, one of the big frustrations I have often with my party, with our party, the Democratic Party, is fire and fury oftentimes signifying little or nothing.

00:48:43.260 Sometimes we just sit there and we're on the side.

00:48:45.400 We feel there's a weakness sometimes because we sort of we push back, but we're not delivering on the counter.

00:48:52.200 And that's why it's, I think, really critical that we're successful here in California.

00:48:57.220 We have to deliver an equal reaction that actually produces a real result.

00:49:04.300 What more can we do in our state but other states as well to actually deliver not just in moral support, not talk about sort of the better angels,

00:49:13.760 and not just, you know, have your back rhetorically, but to get back on the offensive, not just constantly being shapeshifted by these folks, on the receiving end, 24-7.

00:49:26.500 I joke all the time.

00:49:27.520 It's not a joke, but everything with three letters, ESG, DEI, CRT, IRS, FBI, except when they need to weaponize them, you know, EPA.

00:49:37.740 We're constantly on the receiving end, on this redistricting, you know, at least we feel like we have a tool, and that's the people themselves.

00:49:47.220 We are the people that can exercise their moral and formal authority to neutralize what's happening in Texas and to get back.

00:49:56.580 But what else do you want to see across this country in a more meaningful and substantive way?

00:50:02.480 I think Americans, Texans for sure, want to see how these things impact their daily lives.

00:50:10.000 For me, part of why, yes, there is the big picture representation, democracy goals,

00:50:17.600 but ultimately, this is about higher prices at the grocery stores and how these pay-to-play tariffs that Donald Trump is implementing are hurting everyday Americans, everyday Texans.

00:50:31.040 It's about a hit to financial aid and ability for Latino communities in Texas to attend college, but all communities, right? 0.96

00:50:40.720 They rely on that kind of aid and what Donald Trump is doing to that.

00:50:44.040 Hit to health care, hit to neighborhood schools.

00:50:46.700 The list goes on, and those are real threats to Americans that will continue to get worse if this goes unchecked.

00:50:55.540 And so I think ideas and examples of how this big picture conversation is impacting their everyday lives and will protect.

00:51:05.900 That's why we have representation, to protect the people against harm and abuse from the politicians, to hold them accountable.

00:51:14.160 That's what Donald Trump is taking away, and the more we can speak to people's daily lives and the way what we do impacts them, I think, the better.

00:51:25.720 Love that.

00:51:26.520 It's not just about drawing lines.

00:51:27.900 It's sort of holding the line, having a line of accountability, oversight, back to this notion of co-equal branches of government and this fundamental notion of what, underneath all of it, it's about,

00:51:39.700 which is about having the aspirations in mind of the American people, having the masters of not just your district, your state, but our nation,

00:51:47.520 and addressing all of these profound issues and, as you say, on the tariffs and everything else.

00:51:52.520 I mean, that's, at the end of the day, it is about all of those issues.

00:51:56.620 So that's important.

00:51:57.320 What else do we need to sort of raise in terms of consciousness around, again, the why this is so important?

00:52:03.660 Well, I can tell you.

00:52:04.620 What I tell all my folks is that, listen, as elected officials, we do this day in and day out.

00:52:09.600 We're always having the dialogue.

00:52:10.920 We have an in-depth understanding, and sometimes we overcomplicate the process.

00:52:15.220 What we need to do is to get those moms and dads that get up early in the morning, dress their kids, take them to school, drop them off, pick them up in the afternoon, take them to daycare, go to the grocery store, pay for the eggs and milk, 0.94

00:52:27.620 to have that conversation of how, what this economy is doing to them at the town square, have that discussion among themselves and understand what the impact is to America.

00:52:37.720 Because as elected officials, we say it all the time, and sometimes they don't have time to listen to what we're telling them.

00:52:44.220 It's important.

00:52:44.800 They get it.

00:52:45.680 They just don't have time.

00:52:46.960 They're taking care of their lives.

00:52:48.320 They're trying to cook the dinner.

00:52:50.420 They're trying to get their kids off to school.

00:52:53.360 So what I tell everyone, get with your neighbors, whatever that town square is for you, whether it's your homeowner's association or some event that you happen to go to.

00:53:02.700 So take the discussion there and raise the issues, how it's affecting you directly.

00:53:08.200 I think if we do that, I think the entire country will understand and understand we've got to do something different.

00:53:14.560 And that's, I think, the only way we're going to really be successful.

00:53:17.500 I love it.

00:53:20.880 Hey, guys, it's AZ Fudd.

00:53:22.900 You may know me as a gold medalist.

00:53:25.000 You may know me as an NCAA national champion and recent most outstanding player.

00:53:29.320 You may even know me as a people's princess.

00:53:31.540 But now you're also going to know me as your favorite host.

00:53:35.360 Every week on my new podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out, I'll give you an inside look at everything happening in my crazy life as I try to balance it all.

00:53:43.060 From my travels across the globe to preparing for another run at the Natty with my Yukon Huskies to just trying to make it to my midterms on time.

00:53:49.940 You'll get the inside scoop on everything.

00:53:51.960 I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball, and what it's like to be a professional athlete on and off the court.

00:53:58.800 You'll even get to have some fun with the Fudd family. 0.72

00:54:01.060 So if you follow me on social media or watch me on TV, you may think you know me.

00:54:06.160 But this show is the only place where you can really Fudd Around and Find Out.

00:54:10.240 Listen to Fudd Around and Find Out, a production of iHeart Women's Sports in partnership with Unanimous Media,

00:54:15.260 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:54:18.980 Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art or music or poetry and thought, that's just a bunch of pretentious nonsense?

00:54:28.220 Well, that's exactly what two bored Australian soldiers set out to prove during World War II,

00:54:32.980 when they pulled off what was either a bold literary hoax or a grand poetic experiment,

00:54:38.220 publishing over a dozen intentionally bad but highly acclaimed works of expressionist poetry

00:54:43.300 under the name Earn Malley in an incident that caused a media firestorm and even a criminal trial.

00:54:49.880 The Earn Malley episode made fools of believers and critics alike and still fascinates poetry lovers to this day.

00:54:56.000 We break down the truth, the lies, and the poetry in between on Hoax,

00:55:00.300 a new podcast hosted by me, Lizzie Logan, and me, Dana Schwartz.

00:55:04.580 Every episode, Hoax explores an audacious fraud or ruse from history,

00:55:09.140 from forged artworks to the original fake news, to try and answer why we believe.

00:55:14.740 Listen to Hoax on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:55:20.940 The Stuff You Should Know guys have made their own summer playlists of their must-listen podcasts

00:55:25.980 on movies.

00:55:26.720 It's me, Josh, and I'd like to welcome you to the Stuff You Should Know Summer Movie Playlist.

00:55:31.520 What screams summer more than a nice, darkened, air-conditioned theater

00:55:34.920 and a great movie playing right in front of you.

00:55:37.340 Episodes on James Bond, special effects, stuntmen and women, disaster films,

00:55:41.520 even movies that change filmmaking, and many more.

00:55:44.220 Listen to the Stuff You Should Know Summer Movie Playlist on the iHeartRadio app,

00:55:47.660 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

00:55:51.320 A foot washed up, a shoe with some bones in it.

00:55:54.760 They had no idea who it was.

00:55:56.700 Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable.

00:56:02.120 These are the coldest of cold cases.

00:56:05.000 But everything is about to change.

00:56:07.400 Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime.

00:56:13.920 A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA.

00:56:17.320 Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues and evidence so tiny, you might just miss it.

00:56:23.960 He never thought he was going to get caught.

00:56:26.440 And I just looked at my computer screen.

00:56:28.560 I was just like, ah, gotcha.

00:56:30.960 On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors.

00:56:34.480 And you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othram,

00:56:37.200 the Houston lab that takes on the most hopeless cases,

00:56:40.500 to finally solve the unsolvable.

00:56:42.320 Listen to America's Crime Lab on the iHeartRadio app,

00:56:47.180 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:56:49.580 What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison

00:56:56.800 or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth?

00:57:00.820 Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced.

00:57:04.440 He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you.

00:57:09.900 Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps,

00:57:13.220 are short-term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training.

00:57:18.880 These programs aim to provide a shock of prison life,

00:57:23.080 emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs.

00:57:29.700 Mark had one chance to complete this program

00:57:31.900 and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months.

00:57:36.160 The first night was so overwhelming, and you don't know who's next to you.

00:57:40.380 And we didn't know what to expect in the morning.

00:57:42.440 Nobody tells you anything.

00:57:43.740 Listen to Shock Incarceration on the iHeartRadio app,

00:57:46.660 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:57:53.660 We need folks who are sick and tired of being sick and tired to get up and vote in the next election.

00:57:58.240 Amen.

00:57:59.120 That's what I was going to say.

00:58:00.640 I mean, to Gina's point, the loss of access to health care,

00:58:04.700 and especially when we look at taking food out of children's mouths and the SNAP benefits that are gone.

00:58:09.940 But we just want that message to resonate so much with people that they don't forget come November.

00:58:18.260 So to Anne's point, that really brings it home for me that they don't forget when they go to that ballot box.

00:58:24.660 People tend to have very short memories.

00:58:26.520 And that's really sad because, and I think this is why the governor gets elected on the off years, right?

00:58:34.540 Because people are like, there's an election?

00:58:37.180 So, but I think educating the voters on the big picture, whatever that big picture is to them,

00:58:45.100 is probably the best thing to do.

00:58:46.500 And I would say in this moment, I think the more Americans who learn about the details of the map,

00:58:52.400 I think more Americans should be outraged at what's being proposed.

00:58:56.640 I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat, if you're white, black, Latino,

00:59:00.300 what are the implications of a government that feels like it is not going to be accountable to a large segment of its population?

00:59:07.420 It's going to be held accountable to a small segment that it's going to handpick.

00:59:11.460 In order for democracy to work, we need our government to be accountable to all people,

00:59:17.760 regardless of race, regardless of where they live.

00:59:21.020 And that's not what's happening here.

00:59:22.380 So whether you're a Republican or Democrat, you want a government that's going to be held accountable to everybody,

00:59:27.280 not their just handpicked constituents.

00:59:29.640 And I would say, too, look, clearly what happens in Texas affects California.

00:59:34.140 And we have years, 30 years of Republican rule where they have systematically designed and drawn these lines 0.93

00:59:43.360 to ensure that black and Hispanic residents don't vote. 1.00

00:59:47.100 The overwhelming number of Latinos and blacks in Texas are stuck in districts that are uncompetitive. 0.98

00:59:52.540 And they're there where there's a 90, 80, 90, 95 percent Latino population,

00:59:57.120 because that's the best way for Republicans to throw away votes.

01:00:00.000 And so how do we activate these large segments of Texas that have been active for so long?

01:00:04.800 I think it's going to take a national effort from the Democratic Party.

01:00:07.640 But I think people from all states, because there are just large segments of our population

01:00:11.920 who are just don't see any reason to vote.

01:00:14.300 But that's the way the government has created it.

01:00:16.740 Don't give up on Texas.

01:00:18.740 Also, Texas really, without all this grift, the grift, like we could do a whole segment on just the grift.

01:00:27.100 But without all the grift and the manipulation, Texas is a purple state.

01:00:33.340 We have not.

01:00:34.520 We say Texas Democrats were the ATM for the rest of the nation.

01:00:38.080 We need investment in Texas.

01:00:40.060 We export our Republicans, Texas export all the worst ideas to the national level.

01:00:45.540 You want us to flip.

01:00:47.560 It's over when we flip.

01:00:49.220 Right.

01:00:49.620 So so that's what I would encourage.

01:00:52.640 People think Texas is crazy.

01:00:53.720 Yes, crazy things come out of Texas.

01:00:56.920 But we see in our communities that Texans are open.

01:01:01.480 Texans are open to being persuaded.

01:01:03.700 They care about what you're going to do to help them in their own lives.

01:01:07.780 And I would say, please take a chance on Texas.

01:01:11.580 Invest in Texas.

01:01:12.500 It's a spectacular state and spectacular representatives from the state.

01:01:17.280 And I really appreciate Mara.

01:01:19.180 And just for folks listening, watching, you guys flew in.

01:01:22.340 You're going to fly right out.

01:01:25.220 And that means the world to all of us that are trying to raise awareness, raise the alarm bells of this moment where we get so easily distracted by, you know, sugar and Coca-Cola or whatever the new distraction in Alcatraz may be.

01:01:40.220 And that means what's really happening in this country.

01:01:42.560 It is code red.

01:01:44.420 It is code red.

01:01:46.760 And this only highlights.

01:01:49.040 This punctuates what's at stake.

01:01:51.660 The Trump presidency de facto ends in less than 18 months if we get Speaker Jeffries back into office.

01:01:58.340 Donald Trump knows that.

01:01:59.900 They're on the run.

01:02:01.180 They know they will lose the midterms if they do not rig them.

01:02:04.560 And that's what this is all about.

01:02:07.160 And the fact that you are willing to sacrifice so much of your personal as well as professional reputation to be here and to be everywhere you've been.

01:02:16.960 Everybody listening should owe you and do, I think, owe you a debt of gratitude, regardless of party.

01:02:23.540 This is about fundamental enduring principles that have served the world, not just our country, for 249 years.

01:02:30.880 So I'm deeply grateful and I'm proud as well to have this opportunity in a transparent way to have this conversation, this private conversation, more publicly so people understand why you're out here and the opportunity now to share that more publicly with this press conference with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and talk more about the stakes.

01:02:51.420 Thank you all very much.

01:02:52.760 Thank you.

01:02:53.240 Thank you.

01:02:53.620 Thank you for having us.

01:02:54.940 This is an iHeart Podcast.

This is Gavin Newsom - August 10, 2025

And, This Is The Texas Democratic Legislative Delegation

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript