On PBS NewsHour: Stacey Abrams on Biden's leadership, Georgia's election and challenging voter suppr
(snip)
Stacey Abrams:
President Joe Biden is the right man for this moment. Vice President Kamala Harris is reflective of so much progress that we have made. And I think, as a team, they are going to lead a renewal of our democracy. But we cannot forget that the very people who attempted to overthrow our government just a few weeks ago, that they're still out there. And, unfortunately, some of their sympathizers remain in the state — in the — in our congressional legislative body, but as well as our state legislative bodies.
And so our work has to be to leverage this extraordinary opportunity for good leadership to ensure that, both in D.C. and in our state legislatures, that we do not see a rescission of the advances we have been able to make in voting rights and voting access.
(snip)
I think progress is always a good thing. And, sometimes, progress requires that you have to compromise your actions, but not compromise your values. If we can move forward on a host of issues that will improve the outcome for the people of our country, then we should want that to happen. We are not going to get everything we want. And we know that every change that needs to be made in this nation can't happen overnight and may not happen in four years.
But what we have to hold him accountable for and what I think he's asking to be held accountable for is doing the hard work of moving us forward. We have a lot of gain to reground — a lot of ground to regain because of Donald Trump. But we know that that ground is fertile. And I think he's going to do his best. But leadership isn't just about getting your way. We saw what that looks like with the last four years. Leadership is about moving forward and bringing the people with you, and sometimes letting the people lead. And I think that's the ethos that we will see from President Joe Biden.
Judy Woodruff:
About this documentary you have produced, "All In: The Fight for Democracy," it is all about the right to vote.
For those people who remember, say, the civil rights movement, and remember the very clear and blatant obstacles to voting then, how do you explain to them what the obstacles are today, because they're not as visible in many ways as they were 50 years ago?
Stacey Abrams:
Well, this is one of the reasons for the documentary.
And what we wanted this documentary to do is to do exactly the same thing, to ground in the history, the horrid history of what voter suppression looks like, but then bring it to present day, so that we would know that it's not always guns and hoses and billy clubs. Sometimes, it's long lines that make you stand for eight hours and miss out on a day's wage. Sometimes, it's being purged from rolls even though you have done nothing wrong. And, sometimes, it's intentional information about who can vote and how.
We know that voter suppression exists across this country. We were able to mitigate it, in part, in 2020. But we already see state legislators led by Republicans seeking to reinforce and to renew past practices because they see that, when more people can vote, regardless of party, that when more people vote, they may not win. My mission is not to say that any team, any party gets to win every election, but every voter should always have a voice.
More..
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/stacey-abrams-on-bidens-leadership-georgias-election-and-challenging-voter-suppression