00:00From six Texas state legislators to our Capitol, and I'll acknowledge who they are.
00:06These brave public servants are taking a stand, a strong stand,
00:11against a blatant power grab that's happening in their state as we speak.
00:16And this will have implications, not just in Texas, but for our entire nation and its future.
00:23In Texas, they're not playing fair? Are you concerned about a slippery slope?
00:27The point that I'm trying to...
00:30Americans don't want a system that's stacked against them.
00:33They believe in fairness. It's fundamental.
00:36I'll tell you this. They're done with the chaos.
00:38They're done with the cruelty.
00:41And I would say they're ready to vote Republicans out of power in Washington,
00:45certainly in the upcoming 2026 elections.
00:49Republicans know this. They've seen the polls.
00:52They know they're sliding downhill because Americans are rejecting their policies.
00:57So this is why they're fighting.
00:58They know they'll lose the elections, but to subvert the will of the people,
01:05they're hell-bent on rigging the system.
01:08Rigging the system is un-American.
01:11Congressional districts are never redrawn mid-decade, as they are.
01:16But here they are, flagrantly breaking the rules so they can hold on to power.
01:25And with that power, they're going to inflict even more pain.
01:29And they'd rather eliminate fairness in the system than to proceed knowing they're going to lose.
01:35They'd rather silence voters than serve them.
01:41From my perspective, to refuse to stand up and fight for our democracy as we are joining in solidarity with our friends from Texas means one thing.
01:50You won't fight for democracy. You're doomed to lose it.
01:53On the advice of counsel, I'm going to advise them not to disclose.
01:59I cannot stand by and let this happen while Donald Trump and his co-conspirator, Greg Abbott, erode our democracy and drag us toward authoritarianism.
02:13Now, what Texas and Republican states are doing at the direction of Donald Trump, I say, is nothing short of a legal insurrection against our Capitol.
02:27Legal meaning they're using the legal process.
02:29It does not mean it's legal, and it must be stopped.
02:32If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they're leaving us no choice.
02:40We must do the same.
02:43The only way that we can change the timing on redistricting is to literally amend the New York State Constitution.
02:49We'll do everything in our power to stop this brazen assault.
02:53The process involved in that, it requires an affirmative vote for two consecutive sessions.
03:00History will judge us on how we respond to this moment.
03:04But here in New York, we will not stand on the sidelines with the timid souls on the sidelines who don't care,
03:10will not invest their heart and soul into this battle.
03:14This is a war.
03:15We are at war.
03:17And that's why the gloves are off, and I say, bring it on.
03:23Democratic states have gone to independent redistricting conditions.
03:27Democrats and some of the editorial boards and some of the very newspapers who are here keep telling us to play fair.
03:37And it's very difficult to say play fair when your opponents are playing dirty and using every tool in their tool shed, tool box,
03:46to kind of undermine democracy.
03:50Since this guy's been sworn in, there's no respect for the Constitution.
03:55There's no respect for people.
03:57And this, what's happening in Texas, is just another prime example.
04:01And what we're proposing, that maybe what we bring before the voters in 2027, hope not to have to use it.
04:10But sometimes the best way to get a bully to stop being a bully is to remind them that they could also be bullied.
04:19Representative Jolanda Jones.
04:22Representative McLea-Pilesa.
04:25We were sent to the Capitol to serve the people, not political parties.
04:28While Texas are waiting for relief, Republican leaders are redrawing maps to silence voters, hijack our democracy.
04:39And this doesn't stop with Texas.
04:41If Trump and Abbott secede, it will, yeah, give them five seats.
04:46But then, where else do they go?
04:49Ohio?
04:51Missouri?
04:52Any other Republican legislature with Democratic congresspeople?
04:57They're on the chopping block, too.
04:59Is that fair?
05:01Is that just?
05:04The fight isn't just about lines on a map.
05:07It's about lives on the line.
05:09That's why we're here.
05:11That's why we're fighting.
05:13It's about democracy.
05:14It affects every single American.
05:16We need Democrats across the country, in state houses, in congresses, in communities, to say loud and clear,
05:23this is not who we are.
05:25And this is not what we will accept.
05:28This is a rallying cry.
05:30This isn't just about the people who voted for us.
05:33It's about every American who believes that the power belongs to the people, not one man, not a king.
05:42And I will not allow this one man to rewrite the rules of our democracy behind closed doors.
05:49This is about representation, about fairness, and about the integrity of our elections.
05:55We are not here to resist.
05:59We are here to fight.
06:01And we are asking for your help in this fight.
06:04Representative Vicky Goodwin.
06:07Representative Cassandra Garcia Hernandez.
06:10In this 2027 amendment that you may put forward, that the Independent Redistricting Commission should be disbanded or changed in some way,
06:17so that you don't have to go through that again in 32?
06:21Yes.
06:23I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back.
06:28With all due respect to the good government groups,
06:31politics is a political process.
06:35And to think that we're going to do this with a purity test
06:39and make sure it's completely fair to everybody involved,
06:42the reason we are able to draw the lines because we're Democrats,
06:46because the majority of people in this state selected us, elected us to be leaders.
06:51And when we say that we cannot use that power to its fullest,
06:55then we're abdicating the responsibility that we all have.
06:57Republicans take over the legislature?
07:02They can have at it.
07:04But until then, we're in charge, and we're sick and tired of being pushed around
07:08when other states don't have the same aspirations that we always have had.
07:13And I hold those dear.
07:14But I cannot ignore that this – the playing field has changed dramatically.
07:21And shame on us if we ignore that fact and cling tight to the vestiges of the past.
07:27That era is over.
07:28Donald Trump eliminated that forever.
07:31I'm going to remain out of Texas.
07:34I'm going to remain out of Texas.
07:34I'm going to remain out of Texas.
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