August 16, 2025 • 25 mins
In this special episode, Diosa and Mala speak with Representative Linda Garcia (D-107) about how she and her Texas Democratic colleagues broke quorum to defend democracy. Since fleeing the state, Representative Garcia and her colleagues have faced threats of arrest and physical harm. In this candid interview, Representative Garcia breaks down how she and her colleagues are protecting the constitution, the challenges of being a public servant, and what’s at stake if Trump and Governor Abbot redistrict and gerrymander the state of Texas.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Look at rady yo o La la Loka motes, I'm Theosa.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
And I'm Mala.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Today we're bringing you a special episode. We are in
conversation with Representative Linda Garcia of District one oh seven
in Texas. She along with her Democratic colleagues, fled Texas
to break quorum. She and her colleagues are fighting for
all of us. What they are fighting against is redistricting
(00:28):
by the urging of President Trump and Governor Abbot, and
this affects all of us. They are fighting for us
and for democracy. Our own Governor Gavin Newsom held a
press conference August fourteenth in response to the jerrymandering that
Governor Abbott and President Trump are doing in Texas. He
(00:50):
is calling it the Election Rigging Response, and he was
in Los Angeles to discuss why this is so urgent
and how California isiding back against Donald Trump and the
jerrymandering that could potentially happen in Texas. If the jerrymandering
and redistricting that is unconstitutional is approved, it sets the
(01:13):
stage for the rest of the country, which is why
we wanted to bring this urgent episode to y'all today.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And this also happening in the context of ICE breaking
a TRO which is a temporary restraining order that was
put in place by a judge to keep ICE out
of California. ICE has explicitly broken that TRO. They continue
to invade LA and to stage stings where they continued
(01:41):
to detain Angelino's regardless of their immigration status honestly and
are practicing a racial profiling on a widespread basis. Most recently,
in Little Tokyo, ICE agents conducted a raid in front
of the Japanese American National Museum in downtown LA. And
(02:02):
this raid in Little Tokyo took place at the exact
same time that Governor Newsom was speaking and was discussing
the election rigging Response ACT. I think everything about that
moment is symbolic, everything from staging the raid at the
same time that Governor Newsom was speaking to the location
(02:23):
in front of the Japanese American Museum, which commemorates the
history of Japanese internment. In California and in Texas, Linda
Garcia and other House Dems are doing what they can
to fight back politically, as Trump prod's Texas Republicans to
redraw their maps, setting off redistricting battles all across the nation,
(02:47):
from Florida, Ohio, Indiana, all the way to New York, Maryland, Illinois,
New Jersey, and Linda Garcia and other Dems in Texas
fled the state to block the Republican Life Legislature from
approving a new map, preventing it from reaching the quorum necessary,
and a second special session is expected to begin Friday.
(03:09):
The absent lawmakers, including Representative Garcia, are facing threats, afines,
civil arrest threats, and calls for their removal from public office.
Linda Garcia joins us on this special episode of Look
at Lotter Radio to break down everything that's going on
in Texas and why we in California need to pay
attention and why we need to show up and vote.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
How are you doing?
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Oh my gosh. You know, I'm just going to keep
it one hundred because there's so many things going on
and I think that you know, I've been getting messages
all day, you know, yesterday we got to hear from
President Obama and my phone has been blowing up of
(04:01):
like positivity. But it's a hard day today and I
just want to be honest, and I'm sorry, I'm getting
emotional because I know I'm supposed to be strong and
(04:21):
all this stuff, but.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I think doing what we're doing requires a lot of courage,
a lot of strength, and sometimes you don't always you know,
feel it.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Absolutely. Thank you, Linda, Thank you Representative Garcia for joining
us today and for just starting with this candor and
honesty about how you're feeling and where you're at right now.
And we're just honored that you wanted to join us
today to talk with us.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Thank you for being here in this is also a
really important reminder that our elected officials are people, and
that threats of any kind and the violence politically that
we're seeing that you are impacted and you have a family,
and that as brave as you are and your fellow Dems,
(05:21):
that it's still scary what you're experiencing. And we thank
you for reaching out to us to share on the
podcast for our listeners. And I'm wondering if you can
take us to the beginning and what's been going on,
catch us up.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Absolutely so, we have like major crisis that is taking
place right now in politics in the United States of America.
Trump has requested five congressional seats, and these congressional seats
are a threat to the mock see. He is basically
(06:02):
leveraging his power to continue to have more power, which
is something that everybody needs to be paying attention to
because just because the five congressional seats are being requested
in the state of Texas does not mean that it
is only a Texas issue. This means that he is
(06:23):
trying to maintain his power in the House and not
become a lame duck, which is what we're all hoping for.
This also is a very clear segue to his attempt
in a third term. And for people that believe in
(06:44):
the Constitution and do not think that this is possible,
please know that the power grab in Texas is unconstitutional
and we have seen actions that do not respect the
Constitution time after time after time, time after time with
this man, and we have also seen not very many
(07:04):
people standing up to him. So he calls for five
congressional seats in the state of Texas, it's not my seat.
It's a congressional which means it's like a national position.
I am part of being a Texas representative, which is
different from a House representative. A Texas representative works and
(07:28):
manages laws that solely impact Texas, you will never see
besides Trump, a United States president intermingling in state law.
That just does not happen. But time and time again,
Trump has spoken to our Republican colleagues lobbied for votes
(07:55):
in a certain direction, which again the president has no
business doing. So we know he has a very strong
allyship with Governor Abbott. The five congressional seats, those are
our responsibility to vote on, so we hold the power
to make those changes, even though they are not our seats.
(08:19):
And so because we are the minority party, we had
to hit the nuclear button, which does not mean that
it's going to solve the problem because we are still
the minority party. So just so everyone understands, when we
vote on something on the House floor in the state,
(08:40):
we have to make sure that we make quorum, which
just means that a full body of legislators is present.
In the Constitution, it has been written that people can
break koram not create the entire body members could be missing.
That is a tool that is legal and has been
(09:01):
used in emergency situations in the event that someone is
trying to pass a law that people feel could be
a threat to society. And so we have used that power.
We have used that tool and we left Texas. We
are in Illinois where Governor Pritzker here in the state
(09:22):
has helped protect us. And it is not that we
can stop the maps from passing from passing because we
are a minority party, but we were hoping to activate
and try and get others to help us hold Trump
accountable for what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
And you're fleeing Texas along with other Dems and breaking quorum.
It was so powerful, in fact, that you have been
subjected to bomb threats and threats of arrest from Governor Abbott.
Can you talk to us a little bit about those
threats that you all have received.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
If I can just describe the scene. I was asleep
with my son. I broke korm with my son because
he was out for the summer and the proper childcare
just wasn't accessible during the day while his dad's at work.
It was a hard decision, but one that I had
to make, and so we were both asleep and all
(10:25):
of a sudden, we just hear this blaring alarm that
sounds like a fire alarm, except for the verbiage is
something like there is a bomb threat, Please evacuate blaring alarm,
there is a bomb threat, Please evacuate, over and over,
and of course I know immediately where the threat is
(10:47):
coming from. And had I been by myself, I think
it would have been a completely different experience for me.
But because I was with my son, I sort of
just froze and really just questioned everything, like, you know,
why am I even doing this? Not breaking quorum because
(11:11):
that's clear in my heart, but just carrying the burden of,
you know, trying to be a public servant and trying
to do the best that I possibly can with the
hand that I'm dealt. So you know, we've had other threats,
(11:32):
like the FBI is coming after you. All of these
things were you know, most likely being monitored. The thing
is that we aren't just fighting up against you know,
our governor, which would be different because we all signed
up to fight against him. But we are you know,
(11:52):
state representatives that are standing up to Donald Trump, and
we really haven't seen that happen yet.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Thank you so much for Representative Garcia for sharing what
your experience has been like. And I want to go
back to this question that you asked yourself, why am
I doing this? And we interviewed you when you were
campaigning and this is your first term, and this is
an incredibly difficult first term given and I want to
(12:21):
emphasize that you said like breaking quorum was right for
you and writ in your heart and going back to
your why and asking yourself why am I doing this?
What have you been telling yourself since then? What is
that answer?
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Sure?
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah, So I want to tell you all that, like
please don't you can call me Linda, Please don't call
me representatives Garcia. I want I'm wanting to come to
you today as Linda, you know what I mean, and
just yes and just.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
I also want to give you the respect Linda, because
you have been like you've been doing the media circuit
like this has made national news. And when I when
we see you, like you have to know that when
we see you doing these media circuits, we literally say
to ourselves like that's our girl, like that is her
we were at we all grow together, like we have
(13:15):
been knowing you, right, and we just are so proud
of you, and so also want to give you the
respect of like your representative Garcia. But I also like
I know, like Istamo wasn't family at them be in
right now.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
See and let's keep it that way. Because you ask
me like, what's my why.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
That's my why. That's it.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I want to, you know, show up as my full self,
my arms tattooed, and walk onto the house floor, and
some people may look at me like, you know, ivy
and Elachusma or something. But that's the way I feel
when Donald Trump walks in the White House, you know.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
So I just want to you know, I just.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Want to reflect that any we can accomplish whatever it
is that we want to accomplish, and we can take
up the space, and in such a conservative space, you know,
my why is to make sure that our people see
ourselves reflected there.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I appreciate also your urgency to inform the community and
the audience about the imminent threat to democracy and the
attempt to extend Trump's presidency to a third term. I
was just in an uber the other day and the
uber driver was a Latino male, and we're talking about
ice raids and everything that's going on politically, and he said, well, well,
(14:46):
I guess we just have to wait what three more years,
and then he'll be out. And I think that there's
a lot of fear, but I think that there are
people who are sort of sitting on their hands and thinking, well,
he'll just turn out and then it'll be over. And
what do you have to say to that and to
that mentality?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yeah, I have to say that we need to believe
him when he says he's going to attempt a third term.
He is clearly showing us actions of that today right
now as we speak. And you know, there's a handful
of US Texas legislators trying to execute something that is
(15:25):
a heavy lift, that is trying to save democracy for
the United States, and it's it's, if I'm just being honest,
it's too heavy of a lift for just us. And
I want I wanted to come on here because you
know your governor is standing up against him right now,
(15:46):
and I just want to urge my people in California
that this is the time to stand behind him. He
has created a trigger where he's gonna take away all
the Republican congressional seats in California, a temporary trigger that
(16:09):
this only happens for this term. The way you all
draw up congressional seats, it's protected and it's the way
that we should draw up congressional seats in every single state,
which is not done by politicians the way it's done
in Texas. It's done by the people. It's done by
a commission that is a separate entity, and then you
(16:31):
all get to vote on it. And so you have
a very important vote that is coming up in California,
and I just want to highlight that this is not
about Republicans versus Democrats. This is about saving our democracy
and it we must vote alongside Governor Newsom to change
(16:54):
these maps, which we have no doubt that you all
aren't going to come through, no doubt. But you know,
if we want to talk about taking action, we have
to make sure that you all get out to the
polls in overwhelming numbers, just to send a message.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
As extreme as the Trump regime is becoming, do you
see any Republicans jumping ship. Do you see any Republicans
saying this is too much, this is an abomination, we
need to make a change. We're not supporting this anymore.
Are you seeing that happening? Or are Republicans across the
(17:33):
board doubling down with their support of Donald Trump.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
So I will tell you that within the House, there
are some of my Republican colleagues that do not agree
with what is happening right now, But they are so
afraid to stand up that they just simply will not.
It's wild to me. They have forgotten who they serve.
(18:00):
They forgot that they serve. The public were not here,
Like I said, I didn't sign up to go against Trump,
like I signed up to fight Greg Abbott, like we're
in this. I know my boundaries and I know you
know where I am working and who I am serving.
And it is just crazy to me. Donald Trump can
pick up the phone in our house and call our
(18:22):
Republican members and have him vote a certain way because
billionaires outside of Texas have invested in certain policies in
our state. They've stripped us away from They've underfunded our
public schools. They took a ton of money away last session.
This session. Now in the state of Texas, it's going
to be legal to funnel tax dollars away from public
(18:46):
schools and into private schools. It's like a coupon for
rich people to go to private school And this is
all because of an outside investor. Donald Trump called the
Republicans to make sure that they voted the way he
wanted too so, and there are Republicans that didn't agree.
They were going to stand with the Democrats on this,
and then they got the phone call from Trump and
(19:07):
they switched. But there is a Republican US representative in
the state of Texas that filed a bill where he
wants to make mid Way redistricting unconstitutional. Obviously to oppose
what Gavin is doing right now, but it's important for
(19:29):
us to get the message across that he's also opposing
what the President is calling for in the state of Texas,
and he is also opposing for the redistricting in the
state of Texas.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
I want to go back to ICE and ICE detention,
and as we've seen, ICE agents will arrest, detained basically
anybody off of the street, undocumented or not, citizen or not.
And the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, do
(20:00):
you think that there is a future in which ICE
agents will detain anybody, including those who are only politically
in opposition to Donald Trump. If they're able to detain
anybody regardless of citizenship status, is it plausible that they
could start detaining people simply because they pose a political obstacle.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
We are watching ICE agents not show who they are,
not have a warrant signed by a judge or any
warrant at all. We are watching bounty hunters, We're watching copycats.
I think absolutely there.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Is a world.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
We can bet on it. There is a world that
exists where any type of opposition will be removed. We're
watching it right now. As legislators. We're being threatened with
removing us from public office. When our constituents put us
in put us into office. They don't have the right
(21:02):
to remove us, and they're threatening us with that. We
legally broke quorum, and so I think that I think
this is why it's I feel like it's an urgent
matter for me to speak to you all and just
try to speak to as many friends as possible, because
I know how this can be very overwhelming and we're
(21:24):
watching content and it's like what do we do, how
do we help? Where do we go? We are at
like a really big crisis right now. This is a
massive issue that needs everybody's attention. My hope is that
we will mobilize. In Texas, forty percent of registered voters
(21:48):
are Democrat, but they are not showing up to vote,
and so I hope that we mobilize across the country
and understand that again, this is not about Republican versus Democrat.
This is about trying to save democracy and get this
man out of power.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
What's next for you and your democratic colleagues.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
We have a lot of wins to celebrate. Obviously, your
governor he has graciously had our back. Several other governors
across the state are starting to move in the same direction.
We were hoping that our decision to do this would
get us national attention. That is almost as far as
(22:32):
we can go. The other option would be that we
break quorum until May of next year. We're regular people.
I mean, you saw me when I opened up. There
were moments today where I thought like, maybe I should
just have, you know, my chief cancel the call, and
I'm like, no, I have to do it, even if
they see me distraught, Like I just have to push
(22:53):
through and get the message out as quick as I
can and to as many people as I can't. We
can't hold out till May. That's it's not realistic. And
there are approximately three seats away, three Democrats away from
making quorum. So we're going to have to go back
(23:16):
and put up a fight on the floor, which is
still very important. When we go on the floor to
fight the bills and present amendments. We are actually presenting
a case and all of those cases, hearings from our
community members that come into testify, all of that is
held as evidence so that we can go to the
(23:37):
next fight, which is hope that our courts in Texas
will see that this is a racial jerry mandering. We
haven't even gotten into that because it's racial jerry mandering.
So in the state of Texas, three Latinos will have
to vote when one white person votes, five African Americans
(23:58):
will have to vote when one white person votes. That's
how much they've watered down our vote. It is complete jerrymandering,
and so we have to make that case, set it
up so that hopefully the courts will be on our side.
The other thing that we're leaning into that's a really
big win for us is that you will pass the
(24:20):
maps and we wash what they've done in Texas. But
still the reality is that our state is impacted. I mean,
we believe that our state is at the very least purple.
Latinos in Texas are the majority.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Linda Garcia, Representative Garcia from District one oh seven in Texas,
thank you once again for joining us today. On the
special episode of loc at Thought our Radio, for sharing
the urgency of what's going on not only in Texas
but also in California, and for your bravery as a
public servant, for breaking quorum and for sharing with our
(25:00):
audience today. We really appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Thank you all for opening up your space. I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And we're praying for you. Honestly, Loca Landia
Look at rady yo o La la Loka motes, I'm Theosa.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
And I'm Mala.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Today we're bringing you a special episode. We are in
conversation with Representative Linda Garcia of District one oh seven
in Texas. She along with her Democratic colleagues, fled Texas
to break quorum. She and her colleagues are fighting for
all of us. What they are fighting against is redistricting
(00:28):
by the urging of President Trump and Governor Abbot, and
this affects all of us. They are fighting for us
and for democracy. Our own Governor Gavin Newsom held a
press conference August fourteenth in response to the jerrymandering that
Governor Abbott and President Trump are doing in Texas. He
(00:50):
is calling it the Election Rigging Response, and he was
in Los Angeles to discuss why this is so urgent
and how California isiding back against Donald Trump and the
jerrymandering that could potentially happen in Texas. If the jerrymandering
and redistricting that is unconstitutional is approved, it sets the
(01:13):
stage for the rest of the country, which is why
we wanted to bring this urgent episode to y'all today.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And this also happening in the context of ICE breaking
a TRO which is a temporary restraining order that was
put in place by a judge to keep ICE out
of California. ICE has explicitly broken that TRO. They continue
to invade LA and to stage stings where they continued
(01:41):
to detain Angelino's regardless of their immigration status honestly and
are practicing a racial profiling on a widespread basis. Most recently,
in Little Tokyo, ICE agents conducted a raid in front
of the Japanese American National Museum in downtown LA. And
(02:02):
this raid in Little Tokyo took place at the exact
same time that Governor Newsom was speaking and was discussing
the election rigging Response ACT. I think everything about that
moment is symbolic, everything from staging the raid at the
same time that Governor Newsom was speaking to the location
(02:23):
in front of the Japanese American Museum, which commemorates the
history of Japanese internment. In California and in Texas, Linda
Garcia and other House Dems are doing what they can
to fight back politically, as Trump prod's Texas Republicans to
redraw their maps, setting off redistricting battles all across the nation,
(02:47):
from Florida, Ohio, Indiana, all the way to New York, Maryland, Illinois,
New Jersey, and Linda Garcia and other Dems in Texas
fled the state to block the Republican Life Legislature from
approving a new map, preventing it from reaching the quorum necessary,
and a second special session is expected to begin Friday.
(03:09):
The absent lawmakers, including Representative Garcia, are facing threats, afines,
civil arrest threats, and calls for their removal from public office.
Linda Garcia joins us on this special episode of Look
at Lotter Radio to break down everything that's going on
in Texas and why we in California need to pay
attention and why we need to show up and vote.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
How are you doing?
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Oh my gosh. You know, I'm just going to keep
it one hundred because there's so many things going on
and I think that you know, I've been getting messages
all day, you know, yesterday we got to hear from
President Obama and my phone has been blowing up of
(04:01):
like positivity. But it's a hard day today and I
just want to be honest, and I'm sorry, I'm getting
emotional because I know I'm supposed to be strong and
(04:21):
all this stuff, but.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I think doing what we're doing requires a lot of courage,
a lot of strength, and sometimes you don't always you know,
feel it.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Absolutely. Thank you, Linda, Thank you Representative Garcia for joining
us today and for just starting with this candor and
honesty about how you're feeling and where you're at right now.
And we're just honored that you wanted to join us
today to talk with us.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Thank you for being here in this is also a
really important reminder that our elected officials are people, and
that threats of any kind and the violence politically that
we're seeing that you are impacted and you have a family,
and that as brave as you are and your fellow Dems,
(05:21):
that it's still scary what you're experiencing. And we thank
you for reaching out to us to share on the
podcast for our listeners. And I'm wondering if you can
take us to the beginning and what's been going on,
catch us up.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Absolutely so, we have like major crisis that is taking
place right now in politics in the United States of America.
Trump has requested five congressional seats, and these congressional seats
are a threat to the mock see. He is basically
(06:02):
leveraging his power to continue to have more power, which
is something that everybody needs to be paying attention to
because just because the five congressional seats are being requested
in the state of Texas does not mean that it
is only a Texas issue. This means that he is
(06:23):
trying to maintain his power in the House and not
become a lame duck, which is what we're all hoping for.
This also is a very clear segue to his attempt
in a third term. And for people that believe in
(06:44):
the Constitution and do not think that this is possible,
please know that the power grab in Texas is unconstitutional
and we have seen actions that do not respect the
Constitution time after time after time, time after time with
this man, and we have also seen not very many
(07:04):
people standing up to him. So he calls for five
congressional seats in the state of Texas, it's not my seat.
It's a congressional which means it's like a national position.
I am part of being a Texas representative, which is
different from a House representative. A Texas representative works and
(07:28):
manages laws that solely impact Texas, you will never see
besides Trump, a United States president intermingling in state law.
That just does not happen. But time and time again,
Trump has spoken to our Republican colleagues lobbied for votes
(07:55):
in a certain direction, which again the president has no
business doing. So we know he has a very strong
allyship with Governor Abbott. The five congressional seats, those are
our responsibility to vote on, so we hold the power
to make those changes, even though they are not our seats.
(08:19):
And so because we are the minority party, we had
to hit the nuclear button, which does not mean that
it's going to solve the problem because we are still
the minority party. So just so everyone understands, when we
vote on something on the House floor in the state,
(08:40):
we have to make sure that we make quorum, which
just means that a full body of legislators is present.
In the Constitution, it has been written that people can
break koram not create the entire body members could be missing.
That is a tool that is legal and has been
(09:01):
used in emergency situations in the event that someone is
trying to pass a law that people feel could be
a threat to society. And so we have used that power.
We have used that tool and we left Texas. We
are in Illinois where Governor Pritzker here in the state
(09:22):
has helped protect us. And it is not that we
can stop the maps from passing from passing because we
are a minority party, but we were hoping to activate
and try and get others to help us hold Trump
accountable for what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
And you're fleeing Texas along with other Dems and breaking quorum.
It was so powerful, in fact, that you have been
subjected to bomb threats and threats of arrest from Governor Abbott.
Can you talk to us a little bit about those
threats that you all have received.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
If I can just describe the scene. I was asleep
with my son. I broke korm with my son because
he was out for the summer and the proper childcare
just wasn't accessible during the day while his dad's at work.
It was a hard decision, but one that I had
to make, and so we were both asleep and all
(10:25):
of a sudden, we just hear this blaring alarm that
sounds like a fire alarm, except for the verbiage is
something like there is a bomb threat, Please evacuate blaring alarm,
there is a bomb threat, Please evacuate, over and over,
and of course I know immediately where the threat is
(10:47):
coming from. And had I been by myself, I think
it would have been a completely different experience for me.
But because I was with my son, I sort of
just froze and really just questioned everything, like, you know,
why am I even doing this? Not breaking quorum because
(11:11):
that's clear in my heart, but just carrying the burden of,
you know, trying to be a public servant and trying
to do the best that I possibly can with the
hand that I'm dealt. So you know, we've had other threats,
(11:32):
like the FBI is coming after you. All of these
things were you know, most likely being monitored. The thing
is that we aren't just fighting up against you know,
our governor, which would be different because we all signed
up to fight against him. But we are you know,
(11:52):
state representatives that are standing up to Donald Trump, and
we really haven't seen that happen yet.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Thank you so much for Representative Garcia for sharing what
your experience has been like. And I want to go
back to this question that you asked yourself, why am
I doing this? And we interviewed you when you were
campaigning and this is your first term, and this is
an incredibly difficult first term given and I want to
(12:21):
emphasize that you said like breaking quorum was right for
you and writ in your heart and going back to
your why and asking yourself why am I doing this?
What have you been telling yourself since then? What is
that answer?
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Sure?
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah, So I want to tell you all that, like
please don't you can call me Linda, Please don't call
me representatives Garcia. I want I'm wanting to come to
you today as Linda, you know what I mean, and
just yes and just.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
I also want to give you the respect Linda, because
you have been like you've been doing the media circuit
like this has made national news. And when I when
we see you, like you have to know that when
we see you doing these media circuits, we literally say
to ourselves like that's our girl, like that is her
we were at we all grow together, like we have
(13:15):
been knowing you, right, and we just are so proud
of you, and so also want to give you the
respect of like your representative Garcia. But I also like
I know, like Istamo wasn't family at them be in
right now.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
See and let's keep it that way. Because you ask
me like, what's my why.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
That's my why. That's it.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I want to, you know, show up as my full self,
my arms tattooed, and walk onto the house floor, and
some people may look at me like, you know, ivy
and Elachusma or something. But that's the way I feel
when Donald Trump walks in the White House, you know.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
So I just want to you know, I just.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Want to reflect that any we can accomplish whatever it
is that we want to accomplish, and we can take
up the space, and in such a conservative space, you know,
my why is to make sure that our people see
ourselves reflected there.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I appreciate also your urgency to inform the community and
the audience about the imminent threat to democracy and the
attempt to extend Trump's presidency to a third term. I
was just in an uber the other day and the
uber driver was a Latino male, and we're talking about
ice raids and everything that's going on politically, and he said, well, well,
(14:46):
I guess we just have to wait what three more years,
and then he'll be out. And I think that there's
a lot of fear, but I think that there are
people who are sort of sitting on their hands and thinking, well,
he'll just turn out and then it'll be over. And
what do you have to say to that and to
that mentality?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yeah, I have to say that we need to believe
him when he says he's going to attempt a third term.
He is clearly showing us actions of that today right
now as we speak. And you know, there's a handful
of US Texas legislators trying to execute something that is
(15:25):
a heavy lift, that is trying to save democracy for
the United States, and it's it's, if I'm just being honest,
it's too heavy of a lift for just us. And
I want I wanted to come on here because you
know your governor is standing up against him right now,
(15:46):
and I just want to urge my people in California
that this is the time to stand behind him. He
has created a trigger where he's gonna take away all
the Republican congressional seats in California, a temporary trigger that
(16:09):
this only happens for this term. The way you all
draw up congressional seats, it's protected and it's the way
that we should draw up congressional seats in every single state,
which is not done by politicians the way it's done
in Texas. It's done by the people. It's done by
a commission that is a separate entity, and then you
(16:31):
all get to vote on it. And so you have
a very important vote that is coming up in California,
and I just want to highlight that this is not
about Republicans versus Democrats. This is about saving our democracy
and it we must vote alongside Governor Newsom to change
(16:54):
these maps, which we have no doubt that you all
aren't going to come through, no doubt. But you know,
if we want to talk about taking action, we have
to make sure that you all get out to the
polls in overwhelming numbers, just to send a message.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
As extreme as the Trump regime is becoming, do you
see any Republicans jumping ship. Do you see any Republicans
saying this is too much, this is an abomination, we
need to make a change. We're not supporting this anymore.
Are you seeing that happening? Or are Republicans across the
(17:33):
board doubling down with their support of Donald Trump.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
So I will tell you that within the House, there
are some of my Republican colleagues that do not agree
with what is happening right now, But they are so
afraid to stand up that they just simply will not.
It's wild to me. They have forgotten who they serve.
(18:00):
They forgot that they serve. The public were not here,
Like I said, I didn't sign up to go against Trump,
like I signed up to fight Greg Abbott, like we're
in this. I know my boundaries and I know you
know where I am working and who I am serving.
And it is just crazy to me. Donald Trump can
pick up the phone in our house and call our
(18:22):
Republican members and have him vote a certain way because
billionaires outside of Texas have invested in certain policies in
our state. They've stripped us away from They've underfunded our
public schools. They took a ton of money away last session.
This session. Now in the state of Texas, it's going
to be legal to funnel tax dollars away from public
(18:46):
schools and into private schools. It's like a coupon for
rich people to go to private school And this is
all because of an outside investor. Donald Trump called the
Republicans to make sure that they voted the way he
wanted too so, and there are Republicans that didn't agree.
They were going to stand with the Democrats on this,
and then they got the phone call from Trump and
(19:07):
they switched. But there is a Republican US representative in
the state of Texas that filed a bill where he
wants to make mid Way redistricting unconstitutional. Obviously to oppose
what Gavin is doing right now, but it's important for
(19:29):
us to get the message across that he's also opposing
what the President is calling for in the state of Texas,
and he is also opposing for the redistricting in the
state of Texas.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
I want to go back to ICE and ICE detention,
and as we've seen, ICE agents will arrest, detained basically
anybody off of the street, undocumented or not, citizen or not.
And the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, do
(20:00):
you think that there is a future in which ICE
agents will detain anybody, including those who are only politically
in opposition to Donald Trump. If they're able to detain
anybody regardless of citizenship status, is it plausible that they
could start detaining people simply because they pose a political obstacle.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
We are watching ICE agents not show who they are,
not have a warrant signed by a judge or any
warrant at all. We are watching bounty hunters, We're watching copycats.
I think absolutely there.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Is a world.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
We can bet on it. There is a world that
exists where any type of opposition will be removed. We're
watching it right now. As legislators. We're being threatened with
removing us from public office. When our constituents put us
in put us into office. They don't have the right
(21:02):
to remove us, and they're threatening us with that. We
legally broke quorum, and so I think that I think
this is why it's I feel like it's an urgent
matter for me to speak to you all and just
try to speak to as many friends as possible, because
I know how this can be very overwhelming and we're
(21:24):
watching content and it's like what do we do, how
do we help? Where do we go? We are at
like a really big crisis right now. This is a
massive issue that needs everybody's attention. My hope is that
we will mobilize. In Texas, forty percent of registered voters
(21:48):
are Democrat, but they are not showing up to vote,
and so I hope that we mobilize across the country
and understand that again, this is not about Republican versus Democrat.
This is about trying to save democracy and get this
man out of power.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
What's next for you and your democratic colleagues.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
We have a lot of wins to celebrate. Obviously, your
governor he has graciously had our back. Several other governors
across the state are starting to move in the same direction.
We were hoping that our decision to do this would
get us national attention. That is almost as far as
(22:32):
we can go. The other option would be that we
break quorum until May of next year. We're regular people.
I mean, you saw me when I opened up. There
were moments today where I thought like, maybe I should
just have, you know, my chief cancel the call, and
I'm like, no, I have to do it, even if
they see me distraught, Like I just have to push
(22:53):
through and get the message out as quick as I
can and to as many people as I can't. We
can't hold out till May. That's it's not realistic. And
there are approximately three seats away, three Democrats away from
making quorum. So we're going to have to go back
(23:16):
and put up a fight on the floor, which is
still very important. When we go on the floor to
fight the bills and present amendments. We are actually presenting
a case and all of those cases, hearings from our
community members that come into testify, all of that is
held as evidence so that we can go to the
(23:37):
next fight, which is hope that our courts in Texas
will see that this is a racial jerry mandering. We
haven't even gotten into that because it's racial jerry mandering.
So in the state of Texas, three Latinos will have
to vote when one white person votes, five African Americans
(23:58):
will have to vote when one white person votes. That's
how much they've watered down our vote. It is complete jerrymandering,
and so we have to make that case, set it
up so that hopefully the courts will be on our side.
The other thing that we're leaning into that's a really
big win for us is that you will pass the
(24:20):
maps and we wash what they've done in Texas. But
still the reality is that our state is impacted. I mean,
we believe that our state is at the very least purple.
Latinos in Texas are the majority.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Linda Garcia, Representative Garcia from District one oh seven in Texas,
thank you once again for joining us today. On the
special episode of loc at Thought our Radio, for sharing
the urgency of what's going on not only in Texas
but also in California, and for your bravery as a
public servant, for breaking quorum and for sharing with our
(25:00):
audience today. We really appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Thank you all for opening up your space. I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And we're praying for you. Honestly, Loca Landia
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