August 12, 2025 • 39 mins
Former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke talks Ken Paxton's calls for his arrest, anti-redistricting rallies, and how his Powered By People PAC is fighting Governor Abbott's plan to give Donald Trump a third term.
Discussed in this episode: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is Gavin Newsom and this is better. Oh Rourke.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey, how you doing, brother? I'm doing okay, I'm back
in El Paso. This is this is home. So you're not.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
You should not be an El Paso. You should be
preparing get a toothbrush. You're on your way to jail.
My friend, I just read Paxton's latest missive says lock
them up, lock him up.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's right. If Twitter can be believed, that's that's where
I'm headed next. But for the time being, I get
to hang with family, which is pretty nice.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
But I mean, on a serious note, I mean, I
mean the guys. The Attorney General of the State of
Texas said in a tweet that O'Rourke needs to be
locked up, not just hunted down, but now locked up.
I mean, you got on a serious no, you got
tell me you'd I haven't had a private attorney or someone.
You're you're literally gaming this out. You got game it
out right.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah. I mean here's the thing that everyone should know.
One they're trying to stop us from exercising our First Amendment,
constitutionally protected right to say what we want to say
about the politics of this country, about the attempted theft
of these five congressional seats. Our encouragement to governors such
(01:22):
as yourself to use their full power to maximize democratic
congressional control of the districts within their states. I mean,
this is the fight that is taking place right now,
and they're trying to take us out of this fight
by seeking to intimidate us in the courts. And now,
as you know, you just referred to Ken Paxson is
on Twitter saying lock him up, and what they're gavin
(01:45):
this is what I think is going on. Over the
last seven eight months, We've watched the wealthiest, the most
powerful people and institutions in this country been the need.
The Ivy League, universities, Harvard may settle for five hundred
million this week. The big law firms, Paramount, CBS, you know, Zuckerberg, Bezos,
(02:08):
you know, all of them are bending the need. And
then they come to Texas in this effort to steal
these five seats, assuming that that we're going to do
the same. And when our knees don't bend, they don't
like that so much, and so they not only seek
to vacate the seats of the fifty four state House
Dems who have broken quorum, to stop this deal. They're
threatening them with second degree felonies. They're sending the FBI
(02:32):
and state troopers after him. But now they're suing us
successively many times over the last few days in state
court here and now threatening to put me in jail.
So this is where we are right now, and this
is why, at this moment, we need people to stand
and fight that. You know, every single time someone bends
the need of these guys, they get more powerful, there's
(02:53):
more momentum behind them, and it's going to be just
tougher for us to succeed. And if we don't, I
think this is for all the marbles. This is the
ballgame in the summer of twenty twenty five, not just
the election of twenty twenty six, but whether there's going
to be the consolidation of authoritarian control in the hands
of this president. So we cannot be found wanting right now.
We've got to fight with all we've got.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I love it and so much done unpack in everything
you just said, But let me just go back a
little bit, just create some situational awareness for folks. Quite literally,
just a few hours ago, we're referencing that tweet where
the attorney General of the State of Texas talked about
locking you up. But you reference powered by the people,
are powered by people, which is your pack. There was
(03:34):
a lawsuit by that same Attorney general. There was a
court order by a Abbot governor, Abbot appointed judge that
did a temporary injunction. And he's what asserting now that
you have broken the tenants of the tro as it
relates to the pack. Maybe illuminate us more of what
(03:54):
at least he's asserting, and then give us the facts.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We had a big round planned on Saturday in fort
Worth in Tarrent County in North Texas, just next to
Dallas in the north part of our state. And so
he went to state Court in Fort Worth in front
of this Abbot appointed judge, as you pointed out, four
point thirty on Friday, with almost and I think actually
no notice to our side, filing a temporary restraining order
(04:23):
request to stop me from being able to hold the rally,
from being able to raise resources for those who are
in this fight, and for even being able to speak.
But the tro that they got was so incredibly narrow
in scope. There are some very technical, specific things that
I can't say and I have not said them. But
I've continued to rally, to fight, to raise and to
(04:46):
speak my mind. And we did all that in Fort
Worth on Saturday in front of thousands of fired up
people who want to make sure that this theft of
these five congressional seats does not proceed in the state
of Texas, and that we stop, you know, finding ourselves
on the backfoot or on the defense, but we take
the fight to them. We go on offense. We don't
await the punch to be thrown by these would be fascists.
(05:08):
We throw ours first, and we throw it harder. That
was the spirit in Fort Worth on Saturday, and they
didn't like that, and so at the crack of dawn
today they file this request for the judge to find
me in criminal contempt, to lock me up, put me
behind bars, and literally physically prevent me from continuing to
travel the state to hold rallies, to meet with people,
(05:28):
to raise resources, and to fight. They just don't want
us to fight, all the more reason for us to fight,
and very telling about how panicked and scared they are.
If they cannot complete this steal in Texas, if they
can stop us from winning control, or if they cannot
stop us from winning control of the House of Representatives.
(05:50):
There's going to be a check on their lawlessness. There's
going to be accountability for all the crimes and corruption
that we see organized out of the White House right now,
and there's a very real prospect that we'll have free
and fair elections in twenty twenty eight. If we fail
in this, and this is what they're counting on, then
that consolidation of authoritarian power proceeds at an even increased pace.
(06:10):
And we've just seen a blitzkrieg over the last eight months.
That is just the prelude or the prologue to what
is going to happen to America over the next three
and a half years if we're unsuccessful, more masked playing clothes,
federal agents without warrants or badges, sweeping fellow Americans up
off the streets, more of Trump's political opponents targeted, as
I'm being targeted right now for vengeance or retribution or
(06:33):
even political violence. And we know that a complicit Republican
controlled Congress will roll out the red carpet for a
third Trump term. So those are the stakes. The election
of twenty twenty six is being decided right now in
the summer of twenty five, and all of us have
to fight with all that we've got to make sure
that we win it, and win it now.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
I want to go back. You use the words free
and fair, and I do think it's important to pause
everything you said. I agree, and again I want to
talk much more about that. But the notion that they
are trying to stop you from expressing yourself, having a
rally asserting your fundamental constitution, I mean, I didn't even
(07:15):
want to go into the obvious point. But what the
hell is their assertion? What do they say? How could
a judge possibly do a tro a temporary restraining order,
temporary injunction alleging that you've done what? What was the
assertion on the basis of what law and what constitutional principle?
What were they claiming?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
They're claiming that our organization powered by people. And then
I personally am attempting to bribe the fifty four state
House Democrats who broke quorum and left the state.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
And you're bribing them by doing what what's the assertion
you've bribed them by your handing? Are you doing cash envelopes?
Are you putting money into their kids' bank accounts, their spouses.
What are you doing exactly what is assertion?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Not only are we not doing any of those things
that you just mentioned, I mean we literally have not
written a single check to any of these state legislators.
We're raising resources to make sure that all of us
can stay in this fight, that we can stop this theft.
But yes, they're asserting bribery, which, as you're pointing out,
is incredibly rich. Ken Paxon himself was not just accused
(08:23):
of bribery, he was impeached by the Texas Legislature, which,
as you know, is a Republican majority institution. Members of
his own party found him or impeached him for the
accusation of bribery. And then you've got the folks around him.
You know, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, took six
million dollars from an out of state billionaire, jeff Yass
(08:44):
to unseat Republican members of the state legislator who were
opposing his voucher scheme, which in playing terms, just means
draining resources from local schools and cutting checks to private schools,
which is just going to decimate public education in the
state of Texas. And then we've got you know, the
President the bribery in chief who just reduced Jelaane Maxwell's sentence.
(09:06):
You know, remind her that she is a convicted sex
trafficker of children, children of kids. She's now at Camp
fed outside of Brian, Texas, because presumably she's playing ball
to hide Trump's complicity to the degree he was with
Jeffrey Epstein, you know, the bride to Eric Adams. The
quid pro quo will drop the charges against you for bribery,
(09:27):
by the way, if you will allow our ice agents
to run wild on the streets of your city. The
four hundred million from the kataris the Trump meme coin,
where anyone foreign or domestic can give any amount of
money to purchase influence and access to the president and
his administration. So, you know, Joseph Gerbels infamously said, you know,
(09:47):
accuse your opponent of the thing that you yourself are guilty of.
And they're reading that playbook and they're running those plays
right now. So we have to make sure that we
fight and not just fight back, but take the fight
to them. And I've just got to say on behalf
of the folks that I'm working with and listening to
across the state of Texas. We are so damned proud
of you and grateful to you for taking this fight
(10:10):
to them, not waiting, not reacting, not watching see, but
taking the fight to them. We need more of that
across the country right now.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Look, I appreciate that, and look, I appreciate, I appreciate
how reasonable you are under these extraordinary circumstances. Nothing about
this is normal not nothing about this can be normalized,
nothing about When people say it's not surprising. When people
(10:39):
use that phrase, I recoil because it makes me think
that it's they're somehow accepting of it. Well, it's not surprising,
it's not surprising. It's sure as hell is surprising. It's outrageous.
I mean, the idea that you have an attorney general
who himself was accused of bribery again, impeached by Republicans,
not just Democrats, saying quote unquote is going to hunt
(11:00):
people down, the Democrats that left the state and now
is going to lock you up. That's serious. I mean,
it's just it is serious, and so I appreciate, I
appreciate how calm you are, but it should scare the
hell out of everyone listening. So I want to go
back just briefly, you in twenty twenty one did similar
(11:22):
work on behalf of Democrats that last time left the state,
meaning this quorum break occurred in twenty twenty one in
Texas under different circumstances on a different issue. And my
recollection is that you were out front doing similar advocacy
or at least raising awareness around this, exercising your voice
(11:44):
and doing rallies and calling people's attention to this. But
you didn't, to my knowledge, experience anything like your experience
today Or is that inaccurate?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
No, you're exactly right, and just to give people some context,
Powered by People is the largest voter registration organization in
the state. Hundreds of thousands of Texans are on the
rolls because of our volunteers who literally go out there
and meet them wherever they are in the two hundred
and fifty four counties of Texas. Unlike California, in our
(12:15):
state there's no online voter registration or automatic voter registration,
same day voter registration. So imagine the poor eighteen year
old who's got to figure out how to print the
form out, fill it out correctly, find an envelope and
a stamp, mail that sucker into the county Registrar's office
and then follow up on it to get their voter
registration card. They're obviously targeting these young people because they
(12:37):
fear them. They don't want them to vote, they don't
want their voice heard, they don't want their ballot cast
or counted because that threatens their purchase on power. And
so here's powered by people getting out there registering these
young people, staying in touch with these young people to
ensure that they actually get a chance to participate in
our politics. It's that kind of work. It's the support
(12:57):
of these Texas House Dems and the larger fight for democracy.
Look just the right to vote and to have free
and fair elections and to make sure that you have
one person, one vote in the state of Texas, which
has been under constant attack since Shelby versus Holder was
decided in twenty thirteen, literally Gavin within minutes of that decision,
(13:19):
the state of Texas imposed the toughest voter ID law
in the country. You know, you can use your license
to carry a firearm you are at the polling place,
but you dare not use your idea. At the University
of Texas at il Passo to do the same. So
they're going after these young people, they're going after communities
of color, they're going after Texans who live in lower
(13:40):
income neighborhoods. They just fear their power. And there's a
reason that millions of Texans don't vote. It's not that
they're lazy, it's not that they don't love this democracy.
It's not that they don't care about the issues. It's
that they've literally been drawn out. And so they see us,
and I think rightfully so, as a threat to this
system that is inherently democratic. And they're not only trying
(14:01):
to silence us from speaking out about this theft right now,
they're trying to stop us from doing this important voter
registration pro democracy work here in the state of Texas.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And batter you started what twenty nineteen, powered by people.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Absolutely, yeah, And in the midst of the you know,
primarily organized around voter registration, but in the midst of
the pandemic, you know, older Texans were leaving their volunteer
shifts at the food banks because they were more susceptible
to the virus. Understandable, Our volunteers filled tens of thousands
of man hours at food banks all across the State
of Texas when the geniuses in charge in the next
(14:38):
year twenty twenty one could not keep the power flowing
in the energy capital of the world, and the heat
stopped running and the lights went off and the water
pipes froze. Our volunteers made more than a million phone
calls to seniors across the state of Texas. We could
have cared less if they were Republicans or Democrats or independents,
but we connected them to warming centers, to resources, to food,
(15:00):
to drinking water. We raised nearly a million dollars to
distribute for local infrastructure and communities where their water systems
had broken, where they needed help immediately and could not
wait on Ted Cruz to come back from Cancun or
Greg Abbott to actually focus on the needs that we
had at the time. So this group does a lot
(15:20):
of great work. And Gavin, they're all volunteers, Okay, So
these are everyday Texans who go through the trouble of
getting certified and trained as volunteer deputy registrars, deployed out
to the places where people need to get registered to vote,
and then do all this other great work for the
people of Texas. That is what is being attacked right now.
That's the threat that Ken Paxson, Greg Abbott and Donald
(15:42):
Trump seeing us.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
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Speaker 1 (16:25):
A few years later after you started the organization, obviously
with a KORM break in twenty twenty one around electoral issues,
there was no five hundred dollars. My understanding, there wasn't
five hundred dollars fines at the time. We're breaking corm
Now that's established. So these guys are all, I mean
all your you know, these are your friends, a lot
of them. There's fifty four that are out of the state.
(16:47):
They're subject to these finds that have accrued what over
the last how many days?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yeah, I mean, I think we're approaching two weeks here.
It's five hundred bucks a day per person, and these guys.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Make what six hundred This is a full time job
that pays an extraordinary amount of money the legislature in
Texas or not. Is it not a full time job
and it doesn't pay an absorbitant amount of money.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
They make seven two hundred dollars a year for being
state legislators in a state of thirty one million people,
you know, just behind California, is one of the largest
economies on the planet today. Extraordinary challenges, right, you know,
Texas leads the nation in school shootings. More than three
years after uvality those nineteen kids, there's two teachers who
(17:34):
were slaughter in that classroom. Nothing has changed, and these
democratic state legislators are doing their best within a very
challenging situation to change that. The minimum wage, expanding medicaid,
ensuring women can make their own decisions about their own
body and their own future and their own healthcare. And
for trying to do that, they are, as you pointed out,
(17:56):
being hunted down, in the words of the governor and
the Attorney General, John Cornyn crowing that he's met with
Cash Mattel and they're going to send the long arm
of the FBI after them as well. So this is
what they're up against. And I just want everyone to
just understand those fifty four are one of the very
last lines of defense, not just between us and the
(18:18):
theft of these five congressional districts in Texas, but between
us and a different form of government altogether. My theory
of the case, Gavin, and I want to hear yours
in response, is that if we fail to stop this,
and if we fail to win power in twenty twenty six,
this consolidation of authoritarian power in the hands of the
president is going to become almost unstoppable. I'll never say never,
(18:42):
and I'll never stop fighting. I know you won't either.
And there are tens, I hope hundreds of millions of
Americans who are with us on this, but they have
the Supreme Court, If they have the House and the
Senate again, the White House, you know, the tech billionaires,
all of these institutions that are bending the need right now,
this fight becomes so much harder. So that's why I'm
(19:03):
so keyed up right now. That's why we're fighting so
hard against Paxton and these threats of arrest and imprisonment
and all this bullshit that they're trying to lay on
us right now, because if we don't succeed, if we're
found wanting right now, it is nearly impossible in the
next turn after twenty twenty six. But I'd love to
hear how you see things from your perspective in California,
(19:24):
and you've met with these Texas legislators, You're meeting with
people across the country. We've been watching what you're doing.
How do you see the terms of this fight right now?
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Well, let me just in very pointed and sober terms
distill the essence of why I couldn't agree with you
more I receive from one of Trump's team, one of
his biggest supporters at twenty twenty eight, Trump at They're
not screwing around when you talk about a red carpet
a third term. You're not exaggerating. Everybody listening pay attention
(19:53):
to this. They're not making this thing up. Once a
mind is stretched, it never goes back to its original form.
Trump throws those things out, sees what the reaction is,
and that Overton window opens further and further, wider and wider.
This is serious stuff. Every single thing you've said we
need to reinforce. And I want to reflect more on
(20:15):
what you've said and unpack it for people listening, But
I do not. This is code read. You've described it
as a pre civil war crisis. I don't think it's
a gross exaggerate. I don't think it's exaggeration at all.
I mean the fact that they're talking about hunting people
down using that language, the fact that a US senator's
running for reelection against the same Paxton that was impeached
(20:37):
by his own Republican colleagues, and desperate for attention to
get in on this calls the FBI director, and he
somehow concurs that the FBI should be unleashed on people
that are advancing their own constitutional rights of spreece, speech acorum.
That's as old as mom and apple pie in America
system the minority exercising their rights against the tyranny of
(20:59):
the majority. So this is real. This is in every
way a petri dish for what's happening. But look, but
I think the challenge is for all of us is
with all the damn distractions twenty four to seven, how
the hell do we how do we avoid being distracted
by these distractions? To me, this is the whole damn game.
(21:22):
This is about rigging the system. This is the architecture
that makes everything else possible. You opened up about what
it's really all about. It relates to healthcare and tax
cuts and power, not just parties. But how the hell
do we keep people focused on the essential? What's happening
in your state? And I'll get to what's happening in
my state in a moment, but my state of mind,
(21:43):
your state of mind that I think recognizes this moment
that we're in and how perilous it is.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, I think we show up for people, and we
get out there and we fight in every and any
way we can. We don't know what's going to work,
but we know what won't work. If we sit back,
if we watch this, if we hope, if we pray,
if we expect someone to come in and ride to
our rescue. Were cooked? I mean, this thing is absolutely over.
(22:10):
You're a dad. I'm a dad. My conscience is my kids.
My greatest fear is having to answer to them. They're like, hey, Dad,
when all this shit was going down, what the fuck
did you do? What were you guys thinking? This guy
promised you he was going to be a dictator. On
day one, he told you this was going to be
the last election you would ever have to vote in.
And then when he was in office, he defied the
federal courts. He dismantled concressionally chartered programs. He covered up
(22:35):
for child sex traffickers, He colluded with corrupt public officials.
He dispensed with every constitutional safeguard, including due process. What
did you guys do? And I had better say, you know,
and you had better say, and everyone watching had better say.
Not only did we do our best, but we overcame
this challenge, just as America has overcome every serious threat before.
(22:55):
It wasn't easy, it wasn't tough. Some folks got locked
up in the process, some people got hurt, and it
was the most trying time of our life, but we
came through because we knew that there would be a
reckoning and an accounting from the generations that follow. I mean,
I can only imagine the history books written one hundred
years from now looking at the people of twenty twenty five.
(23:18):
It's the way you know, you and I when we
were in school. We're looking at the people in Germany
in nineteen thirty three. That guy's name Chancellor in January
of that year. In fifty three days, he has destroyed
German democracy. The Parliament or the Congress, their legislature passes
enabling laws, just like the Republicans are doing in Congress today.
That said, anything you want, you go out and do it.
(23:40):
And he goes from being this buffoonish, clownish thug who
can barely hold power to the undisputed master and dictator
of the German people. And I know this shit doesn't repeat,
but it sures how rhymes. And we got to me
listening to that right now and acting with the urgency
that the moment demands from us. And again I got
to tell you, I see you doing that right now.
(24:01):
I wish there were more who were doing that. I
love what JB. Pritsker is doing in Illinois. You know
Kathy Hokel has made some noise in New York that
they're going to use that power they have there to redistrict.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
But Beto, they need to use it. I mean, right now,
we're just forget the talking. It's not about press.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
I love those.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It's time to move.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
You got to move.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I mean, you get enough. It's not I mean, we're
all saying the right thing. Now. We got to do
the right thing, which means we got to fight fire
with fire. And back to your earlier question, that's exactly
what we're doing. We're gonna later this week, we're going
to announce the campaign. Next week, the legislature is going
to move this forward with two thirds. We're going to
get it in a special election on November fourth, and
(24:41):
we're gonna fight fire with fire. We're going to neutralize
whatever Abbot does next week or whenever they move forward
the next special session. We'll talk about that in a second.
The likelihood that they ultimately will be successful in Texas
and California won't move forward, but will also hopefully inspire
some other states. There are many other democratically led states
(25:04):
that can move forward, and we just cannot sit back
passively and again, it's not just Texas, and I don't
forgive me, I don't mean again. Let's introduce that you've
got the Vice President of the United States that was
just sent out not to console the families of the
one hundred and thirty hundred and forty plus and maybe
many many more that lost their lives in the flood.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
JD.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Vance was sent out instead to Indiana to begin the
process of redistricting there. You've seen what is happening in Florida,
what's already on autopilot in Ohio. They're hardly done here.
They're going to move, they're going to run the table
on us. They're ringing this election and playing sight. So
this is back to just code read. We've got to
(25:46):
move from the rhetoric. We have got to take action,
and we've got to have your back. We've got to
have our kids back. And I appreciate you reminding us
your one hundred percent right. No greater shame than those kids.
Look at us, Say where the hell were you? Dad? Now, no,
no bullshit, don't tell me you didn't know where the
hell were you? And I think that for everybody that's
(26:07):
the court, that's the mark of you know, that's the
conscience that we have to have, and we have to
have the character now to stand tall and have the conviction.
So man, I appreciate. What I love about what you're
doing is you're fighting and you're on your damn toes,
not on your heel. And Beto, this has been my
(26:28):
issue with my party for the last many years. They're
shape shifting everything. We're constantly responding as CRT D E
I ESG, I mean anything with three damn letters I,
R S FBI. Then when they want to weaponize it,
E P A uh, you know it's I love it.
You're saying, you know we're going to punch first, and
(26:51):
so forgive me, I'm meandering here. But the spirit that
you're bringing to this fight is the spirit we need
to bring to every damn fight. Because that Atlantic article
in January that someone sent me about the fifty three Days,
it scared the hell out of me. But I was
honestly timid to send it around because anytime you associate
(27:15):
anything with what happened in Germany the thirties and Hitler,
everyone then panics. But that is a must read article
for anyone that needs a little brush up in the
history lesson. Everything you just said is real. It happened
from within, and it happened in fifty three damn days.
We're just six months in, beto. This guy's just getting started.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Yeah, that's right. And just for those who haven't read
the article or don't know this history, over the course
of those fifty three days in nineteen thirty three, it
wasn't as though the German public and the German politicians
were powerless. The strength of that article is that there
were so many opportunities to stop this guy that people
passed on. They thought the moment to fight was down
(27:59):
the road, or that the fight wasn't important, or that
this was just going to be a passing phase. You
kind of talked earlier about normalizing this, and once the
mind stretches, it's hard to snap back to our previous
expectations of how power is used. But you said something
else that I really want to pick up on about
our own party, which I fear, for too long has
(28:21):
been overly concerned with being right instead of being in power.
And what we've watched is a rise of a competing
party that is only concerned about power. It could care
less about being right, or being legal or moral or ethical.
It is power, And you pointed out in twenty twenty
one I was doing the exact same things then during
a quorum break where Democrats left the state of Texas,
(28:43):
as I am doing now, there was no threat to
arrest me. There were no charges filed in the parent
county court, there was no effort to vacate their seats
or to hunt them down. The reason is because it's
not about the principle. It is about the power. And
this is a word of encouragement to everybody. I know
we've been you know, there's been some some darkness in
this conversation, which is just an accurate reflection of the conditions.
(29:06):
But I want to encourage folks with this. They are
you know, Trump, Paxton, Abbott, the Republicans in full panic
mode right now. These are signs of desperation. The reason
they're doing all this is they fully understand should they
not be able to succeed in this steal, should they
(29:26):
not be able to hold on to power in the House,
there will be a reckoning for them. There will be accountability,
there will be a check on their lawlessness, and there
will be free and fair elections, or as close as
we can get to it in America in the twenty
first century, in twenty twenty eight. And so you know
what's been chilling for me, Gavin, is is the near
(29:46):
or full impunity with which they've been acting, accepting these bribes.
The president has, making these corrupt deals. It's as though
he knows or thinks he knows that there will never
be a moment where he's accountable or has to answer
for his crimes or his corruption. He's absolutely betting on that.
And so that explains him saying, look, folks, I need
(30:09):
five seats in Texas, Go get them for me. No
pretense that the current seats are unconstitutional or unrepresentative. He's
just being really clear, which is a gift to all
of us, that this is about power. And to your point,
our side better get fucking serious about power, about winning
it and using it. Mandela Barnes, whom I just did
a town hall with in Milwaukee last week, said, when
(30:31):
we win power, we have to drive the car like
we stole it. We have to do everything for everyone
that we've been promising these massive changes in American society,
whether it is the minimum wage, whether it's rewriting our
immigration laws, whether it is dealing with this democracy so
that you can't spend three hundred million dollars on your
perverred presidential candidate, or that corporations aren't people and money
(30:55):
is not speech. So much work to do, but we
got to be about winning that power and then when
we have absolutely wielding it ruthlessly, aggressively, ambitiously to serve
and deliver for the American people, we do that that
is the best ticket to growing that power, staying in power,
and getting this country back on the right track.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
You know, is this the Beto Rourk of twenty eighteen
running for a Senate with no consultants? I mean, are
you do you feel like the times have changed you
in a dramatic way? Or do you feel you always
had a little bit of this in your belly, but
now you're coming full throated in terms of recognition the
lines that are drawn. I mean, is this Do you
(31:39):
feel like that you've become a different person with this
next with the last six months with drump two point zero?
What was January sixth years ago? Did you sort of
mark that moment as a new moment?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I think this moment is calling me like it's calling you,
like it's calling so many millions of our fellow Americans
to do everything I can with what I have wherever
I am. And one of the things I can do
that I'm pretty good at is bringing people together. I
mentioned Milwaukee, We were in Indianapolis, Kansas City, Omaha. Fifteen
hundred people came out in Oklahoma City fifteen months from
(32:14):
a fucking election, you know, not because they want to
support a candidate, not one, or because they're Democrats. We
didn't check their party affiliation at the door, because, like
you and me, they really care about what's happening to
this country right now and they want to fight back.
And so in Oklahoma City, we connected them with the
Oklahoma City County Democratic Party, with organizations that are registering
people to vote with candidates who are vying to win
(32:37):
that congressional seat held by a Republican right now, but
very winnable for a Democrat, especially if we organize now
in twenty twenty five. So, you know, I do think
there's a freedom of you know, not thinking about the
title or an office, or being a candidate or a
campaign and just doing the work. And the work is
the most important thing right now. If it leads to
(32:58):
something else, else it becomes obvious that I can have
more of an impact as a candidate. Absolutely unafraid of
doing that, but for now focusing on voter registration, being
in this fight in Texas, bringing others across the country
into this fight, because Texas is the front line, the
absolute epicenter of this fight for America. That's the highest
(33:21):
and best use of what I can give, and I'm
just going to keep doing it. I love you.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Reminded me just a quote that I love of justice.
Brandeis in a democracy. In a democracy, the most important
office is office of citizen. In this notion of active,
not inerd citizenship. The fact that people show up in
Oklahoma City. You've been doing rallies I think eight plus
different states. You're out there in red states, You're primarily
(33:45):
in rural parts of even your own state. In fact
people are coming out in these record numbers means they
haven't given into the cynicism, they haven't given it in
the fear. They're not giving up and they're not rolling over.
And I think that fills me with a tremendous amount
of optimism. I know it does you as well, and
puts a lot of you know it gives us just
some confidence that we're all not alone and we're all
(34:08):
in this together. That said, this Friday better. My understanding
is this Friday, just in a couple of days, this
first special session will end. There'll be a question for
the fifty four Democrats. Do they come back into the state.
Do they subject themselves to arrest, which in and of
itself is chilling if they are indeed arrested in the likelihood,
(34:32):
and this is a question, not a statement, the likelihood,
it seems to me, I'm curious. Your expectations is that
the governor will immediately call another special session and at
peril that they leave the state again. It likely will pass,
meaning we will likely in the next month or so
(34:55):
or even sooner see these five seats this mid decade,
a redrawing of the map. Is that an accurate assessment?
What do I know? What don't I know? In respect us?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Yeah, I mean, I think you're you're on top of this.
Just as we were going into this interview, someone told
me that Abbott is going to dissolve this current special
session so we can begin the next one right away,
maybe as soon as Friday or Saturday or Monday. For
those who want to fight this. I encourage you to
join us at the Texas Capital in Austin this coming Saturday. Governor,
(35:31):
we'd love to have you join us as well, I mean,
anyone who wants to be in this fight, because this fight,
as you have articulated so perfectly, is not about Texas.
It's not about Texans. It's about all three hundred and
thirty million of us, regardless of where we live. This
is the fight for the future of our country, and
it's being decided right now as it happens in the
(35:54):
state of Texas, but also in California, in Illinois, everywhere
that people have good conscience are willing to stand and
be counted at this moment of truth. So join us
at the Texas Capitol. It's this Saturday on the steps.
You know, the more who show up, the clearer the
picture to Abbott and Packson and Trump that we will
(36:15):
not bend the need that we're going to stand and fight.
They will not be able to run roughshot over the
people of Texas and steal our democracy. They steal it
here it is gone for the country. So all in
all together, as Franklin warned us, we're either going to
hang together or hang alone. And I want to make
sure that all of us hang together right now. Thank
you for hanging with those Texas Democrats, for having them
(36:38):
in California, for amplifying their voices, for encouraging people who
see Tim Cook genuflect before Donald Trump like one of
the most powerful executives on the fucking planet and give
him a gold plated iPhone. Others in these positions that
are prominent and powerful and wealthy and have privilege, who
(36:59):
actually have the resources to fight this fucker and instead
are giving in. It can tempt you to despair. But
when folks see you out there fighting these fifty four
Democrats in Texas, fighting others, fighting the folks who show
up this Saturday at the Texas Capital, that is encouraging.
It gives us hope. It's like, you know what, we
can do this shit. We are the people who overcame
(37:20):
the British Empire, the most powerful force on the planet.
We defeated the armies of the Confederacy, the divisions of
the Third Reich, the armed elected thugs of Jim Crow South.
We've overcome every single one of those challenges over the
last two hundred and forty nine years. Now it's our turn.
We are so fucky to be a lot, so fucking
lucky to be alive at this moment. So few American
(37:41):
generations have this chance to save our country at its
moment of truth. You and I are lucky enough to
be here right now with everyone else who is alive.
And so what we do with this inheritance everyone who's
fought every one of those battles before it has come
through to us. It's going to define us in the
eyes of history. It's going to determine what is possible
for this country. And it is ours to lose right now.
(38:03):
So everyone into this fight with all that you've got,
wherever you are. If we hang together, if we come
together right now, if we fight together, we are going
to win this together.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I mean I'm going to end right there, brother that
I love your passion. Most importantly, I love your action,
and I run on mind everybody you have agency. We're
not by standards in this world, and it is about
sharing your passion with action, and I think that's the
most important thing we need to communicate with folks. It's
not good enough to identify a problem. It's not good
(38:35):
enough to as you began, I thought so eloquently, sort
of sit back and hope that the guy or galon
the white horse is going to come save the day.
It's the person sitting there in the morning in the mirror,
and that's the person we need right now. People need
to show up, People need to exercise their voice, people
need to share that in authentic ways. Bet O'Rourke, thanks
(38:56):
for all you're doing, powered by people. Keep up the
great work, my friend.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Thank you so much. Man are yours?
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Thank you, brother,
This is Gavin Newsom and this is better. Oh Rourke.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey, how you doing, brother? I'm doing okay, I'm back
in El Paso. This is this is home. So you're not.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
You should not be an El Paso. You should be
preparing get a toothbrush. You're on your way to jail.
My friend, I just read Paxton's latest missive says lock
them up, lock him up.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's right. If Twitter can be believed, that's that's where
I'm headed next. But for the time being, I get
to hang with family, which is pretty nice.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
But I mean, on a serious note, I mean, I
mean the guys. The Attorney General of the State of
Texas said in a tweet that O'Rourke needs to be
locked up, not just hunted down, but now locked up.
I mean, you got on a serious no, you got
tell me you'd I haven't had a private attorney or someone.
You're you're literally gaming this out. You got game it
out right.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah. I mean here's the thing that everyone should know.
One they're trying to stop us from exercising our First Amendment,
constitutionally protected right to say what we want to say
about the politics of this country, about the attempted theft
of these five congressional seats. Our encouragement to governors such
(01:22):
as yourself to use their full power to maximize democratic
congressional control of the districts within their states. I mean,
this is the fight that is taking place right now,
and they're trying to take us out of this fight
by seeking to intimidate us in the courts. And now,
as you know, you just referred to Ken Paxson is
on Twitter saying lock him up, and what they're gavin
(01:45):
this is what I think is going on. Over the
last seven eight months, We've watched the wealthiest, the most
powerful people and institutions in this country been the need.
The Ivy League, universities, Harvard may settle for five hundred
million this week. The big law firms, Paramount, CBS, you know, Zuckerberg, Bezos,
(02:08):
you know, all of them are bending the need. And
then they come to Texas in this effort to steal
these five seats, assuming that that we're going to do
the same. And when our knees don't bend, they don't
like that so much, and so they not only seek
to vacate the seats of the fifty four state House
Dems who have broken quorum, to stop this deal. They're
threatening them with second degree felonies. They're sending the FBI
(02:32):
and state troopers after him. But now they're suing us
successively many times over the last few days in state
court here and now threatening to put me in jail.
So this is where we are right now, and this
is why, at this moment, we need people to stand
and fight that. You know, every single time someone bends
the need of these guys, they get more powerful, there's
(02:53):
more momentum behind them, and it's going to be just
tougher for us to succeed. And if we don't, I
think this is for all the marbles. This is the
ballgame in the summer of twenty twenty five, not just
the election of twenty twenty six, but whether there's going
to be the consolidation of authoritarian control in the hands
of this president. So we cannot be found wanting right now.
We've got to fight with all we've got.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I love it and so much done unpack in everything
you just said, But let me just go back a
little bit, just create some situational awareness for folks. Quite literally,
just a few hours ago, we're referencing that tweet where
the attorney General of the State of Texas talked about
locking you up. But you reference powered by the people,
are powered by people, which is your pack. There was
(03:34):
a lawsuit by that same Attorney general. There was a
court order by a Abbot governor, Abbot appointed judge that
did a temporary injunction. And he's what asserting now that
you have broken the tenants of the tro as it
relates to the pack. Maybe illuminate us more of what
(03:54):
at least he's asserting, and then give us the facts.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We had a big round planned on Saturday in fort
Worth in Tarrent County in North Texas, just next to
Dallas in the north part of our state. And so
he went to state Court in Fort Worth in front
of this Abbot appointed judge, as you pointed out, four
point thirty on Friday, with almost and I think actually
no notice to our side, filing a temporary restraining order
(04:23):
request to stop me from being able to hold the rally,
from being able to raise resources for those who are
in this fight, and for even being able to speak.
But the tro that they got was so incredibly narrow
in scope. There are some very technical, specific things that
I can't say and I have not said them. But
I've continued to rally, to fight, to raise and to
(04:46):
speak my mind. And we did all that in Fort
Worth on Saturday in front of thousands of fired up
people who want to make sure that this theft of
these five congressional seats does not proceed in the state
of Texas, and that we stop, you know, finding ourselves
on the backfoot or on the defense, but we take
the fight to them. We go on offense. We don't
await the punch to be thrown by these would be fascists.
(05:08):
We throw ours first, and we throw it harder. That
was the spirit in Fort Worth on Saturday, and they
didn't like that, and so at the crack of dawn
today they file this request for the judge to find
me in criminal contempt, to lock me up, put me
behind bars, and literally physically prevent me from continuing to
travel the state to hold rallies, to meet with people,
(05:28):
to raise resources, and to fight. They just don't want
us to fight, all the more reason for us to fight,
and very telling about how panicked and scared they are.
If they cannot complete this steal in Texas, if they
can stop us from winning control, or if they cannot
stop us from winning control of the House of Representatives.
(05:50):
There's going to be a check on their lawlessness. There's
going to be accountability for all the crimes and corruption
that we see organized out of the White House right now,
and there's a very real prospect that we'll have free
and fair elections in twenty twenty eight. If we fail
in this, and this is what they're counting on, then
that consolidation of authoritarian power proceeds at an even increased pace.
(06:10):
And we've just seen a blitzkrieg over the last eight months.
That is just the prelude or the prologue to what
is going to happen to America over the next three
and a half years if we're unsuccessful, more masked playing clothes,
federal agents without warrants or badges, sweeping fellow Americans up
off the streets, more of Trump's political opponents targeted, as
I'm being targeted right now for vengeance or retribution or
(06:33):
even political violence. And we know that a complicit Republican
controlled Congress will roll out the red carpet for a
third Trump term. So those are the stakes. The election
of twenty twenty six is being decided right now in
the summer of twenty five, and all of us have
to fight with all that we've got to make sure
that we win it, and win it now.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
I want to go back. You use the words free
and fair, and I do think it's important to pause
everything you said. I agree, and again I want to
talk much more about that. But the notion that they
are trying to stop you from expressing yourself, having a
rally asserting your fundamental constitution, I mean, I didn't even
(07:15):
want to go into the obvious point. But what the
hell is their assertion? What do they say? How could
a judge possibly do a tro a temporary restraining order,
temporary injunction alleging that you've done what? What was the
assertion on the basis of what law and what constitutional principle?
What were they claiming?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
They're claiming that our organization powered by people. And then
I personally am attempting to bribe the fifty four state
House Democrats who broke quorum and left the state.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
And you're bribing them by doing what what's the assertion
you've bribed them by your handing? Are you doing cash envelopes?
Are you putting money into their kids' bank accounts, their spouses.
What are you doing exactly what is assertion?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Not only are we not doing any of those things
that you just mentioned, I mean we literally have not
written a single check to any of these state legislators.
We're raising resources to make sure that all of us
can stay in this fight, that we can stop this theft.
But yes, they're asserting bribery, which, as you're pointing out,
is incredibly rich. Ken Paxon himself was not just accused
(08:23):
of bribery, he was impeached by the Texas Legislature, which,
as you know, is a Republican majority institution. Members of
his own party found him or impeached him for the
accusation of bribery. And then you've got the folks around him.
You know, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, took six
million dollars from an out of state billionaire, jeff Yass
(08:44):
to unseat Republican members of the state legislator who were
opposing his voucher scheme, which in playing terms, just means
draining resources from local schools and cutting checks to private schools,
which is just going to decimate public education in the
state of Texas. And then we've got you know, the
President the bribery in chief who just reduced Jelaane Maxwell's sentence.
(09:06):
You know, remind her that she is a convicted sex
trafficker of children, children of kids. She's now at Camp
fed outside of Brian, Texas, because presumably she's playing ball
to hide Trump's complicity to the degree he was with
Jeffrey Epstein, you know, the bride to Eric Adams. The
quid pro quo will drop the charges against you for bribery,
(09:27):
by the way, if you will allow our ice agents
to run wild on the streets of your city. The
four hundred million from the kataris the Trump meme coin,
where anyone foreign or domestic can give any amount of
money to purchase influence and access to the president and
his administration. So, you know, Joseph Gerbels infamously said, you know,
(09:47):
accuse your opponent of the thing that you yourself are guilty of.
And they're reading that playbook and they're running those plays
right now. So we have to make sure that we
fight and not just fight back, but take the fight
to them. And I've just got to say on behalf
of the folks that I'm working with and listening to
across the state of Texas. We are so damned proud
of you and grateful to you for taking this fight
(10:10):
to them, not waiting, not reacting, not watching see, but
taking the fight to them. We need more of that
across the country right now.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Look, I appreciate that, and look, I appreciate, I appreciate
how reasonable you are under these extraordinary circumstances. Nothing about
this is normal not nothing about this can be normalized,
nothing about When people say it's not surprising. When people
(10:39):
use that phrase, I recoil because it makes me think
that it's they're somehow accepting of it. Well, it's not surprising,
it's not surprising. It's sure as hell is surprising. It's outrageous.
I mean, the idea that you have an attorney general
who himself was accused of bribery again, impeached by Republicans,
not just Democrats, saying quote unquote is going to hunt
(11:00):
people down, the Democrats that left the state and now
is going to lock you up. That's serious. I mean,
it's just it is serious, and so I appreciate, I
appreciate how calm you are, but it should scare the
hell out of everyone listening. So I want to go
back just briefly, you in twenty twenty one did similar
(11:22):
work on behalf of Democrats that last time left the state,
meaning this quorum break occurred in twenty twenty one in
Texas under different circumstances on a different issue. And my
recollection is that you were out front doing similar advocacy
or at least raising awareness around this, exercising your voice
(11:44):
and doing rallies and calling people's attention to this. But
you didn't, to my knowledge, experience anything like your experience
today Or is that inaccurate?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
No, you're exactly right, and just to give people some context,
Powered by People is the largest voter registration organization in
the state. Hundreds of thousands of Texans are on the
rolls because of our volunteers who literally go out there
and meet them wherever they are in the two hundred
and fifty four counties of Texas. Unlike California, in our
(12:15):
state there's no online voter registration or automatic voter registration,
same day voter registration. So imagine the poor eighteen year
old who's got to figure out how to print the
form out, fill it out correctly, find an envelope and
a stamp, mail that sucker into the county Registrar's office
and then follow up on it to get their voter
registration card. They're obviously targeting these young people because they
(12:37):
fear them. They don't want them to vote, they don't
want their voice heard, they don't want their ballot cast
or counted because that threatens their purchase on power. And
so here's powered by people getting out there registering these
young people, staying in touch with these young people to
ensure that they actually get a chance to participate in
our politics. It's that kind of work. It's the support
(12:57):
of these Texas House Dems and the larger fight for democracy.
Look just the right to vote and to have free
and fair elections and to make sure that you have
one person, one vote in the state of Texas, which
has been under constant attack since Shelby versus Holder was
decided in twenty thirteen, literally Gavin within minutes of that decision,
(13:19):
the state of Texas imposed the toughest voter ID law
in the country. You know, you can use your license
to carry a firearm you are at the polling place,
but you dare not use your idea. At the University
of Texas at il Passo to do the same. So
they're going after these young people, they're going after communities
of color, they're going after Texans who live in lower
(13:40):
income neighborhoods. They just fear their power. And there's a
reason that millions of Texans don't vote. It's not that
they're lazy, it's not that they don't love this democracy.
It's not that they don't care about the issues. It's
that they've literally been drawn out. And so they see us,
and I think rightfully so, as a threat to this
system that is inherently democratic. And they're not only trying
(14:01):
to silence us from speaking out about this theft right now,
they're trying to stop us from doing this important voter
registration pro democracy work here in the state of Texas.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And batter you started what twenty nineteen, powered by people.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Absolutely, yeah, And in the midst of the you know,
primarily organized around voter registration, but in the midst of
the pandemic, you know, older Texans were leaving their volunteer
shifts at the food banks because they were more susceptible
to the virus. Understandable, Our volunteers filled tens of thousands
of man hours at food banks all across the State
of Texas when the geniuses in charge in the next
(14:38):
year twenty twenty one could not keep the power flowing
in the energy capital of the world, and the heat
stopped running and the lights went off and the water
pipes froze. Our volunteers made more than a million phone
calls to seniors across the state of Texas. We could
have cared less if they were Republicans or Democrats or independents,
but we connected them to warming centers, to resources, to food,
(15:00):
to drinking water. We raised nearly a million dollars to
distribute for local infrastructure and communities where their water systems
had broken, where they needed help immediately and could not
wait on Ted Cruz to come back from Cancun or
Greg Abbott to actually focus on the needs that we
had at the time. So this group does a lot
(15:20):
of great work. And Gavin, they're all volunteers, Okay, So
these are everyday Texans who go through the trouble of
getting certified and trained as volunteer deputy registrars, deployed out
to the places where people need to get registered to vote,
and then do all this other great work for the
people of Texas. That is what is being attacked right now.
That's the threat that Ken Paxson, Greg Abbott and Donald
(15:42):
Trump seeing us.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
The headlines never stop and it's harder than ever to
tell what's real, what matters, and what's just noise. That's
where Patzave America comes in. I'm Tommy Vitor, and every
week I'm joined by fellow former Obama aids John Favreau,
John Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer to break down the biggest stories,
unpack what they mean for the future of our democracy,
and add just enough humor to stay staying along the way.
(16:05):
You'll also hear honest, in depth conversations with big voices
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and Mark Cuban that you won't find anywhere else. New
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Speaker 2 (16:18):
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
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Speaker 1 (16:25):
A few years later after you started the organization, obviously
with a KORM break in twenty twenty one around electoral issues,
there was no five hundred dollars. My understanding, there wasn't
five hundred dollars fines at the time. We're breaking corm
Now that's established. So these guys are all, I mean
all your you know, these are your friends, a lot
of them. There's fifty four that are out of the state.
(16:47):
They're subject to these finds that have accrued what over
the last how many days?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yeah, I mean, I think we're approaching two weeks here.
It's five hundred bucks a day per person, and these guys.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Make what six hundred This is a full time job
that pays an extraordinary amount of money the legislature in
Texas or not. Is it not a full time job
and it doesn't pay an absorbitant amount of money.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
They make seven two hundred dollars a year for being
state legislators in a state of thirty one million people,
you know, just behind California, is one of the largest
economies on the planet today. Extraordinary challenges, right, you know,
Texas leads the nation in school shootings. More than three
years after uvality those nineteen kids, there's two teachers who
(17:34):
were slaughter in that classroom. Nothing has changed, and these
democratic state legislators are doing their best within a very
challenging situation to change that. The minimum wage, expanding medicaid,
ensuring women can make their own decisions about their own
body and their own future and their own healthcare. And
for trying to do that, they are, as you pointed out,
(17:56):
being hunted down, in the words of the governor and
the Attorney General, John Cornyn crowing that he's met with
Cash Mattel and they're going to send the long arm
of the FBI after them as well. So this is
what they're up against. And I just want everyone to
just understand those fifty four are one of the very
last lines of defense, not just between us and the
(18:18):
theft of these five congressional districts in Texas, but between
us and a different form of government altogether. My theory
of the case, Gavin, and I want to hear yours
in response, is that if we fail to stop this,
and if we fail to win power in twenty twenty six,
this consolidation of authoritarian power in the hands of the
president is going to become almost unstoppable. I'll never say never,
(18:42):
and I'll never stop fighting. I know you won't either.
And there are tens, I hope hundreds of millions of
Americans who are with us on this, but they have
the Supreme Court, If they have the House and the
Senate again, the White House, you know, the tech billionaires,
all of these institutions that are bending the need right now,
this fight becomes so much harder. So that's why I'm
(19:03):
so keyed up right now. That's why we're fighting so
hard against Paxton and these threats of arrest and imprisonment
and all this bullshit that they're trying to lay on
us right now, because if we don't succeed, if we're
found wanting right now, it is nearly impossible in the
next turn after twenty twenty six. But I'd love to
hear how you see things from your perspective in California,
(19:24):
and you've met with these Texas legislators, You're meeting with
people across the country. We've been watching what you're doing.
How do you see the terms of this fight right now?
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Well, let me just in very pointed and sober terms
distill the essence of why I couldn't agree with you
more I receive from one of Trump's team, one of
his biggest supporters at twenty twenty eight, Trump at They're
not screwing around when you talk about a red carpet
a third term. You're not exaggerating. Everybody listening pay attention
(19:53):
to this. They're not making this thing up. Once a
mind is stretched, it never goes back to its original form.
Trump throws those things out, sees what the reaction is,
and that Overton window opens further and further, wider and wider.
This is serious stuff. Every single thing you've said we
need to reinforce. And I want to reflect more on
(20:15):
what you've said and unpack it for people listening, But
I do not. This is code read. You've described it
as a pre civil war crisis. I don't think it's
a gross exaggerate. I don't think it's exaggeration at all.
I mean the fact that they're talking about hunting people
down using that language, the fact that a US senator's
running for reelection against the same Paxton that was impeached
(20:37):
by his own Republican colleagues, and desperate for attention to
get in on this calls the FBI director, and he
somehow concurs that the FBI should be unleashed on people
that are advancing their own constitutional rights of spreece, speech acorum.
That's as old as mom and apple pie in America
system the minority exercising their rights against the tyranny of
(20:59):
the majority. So this is real. This is in every
way a petri dish for what's happening. But look, but
I think the challenge is for all of us is
with all the damn distractions twenty four to seven, how
the hell do we how do we avoid being distracted
by these distractions? To me, this is the whole damn game.
(21:22):
This is about rigging the system. This is the architecture
that makes everything else possible. You opened up about what
it's really all about. It relates to healthcare and tax
cuts and power, not just parties. But how the hell
do we keep people focused on the essential? What's happening
in your state? And I'll get to what's happening in
my state in a moment, but my state of mind,
(21:43):
your state of mind that I think recognizes this moment
that we're in and how perilous it is.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, I think we show up for people, and we
get out there and we fight in every and any
way we can. We don't know what's going to work,
but we know what won't work. If we sit back,
if we watch this, if we hope, if we pray,
if we expect someone to come in and ride to
our rescue. Were cooked? I mean, this thing is absolutely over.
(22:10):
You're a dad. I'm a dad. My conscience is my kids.
My greatest fear is having to answer to them. They're like, hey, Dad,
when all this shit was going down, what the fuck
did you do? What were you guys thinking? This guy
promised you he was going to be a dictator. On
day one, he told you this was going to be
the last election you would ever have to vote in.
And then when he was in office, he defied the
federal courts. He dismantled concressionally chartered programs. He covered up
(22:35):
for child sex traffickers, He colluded with corrupt public officials.
He dispensed with every constitutional safeguard, including due process. What
did you guys do? And I had better say, you know,
and you had better say, and everyone watching had better say.
Not only did we do our best, but we overcame
this challenge, just as America has overcome every serious threat before.
(22:55):
It wasn't easy, it wasn't tough. Some folks got locked
up in the process, some people got hurt, and it
was the most trying time of our life, but we
came through because we knew that there would be a
reckoning and an accounting from the generations that follow. I mean,
I can only imagine the history books written one hundred
years from now looking at the people of twenty twenty five.
(23:18):
It's the way you know, you and I when we
were in school. We're looking at the people in Germany
in nineteen thirty three. That guy's name Chancellor in January
of that year. In fifty three days, he has destroyed
German democracy. The Parliament or the Congress, their legislature passes
enabling laws, just like the Republicans are doing in Congress today.
That said, anything you want, you go out and do it.
(23:40):
And he goes from being this buffoonish, clownish thug who
can barely hold power to the undisputed master and dictator
of the German people. And I know this shit doesn't repeat,
but it sures how rhymes. And we got to me
listening to that right now and acting with the urgency
that the moment demands from us. And again I got
to tell you, I see you doing that right now.
(24:01):
I wish there were more who were doing that. I
love what JB. Pritsker is doing in Illinois. You know
Kathy Hokel has made some noise in New York that
they're going to use that power they have there to redistrict.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
But Beto, they need to use it. I mean, right now,
we're just forget the talking. It's not about press.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
I love those.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It's time to move.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
You got to move.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I mean, you get enough. It's not I mean, we're
all saying the right thing. Now. We got to do
the right thing, which means we got to fight fire
with fire. And back to your earlier question, that's exactly
what we're doing. We're gonna later this week, we're going
to announce the campaign. Next week, the legislature is going
to move this forward with two thirds. We're going to
get it in a special election on November fourth, and
(24:41):
we're gonna fight fire with fire. We're going to neutralize
whatever Abbot does next week or whenever they move forward
the next special session. We'll talk about that in a second.
The likelihood that they ultimately will be successful in Texas
and California won't move forward, but will also hopefully inspire
some other states. There are many other democratically led states
(25:04):
that can move forward, and we just cannot sit back
passively and again, it's not just Texas, and I don't
forgive me, I don't mean again. Let's introduce that you've
got the Vice President of the United States that was
just sent out not to console the families of the
one hundred and thirty hundred and forty plus and maybe
many many more that lost their lives in the flood.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
JD.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Vance was sent out instead to Indiana to begin the
process of redistricting there. You've seen what is happening in Florida,
what's already on autopilot in Ohio. They're hardly done here.
They're going to move, they're going to run the table
on us. They're ringing this election and playing sight. So
this is back to just code read. We've got to
(25:46):
move from the rhetoric. We have got to take action,
and we've got to have your back. We've got to
have our kids back. And I appreciate you reminding us
your one hundred percent right. No greater shame than those kids.
Look at us, Say where the hell were you? Dad? Now, no,
no bullshit, don't tell me you didn't know where the
hell were you? And I think that for everybody that's
(26:07):
the court, that's the mark of you know, that's the
conscience that we have to have, and we have to
have the character now to stand tall and have the conviction.
So man, I appreciate. What I love about what you're
doing is you're fighting and you're on your damn toes,
not on your heel. And Beto, this has been my
(26:28):
issue with my party for the last many years. They're
shape shifting everything. We're constantly responding as CRT D E
I ESG, I mean anything with three damn letters I,
R S FBI. Then when they want to weaponize it,
E P A uh, you know it's I love it.
You're saying, you know we're going to punch first, and
(26:51):
so forgive me, I'm meandering here. But the spirit that
you're bringing to this fight is the spirit we need
to bring to every damn fight. Because that Atlantic article
in January that someone sent me about the fifty three Days,
it scared the hell out of me. But I was
honestly timid to send it around because anytime you associate
(27:15):
anything with what happened in Germany the thirties and Hitler,
everyone then panics. But that is a must read article
for anyone that needs a little brush up in the
history lesson. Everything you just said is real. It happened
from within, and it happened in fifty three damn days.
We're just six months in, beto. This guy's just getting started.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Yeah, that's right. And just for those who haven't read
the article or don't know this history, over the course
of those fifty three days in nineteen thirty three, it
wasn't as though the German public and the German politicians
were powerless. The strength of that article is that there
were so many opportunities to stop this guy that people
passed on. They thought the moment to fight was down
(27:59):
the road, or that the fight wasn't important, or that
this was just going to be a passing phase. You
kind of talked earlier about normalizing this, and once the
mind stretches, it's hard to snap back to our previous
expectations of how power is used. But you said something
else that I really want to pick up on about
our own party, which I fear, for too long has
(28:21):
been overly concerned with being right instead of being in power.
And what we've watched is a rise of a competing
party that is only concerned about power. It could care
less about being right, or being legal or moral or ethical.
It is power, And you pointed out in twenty twenty
one I was doing the exact same things then during
a quorum break where Democrats left the state of Texas,
(28:43):
as I am doing now, there was no threat to
arrest me. There were no charges filed in the parent
county court, there was no effort to vacate their seats
or to hunt them down. The reason is because it's
not about the principle. It is about the power. And
this is a word of encouragement to everybody. I know
we've been you know, there's been some some darkness in
this conversation, which is just an accurate reflection of the conditions.
(29:06):
But I want to encourage folks with this. They are
you know, Trump, Paxton, Abbott, the Republicans in full panic
mode right now. These are signs of desperation. The reason
they're doing all this is they fully understand should they
not be able to succeed in this steal, should they
(29:26):
not be able to hold on to power in the House,
there will be a reckoning for them. There will be accountability,
there will be a check on their lawlessness, and there
will be free and fair elections, or as close as
we can get to it in America in the twenty
first century, in twenty twenty eight. And so you know
what's been chilling for me, Gavin, is is the near
(29:46):
or full impunity with which they've been acting, accepting these bribes.
The president has, making these corrupt deals. It's as though
he knows or thinks he knows that there will never
be a moment where he's accountable or has to answer
for his crimes or his corruption. He's absolutely betting on that.
And so that explains him saying, look, folks, I need
(30:09):
five seats in Texas, Go get them for me. No
pretense that the current seats are unconstitutional or unrepresentative. He's
just being really clear, which is a gift to all
of us, that this is about power. And to your point,
our side better get fucking serious about power, about winning
it and using it. Mandela Barnes, whom I just did
a town hall with in Milwaukee last week, said, when
(30:31):
we win power, we have to drive the car like
we stole it. We have to do everything for everyone
that we've been promising these massive changes in American society,
whether it is the minimum wage, whether it's rewriting our
immigration laws, whether it is dealing with this democracy so
that you can't spend three hundred million dollars on your
perverred presidential candidate, or that corporations aren't people and money
(30:55):
is not speech. So much work to do, but we
got to be about winning that power and then when
we have absolutely wielding it ruthlessly, aggressively, ambitiously to serve
and deliver for the American people, we do that that
is the best ticket to growing that power, staying in power,
and getting this country back on the right track.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
You know, is this the Beto Rourk of twenty eighteen
running for a Senate with no consultants? I mean, are
you do you feel like the times have changed you
in a dramatic way? Or do you feel you always
had a little bit of this in your belly, but
now you're coming full throated in terms of recognition the
lines that are drawn. I mean, is this Do you
(31:39):
feel like that you've become a different person with this
next with the last six months with drump two point zero?
What was January sixth years ago? Did you sort of
mark that moment as a new moment?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I think this moment is calling me like it's calling you,
like it's calling so many millions of our fellow Americans
to do everything I can with what I have wherever
I am. And one of the things I can do
that I'm pretty good at is bringing people together. I
mentioned Milwaukee, We were in Indianapolis, Kansas City, Omaha. Fifteen
hundred people came out in Oklahoma City fifteen months from
(32:14):
a fucking election, you know, not because they want to
support a candidate, not one, or because they're Democrats. We
didn't check their party affiliation at the door, because, like
you and me, they really care about what's happening to
this country right now and they want to fight back.
And so in Oklahoma City, we connected them with the
Oklahoma City County Democratic Party, with organizations that are registering
people to vote with candidates who are vying to win
(32:37):
that congressional seat held by a Republican right now, but
very winnable for a Democrat, especially if we organize now
in twenty twenty five. So, you know, I do think
there's a freedom of you know, not thinking about the
title or an office, or being a candidate or a
campaign and just doing the work. And the work is
the most important thing right now. If it leads to
(32:58):
something else, else it becomes obvious that I can have
more of an impact as a candidate. Absolutely unafraid of
doing that, but for now focusing on voter registration, being
in this fight in Texas, bringing others across the country
into this fight, because Texas is the front line, the
absolute epicenter of this fight for America. That's the highest
(33:21):
and best use of what I can give, and I'm
just going to keep doing it. I love you.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Reminded me just a quote that I love of justice.
Brandeis in a democracy. In a democracy, the most important
office is office of citizen. In this notion of active,
not inerd citizenship. The fact that people show up in
Oklahoma City. You've been doing rallies I think eight plus
different states. You're out there in red states, You're primarily
(33:45):
in rural parts of even your own state. In fact
people are coming out in these record numbers means they
haven't given into the cynicism, they haven't given it in
the fear. They're not giving up and they're not rolling over.
And I think that fills me with a tremendous amount
of optimism. I know it does you as well, and
puts a lot of you know it gives us just
some confidence that we're all not alone and we're all
(34:08):
in this together. That said, this Friday better. My understanding
is this Friday, just in a couple of days, this
first special session will end. There'll be a question for
the fifty four Democrats. Do they come back into the state.
Do they subject themselves to arrest, which in and of
itself is chilling if they are indeed arrested in the likelihood,
(34:32):
and this is a question, not a statement, the likelihood,
it seems to me, I'm curious. Your expectations is that
the governor will immediately call another special session and at
peril that they leave the state again. It likely will pass,
meaning we will likely in the next month or so
(34:55):
or even sooner see these five seats this mid decade,
a redrawing of the map. Is that an accurate assessment?
What do I know? What don't I know? In respect us?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Yeah, I mean, I think you're you're on top of this.
Just as we were going into this interview, someone told
me that Abbott is going to dissolve this current special
session so we can begin the next one right away,
maybe as soon as Friday or Saturday or Monday. For
those who want to fight this. I encourage you to
join us at the Texas Capital in Austin this coming Saturday. Governor,
(35:31):
we'd love to have you join us as well, I mean,
anyone who wants to be in this fight, because this fight,
as you have articulated so perfectly, is not about Texas.
It's not about Texans. It's about all three hundred and
thirty million of us, regardless of where we live. This
is the fight for the future of our country, and
it's being decided right now as it happens in the
(35:54):
state of Texas, but also in California, in Illinois, everywhere
that people have good conscience are willing to stand and
be counted at this moment of truth. So join us
at the Texas Capitol. It's this Saturday on the steps.
You know, the more who show up, the clearer the
picture to Abbott and Packson and Trump that we will
(36:15):
not bend the need that we're going to stand and fight.
They will not be able to run roughshot over the
people of Texas and steal our democracy. They steal it
here it is gone for the country. So all in
all together, as Franklin warned us, we're either going to
hang together or hang alone. And I want to make
sure that all of us hang together right now. Thank
you for hanging with those Texas Democrats, for having them
(36:38):
in California, for amplifying their voices, for encouraging people who
see Tim Cook genuflect before Donald Trump like one of
the most powerful executives on the fucking planet and give
him a gold plated iPhone. Others in these positions that
are prominent and powerful and wealthy and have privilege, who
(36:59):
actually have the resources to fight this fucker and instead
are giving in. It can tempt you to despair. But
when folks see you out there fighting these fifty four
Democrats in Texas, fighting others, fighting the folks who show
up this Saturday at the Texas Capital, that is encouraging.
It gives us hope. It's like, you know what, we
can do this shit. We are the people who overcame
(37:20):
the British Empire, the most powerful force on the planet.
We defeated the armies of the Confederacy, the divisions of
the Third Reich, the armed elected thugs of Jim Crow South.
We've overcome every single one of those challenges over the
last two hundred and forty nine years. Now it's our turn.
We are so fucky to be a lot, so fucking
lucky to be alive at this moment. So few American
(37:41):
generations have this chance to save our country at its
moment of truth. You and I are lucky enough to
be here right now with everyone else who is alive.
And so what we do with this inheritance everyone who's
fought every one of those battles before it has come
through to us. It's going to define us in the
eyes of history. It's going to determine what is possible
for this country. And it is ours to lose right now.
(38:03):
So everyone into this fight with all that you've got,
wherever you are. If we hang together, if we come
together right now, if we fight together, we are going
to win this together.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I mean I'm going to end right there, brother that
I love your passion. Most importantly, I love your action,
and I run on mind everybody you have agency. We're
not by standards in this world, and it is about
sharing your passion with action, and I think that's the
most important thing we need to communicate with folks. It's
not good enough to identify a problem. It's not good
(38:35):
enough to as you began, I thought so eloquently, sort
of sit back and hope that the guy or galon
the white horse is going to come save the day.
It's the person sitting there in the morning in the mirror,
and that's the person we need right now. People need
to show up, People need to exercise their voice, people
need to share that in authentic ways. Bet O'Rourke, thanks
(38:56):
for all you're doing, powered by people. Keep up the
great work, my friend.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Thank you so much. Man are yours?
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Thank you, brother,
Host
Gavin Newsom
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