Rep. Martinez Fischer on CNN July 10 before walk out from texas special session

2:51PM Jul 15, 2021

Speakers:

Keywords:

texas

critical race theory

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austin

midterms

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america

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to tell people about what Texas might mean for the rest of the country.

The message is very clear America we need to wake up, we need to preserve our democracy. We need a Federal Voting Rights solution, and we need it now versus a now or never moment. We're holding the law in Texas and we're going to fight with all our minds. But even if we were to fix this problem in Texas, it doesn't solve the problem for the rest of the nation. We need a national standard. And we are deadlocked in the US Senate. It is time for everyone to up their game we were in the fourth quarter, every man and woman in America. This is the time to speak up.

Have you seen with the passage of time and trying to make the case to colleagues that it has changed. The inclinations of any on the right and your state in terms of the lawmakers.

Well I'll tell you what, if you hit it on the head of the problem we have here in Texas, people are actually voting, we had a 66% turnout in the 20 election, and President Trump former President Trump won by five and a half points, we're not as red as people think we're becoming purple. And so the only way you can stop that momentum is to change the game just like you said, let's let's, let's make the hurdles higher, let's put more tripwire on the ground, let's make it a crime to vote in Texas, and that's the only way these folks can hold on to power. So, when it comes to survival of the fittest, they're not willing to be pragmatic or bipartisan.

Do you think that ignoring the power good grid problems which are a concern for a lot of people in your state, and instead focusing on the culture of war of critical race theory. Do you think that's going to work.

So you know, they call this a special session right there is nothing special about this session, this is what we call the suppression session because we are not dealing with the real problems, we need to fix our grid, just like you mentioned, we have federal dollars sitting in our treasury, that we haven't given to our schools, we haven't given to their small communities that don't get direct federal assistance from the federal government, and we don't have a delta variant exploding in the state of Texas and we are not prepared for that. That's what we need to be working on and I think that's what actually gets voters ticked off is that folks are going to focus Republicans will focus on these red meat issues that go absolutely nowhere, but they're just trying to hold on to that little power that they have, and is slowly slipping out of their fingers.

Now when you say that what is the feedback that you're getting in your you know your area, your community or your constituency that makes you think that this won't work because, at least on the media side this critical race theory is getting a lot of traction in Texas, and it does play into white fright.

It certainly does right but again these are these dog whistle politics you know we can't just, you know fall for this what I call a Jedi mind trick here we need to keep our eye on what really matters, Listen when I show up in my grocery store here in my community, no one ever tells me you know, Troy, we're not being mean enough to immigrants go to Austin and make some laws or hey trade by the way, you know, we, we're not making it hard enough for women to have health care choices, you know, go back up to Austin and do that folks are concerned about these kitchen table issues, having an energy system that actually works, making sure that we have an air conditioner in the summer, and a heater in the winter, making sure folks are prepared for a pandemic folks have a job, folks have a place to go if they want to go to college they can afford it, we're not focusing on those issues and I think voters can see right through it.

Well this is a laboratory, what's happening in your state, this is what is going to be what the midterms are about writ large, so we'll be watching to see how it goes, who benefits, and why. See a lot of people asking you lawmakers on the.