Today's podcast episode is going to be a little bit different. You probably already know that long-time Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva passed away on March 13, 2025, after a struggle with cancer.
Instead of just posting a selfie on social media of Grijalva and me taken at some event over the last few years, I decided to compile a podcast of video speeches that I recorded of him.
I have lived in Tucson for four decades, and during that entire time, Grijalva was an elected official in Southern Arizona. As a political writer and videographer close to 20 years, I have covered Grijalva many times. I dug back in my archives for these four speeches. The 2011 speech is particularly prescient.
Season 3, Episode 6 of A View from the Left Side -- Grijalva Speaks Truth to Power ... a Retrospective -- is a tribute to Grijalva and the progressive ideals he championed.
Segment 1. Progressive Democrats of America Tucson Chapter Organizing Meeting on February 22, 2011. The video in this segment has never been published. It was shot in February 2011, just a few months after the Tea Party victories in November 2010, a few weeks after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot at the Safeway Shopping Center in Tucson, Arizona and one year after Citizens United SCOTUS case. Three hundred progressives answered a tiny Tucson Weekly newspaper ad to hear about PDA and progressive activism. It was an exhilarating evening. In talking about the proposed Tea Party budget cuts and tax breaks for the rich, Grijalva foreshadows the struggles we have today. The 2010 election was the first one influenced by the SCOTUS decision that corporations are people and money is speech. Twenty-five years later, the richest man in the world bought the presidency for $270 million in campaign donations. The billionaires are in charge. Grijalva, Senator Bernie Sanders and PDA warned us about Big Money Politics in 2011, but the powerful in DC allowed money to take over our elections.
Segment 2. Senator Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign Rally in Reid Park on October 9, 2015. Bernie drew 1000s of people to a rally in Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona on a lovely fall evening in 2015. Grijalva endorsed Bernie for president. This segment is Grijalva's introduction of Bernie at the rally. To see all of the videos from that evening, go to my PamelaPowersTucsonProgressive YouTube channel. (I shot a lot of footage that night. It's all broken up by speaker and for Bernie by topic. Bernie talked for ~90 minutes. My camera battery ran out. Bernie's 2015 speeches are inspiring.)
Segment 3. Vigil for Democracy on January 6, 2022. One year after the January 6, 2021 Insurrection at the US Capitol, about 100 Tucsonans gathered at the cancer survivors memorial at Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona for a candlelight vigil and thoughtful speeches from local elected officials. This segment is Grijalva's speech. (Forgive the shaky video, I handed my smart phone to a friend, while I waited in line to speak.) You can view all of the speeches from the Vigil for Democracy on my PowersForThePeople1969 YouTube channel and inserted at the end of this Substack. [There is also a podcast about this event.]
Segment 4. Stop Abortion Bans Rally in Tucson. May 14, 2022. A few weeks before Roe v Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court in late June 2022, leaked documents revealed that SCOTUS was considering making reproductive rights a states rights issue. [Bad idea. Why should the rights of a woman change at the state line?] In 2022, many backward RED states -- including Arizona -- were passing even more restrictive abortion laws, anticipating the SCOTUS states rights decision. Stop Abortion Bans rallies popped up across the country. Hundreds showed up on May 14, 2022 in Armory Park in Tucson, Arizona to rally for abortion rights and hear from local elected officials and activists. This segment is Grijalva's speech. Most of the program from that day is included in a YouTube video on my channel and in podcast format. I inserted the full video of that event at the end of this Substack.
Here is a link to the A View from the Left Side (AVLS)podcast website, where you can see all of the segments and hook up with AVLS via your favorite podcast network. A View from the Left Side is on multiple podcasting services such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I Heart Radio, Podcast Index, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Deezer and others. YouTube podcast videos and original Legislative update videos can be found on my YouTube Channel and Substack.
Podcast Time Stamps
Introduction: Raul and Me 00:29
Union Roots 02:04
Background on Today's Speeches 04:26
Raul's Words in 2011 Foreshadow 2025 05:02
Raul Introducing Bernie in 2015 06:58
Raul at the Vigil for Democracy in 2022 07:15
Raul at Stop Abortion Bans Rally in 2022 07:38
Segment 1: PDA Tucson Organizing Meeting, February 22, 2011 08:20
Segment 2: Bernie at Reid Park, October 9, 2015 24:16
Segment 3: Vigil for Democracy, January 6, 2022 35:25
Segment 4: Stop Abortion Bans Rally, May 14, 2022 45:28
Closing 50:08
Podcast Transcript
Season 3: Episode 6 of A view from the Left Side—Grijalva Speaks Truth to Power … a Retrospective—was recorded on March 18, 2025.
Hello, my name is Pamela Powers of Powers for the People. Today's episode is going to be a little bit different. You might realize that Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva passed away just a few days ago after a long struggle with cancer.
Instead of just posting a selfie on social media of Grijalva and me taken at some event over the last few years, I decided to compile a podcast of video speeches that I recorded of him.
I have lived in Tucson for decades, and that entire time, Raul Grijalva was an elected official in Southern Arizona. And so our paths have crossed.
I didn't really know him until 2010, when the Tea Party Revolution was really gearing up, and they were going after any Democrat who was in Congress, including Raul Grijalva and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was the other Southern Arizona representative.
And that's really when I started volunteering for his campaign. But I had already been writing about him because I was a political blogger.
And so what we have in today's podcast is four different videos that I shot of him during speaking engagements over the last 14 years.
Okay … so … kudos to my filing system that I could find those videos from 2011.
But before we get into the videos, I wanted to say that Raul Grijalva and I had a similar political origin story.
Yes, he's Mexican-American, and I'm … you know … like a lily white person [AKA a WASP].
And he grew up in the desert of Arizona, and I grew up in Northern Ohio, a mile south of Lake Erie.
But we still had a similar origin story in politics because both of our dads were union members, and both of us were bilingual in high school.
Grijalva used to say that as a high school student, he would go to the union meetings with his dad, who was a copper miner, and translate from English to Spanish, so the Mexican-American copper miners would know what was going on in the union meeting.
Well, my Dad was a member of the United Steelworkers in Lorain, Ohio, and Lorain, at the time was known, as the “International City”.
In fact, at the Port of Lorain on Lake Erie, there was this massive display of flags of all the nationalities of people that lived in Lorain and Lorain County.
And so, there were a lot of Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans who worked in the factories where my Dad worked. My Dad was an officer in the union many times. He had that Irish fighting gene in him, and so he was a good arguer and a good debater. One of his roles as a union officer was grievance man.
I remember one night when he came home from the factory, and he had these handwritten pieces of paper with grievances on them.
I already knew he was a grievance man, and he asked, “Can you read this?” They were written in Spanish.
“Yeah, I can read it.”
“Can you translate it for me so I can understand what their grievance is?”
So, Raul was translating from English to Spanish in Arizona, and I was translating from Spanish to English in Northern Ohio at about the same time. We were both helping our union dads and advancing the opportunities for working people.
And so, I thought that was kind of cool that we had that in common, even though we are very different people.
Today's podcast includes four speeches that I recorded of Raul Grijalva. I debated whether I should go newest to oldest or oldest to newest, but when I was looking for a particular video from 2011, and I listened to that today, I thought: 2011 has got to go first.
So, Segment 1 is a speech that Raul Grijalva gave at the Progressive Democrats of America Tucson Chapter Organizing Committee event. And so, it was given on February 22, 2011.
February 2011 is a very distinct time frame in our history because just a few months earlier in November 2010 was when the Tea Party Revolution elected many, you know, right wing radicals to the legislature and to Congress, [one year] after the Citizens United decision came down from the Supreme Court, which said that money is speech, and corporations are people. About the same time, the Supreme Court also knocked back the state of Arizona's Clean Elections Commission law.
And also in January [2011], just a few weeks before this speech was when Gabrielle Giffords got shot at the Safeway shopping Center in Tucson. So, it was a heightened time frame. And he is speaking at a Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) organizing event for a Tucson Chapter.
I remember this meeting, obviously, because I shot the video … lots of videos … at it. I remember there was a teeny-weeny little announcement in the paper version of the Tucson Weekly that said: “Organizing for Progressive Democrats,” and I was like yeah! because, I mean, people were very discouraged in February 2011. So, yeah, I wanted to hear from the progressives. I was already blogging as The Tucson Progressive, so I wanted to go.
So that's the first segment—Raul speaking at the PDA organizing meeting.
And listen to what he says. I put this first because he sort of foreshadows what's going on now in 2025. He talks about the Tea Party wanting to get rid of arts funding and get rid of NPR funding, get rid of maternal and child health funding, get rid of the Forest Service [and more].
It's like you're going to get flashbacks when you listen to what he said in 2011 [because] that's what's happening today.
So, the second segment is Raul Grijalva giving an introduction for Senator Bernie Sanders when he spoke at Reid Park in Tucson. If you were there, you might remember there was a huge crowd at Reid Park to hear Bernie Sanders in 2015.
The third video is Raul Grijalva speaking at the Vigil for Democracy on January 6, 2022. This was an event commemorating the insurrection. It's a very interesting event. In fact, on my Substack, I'm going to post like the videos from some of these events because several people gave speeches that night. [Full videos inserted below.]
The last video that I have was recorded in May 2022, and it's at a Stop the Abortion Bans rally in Tucson in May 2022. This is like a month before Roe v Wade went down.
Raul Grijalva shows his strong support for women's rights, gay rights and related issues in that speech.
So anyway, take a look at the videos. I think they're very inspiring.
Rest in power, Raul. Thank you for everything.
Segment 1: PDA Tucson Organizing Meeting, February 22, 2011
Rep. Raul Grijalva: I think what you're seeing unfolding especially in the House of Representatives and what you see, the potential of what the Senate will or will not do with this horrific continuing resolution that the House of Representatives passed. I worry that the Senate will try to compromise with that, and it is a very scary piece of legislation. [The Democrats in the US Senate just compromised on a terrible resolution!]
It is not about fiscal responsibility. It is pure and simple an ideological document. And if you look at the content where they put their cuts and what they said about those, you’ll understand that it is about retrenching and getting rid of things that they are ideologically and philosophically opposed to. [Sound familiar?]
And so as this unfolds in the House of Representatives, not only is it disturbing, but I think for the American people and for all, it deserves a very, very vociferous, loud, robust response. We can’t just sit there and ignore it. I listened to Vaughn Johnson the other day and he gave a great speech. And now let me just paraphrase part of it, because I think it applies to every one of us, including myself. It goes: When we hit the Tea Party, they got mad. When they hit us, you get sad.
What we have in front of us is a problem of self esteem. And we shouldn't have that problem. The majority of the American people stand with us and the things we think are important.
And let's look at just some categorical cuts that were in that budget to support this. Let me just pick a few:
We're going to get rid of the National Endowment for the Arts. Not a problem. It doesn't really do anything. And government should not be in the business of promoting culture and the arts. [Sarcasm.]
We're going to get rid of research capacity for the National Institutes of Health. We shouldn't worry about acuity, shouldn’t worry about cancer, or shouldn't worry about curing those things. Leave them alone Somebody else to take care of that. [Sarcasm.]
We shouldn't worry about PBS [Public Broadcasting Company] and NPR [National Public Radio]. We should defund them. Why? It happens to be independent. It happens to be primarily publicly funded and presents to the American people a balanced view of what's going on around their lives.
We should get rid of the Park Service. Cut that tremendously. That should all be … the private sector should take care of making sure that our national parks are OK. [Sarcasm.]
Oh, and by the way, we need to defund Planned Parenthood. That's an ideological issue. The fact that they're preventing … there is a public health issue for women, and there's an issue of basic reproductive rights that women have in this country. Those facts are ignored because it becomes an ideological issue.
And so I think for us as progressives, that it's important that we not shy away from the fact that we have a fiscal crisis in our country. It's true. We have a deficit, and we have a debt. The fact that we have a memory lapse and have not realized that we're in a hole because of the policies to put us in this hole that began with George [W. Bush] a little bit with [Bill] Clinton, began with George, and then continued and those policies have put us in this hole.
And what are we doing now? We're replicating these policies once again. And we talked about cuts. We said, we're ready. We're ready to help balance this budget, deal with the deficit. And if we want to do things that are good, let's invest in things that would help the American people.
Let's create good public sector jobs. Let's fund education the way it should be. Let's make sure that health reform with increased accessibility to single payer is part of the part of the decisions that we can make. We're ready to make those investments.
And how do we do that? You have to generate revenue as well. You have to close those $8 - $14 billion-a-year oil and gas subsidies. You have all the corporate loopholes that we've allowed to take our jobs overseas, our money overseas and tax. And quit pretending that the tax breaks to the corporate entities of this country and to the richest 1% did not help cause in a great way this downturn.
[Me: He should get a standing ovation for that one.]
Grijalva: We’re prepared to deal with these questions and much more. On the environment alone, there’s the $200 billion that you can cut on subsidies and giveaways.
And the elephant in the room: Our engagement, our ill-fated engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq.
$7.7 trillion and growing. It is a war that has never been paid for. It is the first time in the history of our nation that our nation goes to war and cuts taxes. And that’s got to be paid. But for some reason … we don't deal with that part of it.
So, I think the American people want the deficit dealt with for their economic security and for their families, for their children and grandchildren.
I do. But I want it done in such a way that do not punish the very people that make the sacrifice to make this nation what it is.
That we don't punish people, punish people that are recipients of Social Security. We don't punish them.
We don't punish children of the next generation that wants to be educated in this country and be part of the growth of this country and part of that dream achievement. We don't punish those kids that want to go to college if suddenly they can't afford it because their Pell grants have been cut.
That's why you don't punish. This is not an issue of punishment. It's an issue of fairness.
And everybody's talking about sacrifice. You hear the governor of Wisconsin say, “We all have to sacrifice.” And while he’s … it’s not even about the fiscal crisis in Wisconsin, it is about ripping away six decades of hard-earned pension, collective bargaining, and being at the table for those workers.
I know, Jim [Hightower], he's going to talk about that to some extent. What has happened since the Citizens United decision—the biggest threat to the democracy as we know it—is anonymous money, undisclosed, unaccounted for, and a huge, huge well to draw from. That is now the force. That is who the Republican Majority is responding to with the tax cuts, with the cuts in the budget. They’re responding to that corporate energy.
And I would suggest to you that that is a huge part of what PDA will be doing and needs to do to educate the American people as to this huge threat on our democracy.
You know, progressives are like herding cats. We … we like to be convinced.
We love to make sure all the facts line up. We love to argue, usually with each other. And for a long time, it's been easy to divide us.
And whether the issue was race, whether the issue with income, whether the issue was a different take on a philosophical point, it was easy to divide. I think we've gone way past that point. The threat on the American people right now is such that those of us that are in this room and consider themselves to be progressives have a tremendous responsibility to lead. [Raul doesn’t miss a beat as former Arizona Senate Minority Leader and PDA Tucson Chair Phil Lopes adjusts the microphone.]
And leadership means pushing. Leadership means holding elected officials such as myself … holding our feet to the fire and making sure we do the right thing.
Leadership also means that we have to be about the business of talking to our neighbors. And telling them that our message is not a wrong-headed message.
Our message is not just academic discussion.
Our message is very real. It's very succinct.
And it tells the American people as simply as this: This is basically a shared responsibility, this democracy of ours. We can’t turn it over to a few.
And if progressives are to lead on this, we have a great opportunity because I am convinced that the people in charge of DC in the House of Representatives, the euphoria of the Tea Party is short-lived.
They're going to overreach.
Because the American people, when they voted in this midterm, they're angry for a lot of reasons. And many of us were the villains to that anger.
But the American people were not angry at themselves. And buyer's remorse is starting to set in very and that remorse looks at what's important to them, what's important to their family, what's important to their existence.
And everything that is being done goes directly to their aspirations. It does. This is about working folk. It's about the middle class. It's about the young people in this nation. And we're going to coalesce around a lot of issues in the future. We are going to … we are working well with PDA and other organizations about an inside outside game.
So, that what we're doing inside of Congress complements what's going on outside and vice versa. We are also going to do something that is unique in politics is that we are going to assert our independence as progressives in Congress.
And if it means contradicting our leadership, we will.
And if it means contradicting our friend in the White House [Barack Obama], we will.
Asserting our independence by doing that … I think we can best represent the struggle that’s ahead. By pretending we can play around the edges is a mistake. By compromising to the point of something being inefficient and ineffective, it's a mistake. By pretending that the politics that got us that majority that we enjoyed for four years is the same politics that are going to bring us the next majority is a mistake.
The next Democratic majority in Congress would be progressive, independent and above all, beholding more to the constituents that put us there than to those interests that want us OUT.
So, I look forward to this next year. I'm an optimist. I think the fight ahead of us is not only winnable, it must be won. And today's attendance [300 people] at this is amazing.
Thank you so much.
All kinds of all kinds of issues are before us. But the one issue that is central is just staying together. Us talking to each other. And our differences are minimal compared to the task at hand. We can work through our differences.
What we can’t do is ignore what we have in front of us.
And that challenge in front of us is big, but it's not … trust me … it’s not insurmountable. I’ve met some of these new Tea Party members. Trust me, it's not.
I was a little intimidated at first. Then I was like … you can handle this.
So, they have numbers on their side. We have numbers on our side, and we have tactics. We talk to them. And we gotta to speak directly. I am convinced that our message is so strong, and it resonates so well that we gotta say it and not be ashamed of being progressives.
This is about our own personal self-esteem. As I said earlier … sense of pride, sense of unity, and above all, a sense of purpose. Thank you very much.
Segment 2: Bernie in Reid Park, October 9, 2015
Civil Rights Activist and Lawyer Isabel Garcia: A young person who grew up here in Tucson, Arizona. Was active all of his life. Served on the school board. Served on the Board of Supervisors. And against all odds and against Big Money … he won for Congress, representing us. And so, Senator Sanders, I tell you, we are also the home … we are the home of Raul Grijalva and please, please welcome him.
Rep. Raul Grijalva: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for being here. Thanks to all of you, for being here and for this rousing Baja Arizona welcome for Bernie.
I got asked by my colleagues in Congress: Why did you endorse Bernie? You know, as if supporting Bernie was either wrong … or not smart politically … or at a weak moment.
And, my answer to my colleagues was: Why not?
Bernie is my friend. And beyond friendship, I agree with his values.
I agree with the solutions that he is bringing and his campaign is bringing to the American people.
And finally, this part of the answer …
It's way past time … that we had a national campaign and a voice that speaks truth to power.
Not triangulated in any way. Direct. Honest. Straight. Truthful. It's a message … surprise, surprise … that the American people want to hear. And that the American people support.
And as the campaign … Bernie's campaign is a campaign that's not built on fear. It's not built on hatred. It's not built on division, where the immense money contributions from super PACs and corporate America. It is transformational. And you're here because of the truth.
And speaking … this campaign speaks to the collective future of America that we are all responsible for. And Bernie speaks to that truth.
Our mission and the campaign's mission is very simple. It's about it … it's about fairness and equality, and the reality … our reality is this: our economy is only working for the super rich, rich, rich, and the corporations.
And hard working people … people striving to get ahead. People finding themselves paying more and getting paid less. And finding that the doors of opportunity are closed to them and their families. That's the people that are listening to Bernie, and those are the persons that care about this country in the long term, not from one election to another, but what happens in the long term.
Because fairness is about justice too. And economic justice requires jobs. It requires opportunity. And that the poor not be neglected and treated as collateral damage simply because they’re poor … and simply because they might look different. They might have needs that are different. They might be in a different zip code. They might be in a different color.
Economic justice is about fairness. Economic justice and fairness are one in the same. And this campaign has blended those together in such a way that when people talk about the economy, they also … they talk about themselves, but they also talk about the greater good that a good economy that rewards work, rewards discipline, rewards ambition and rewards striving as opposed to an economy we have now that rewards power only, rewards richness more, and concentrates that wealth in a way that the rest of America can't have it and can't have the same opportunities.
So, we need a government that works for every one of us and let that opportunity guide us. Don't close the doors to education. Don't price us out of going to college. Don't belabor us with a debt we can’t pay.
We heard from two brilliant young people [who spoke earlier] today. Very moving stories and discussions. The issue of Oak Flats. It is about the First Americans receiving the respect, the sovereignty and the decency to be treated as First Americans.
And Bob [previous speaker], about his family and his mom. But it is more it is about dealing with an issue, dealing with an issue, not by demonizing people, but by uniting families and fixing a broken immigration system that is punitive at best and broken at worst.
So let me … and the reality of our America is that it's more diverse. It's got different hues, different textures, different tones. The reality is not something that we need to fear, but in the tradition of this great nation of ours, a tradition that I grew up in that Bob is growing up with, that every one of us grew up in a tradition that says from many, there is one.
That's the tradition that we need. That's the attitude that we have to have. And that is the forward progress that Bernie's campaign is bringing to the American people.
Raul switched to Spanish for a few sentences, and the Adobe’s automated transcription service went wild. My Spanish is not what it once was, but I do know this is NOT what Raul is saying. “Westchester doodle”? Who’s “Waterbury”? AI calls “The Donald” a “psycho killer” who can “fit into some Versace.” Weird.
Adobe Premiere AI transcript goes crazy … Historically, you know, Bernie, you see sentiment. And so I did the Columbia booster de una reforma a full de una democracia. Who still don't think that that person that you see, Waterbury, is one of the numbers on actually.
You can feel like when you go up and go up with him was the fender versus familias in Westchester doodle? Mr. Roboto is préstamos. Mr.. You e but since you raised the pace about a quarter. Bernie appreciate gets the biggest no no masses it's you can't complain for the new is that. Let me just get this this one but by you solo.
Yeah. In there. The most of the the Donald he kind of persona. So he fit into some Versace. But he's a psycho killer. You gotta say that. I think it's, you know, I.
Grijalva: As we go forward in this campaign, it's going to … it's going to be a fight and we're all going to be in that fight. But I am convinced more than ever. And today, with all of you here, just validates the sense that I have, that we're in a transformational period where the American people have said enough.
We're going to take this great democracy of ours back.
We're going to prioritize the economy and the opportunity in this country for regular folk.
And we're going to look ahead. We're going to look ahead. So the generations that come inherit from our efforts in 2016 a stronger country, a fairer country and a country that respects its people.
So, it is with pleasure, pride and the privilege to welcome and introduce to you the next President of the United States of America Senator Bernie Sanders.
Segment 3: Vigil for Democracy, January 6, 2022
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero: That is what we have in front of us today. We have a storm that will attack our democracy and our right to vote. And the Senate has to act now.
Well, it's not the just the Senate's responsibility. Everyone … each and every one of us plays a role, a critical role to save our democracy as well. We all have the responsibility, the duty to not just register and vote, but make sure that our families, that our neighbors, that our coworkers are also registered and vote. That is our responsibility as Americans. And I believe that each and every one of us will play a critical role, especially this year, in moving forward and making sure that as many of us, as many of us as can come out and vote.
So what I ask of you today, in this somber and sad day, that we recognize the atrocity of what happened one year ago, that we double down on our civic duty to defend our democracy, our Constitution, and each other from tyranny, from fascism and … from racism. Let's just say it. Let's just say it.
I believe in all of us. I believe in the power that each and every one of us have to make this change, and to make sure that we're doing everything imaginable, to make sure that our democracy does not fail. Not on our watch. Not in our lifetime. So, I want to thank you all so much for inviting me, for having me here, for being together as a community, even in difficult times.
And, I have the distinct pleasure and privilege and honor of introducing a wonderful congressman, the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, and my friend, Congressman Raul Grijalva.
Rep. Raul Grijalva: Thank you very much. You know, I thank the mayor and, thank you very much. I remember meeting the mayor for the very, very first time. And, there she was at an early childhood learning center with was at story time … sitting around a teacher while she read to her. That's how long ago I remember the mayor.
But anyway, you know, coming over here, and Mona and I were talking. You know using the word “commemorate” for January 6th [2021] is … using the word “commemorate” to me is wrong when we talk about this date.
To “commemorate” for me connotes something honorable. There was nothing honorable about what happened on January 6th [2021].
And it's not an anniversary. We need to mark this day the same way we have marked dark periods in this country's history. This is about tragedy. It is not about something inspiring or uplifting that we celebrate, commemorate and look forward to its anniversary.
This is completely different. This is dishonorable. This is unpatriotic. And it was a fundamental step not only to the to validating a big lie … no, no … it was about setting the stage for something … I think, and I believe … deeply … much more insidious and much more dangerous to our democracy. January 6th is not going to happen again at the Capitol. I believe that.
But the process that we are seeing, speaks to that same direction. And what is that direction? The direction is this: that we can overturn a fair and just election because the loser isn't satisfied with that outcome. That we can orchestrate and use the institutions to leverage and continue in power someone that's a loser and deny the winner, Joe Biden, his office, the Presidency of the United States of America. Fundamentally, that was at stake.
But the corrosion of our democracy as a whole is something that today we need to recommit ourselves to as part of marking this day. And that recommitment talks about making sure that the integrity of our elections is protected and more has to be done.
We have to do stuff individually. We have to do stuff collectively at a community level, because that's where it's won and lost.
But the United States Senate bears a huge responsibility. And yes, my friends, accountability for what happens on the issue of protecting our democracy. They have two pieces of legislation to assure that the vote is protected, and everyone eligible has a right to exercise that free will and choose the representatives of their choice, period. That bill is before them.
And not to deny, marginalize, suppress and ignore a sector of this society because of the perception of where their politics are at or not. The issue is we get to differ in this country. Ladies and gentlemen, we get to have different opinions. That's the whole point of a democracy.
And now we have a small group, in an organized way, trying to take that away from us. And that is the fight ahead.
The voter suppression laws running anti-Democratic candidates for elections, positions across this country, legislatures consolidating their power if they're in that majority, and not one Republican colleague in the Senate to stand up and say “no”. No Republican colleagues in the House to vote to exercise and to continue to protect the right to vote in our democracy in this country.
What does that tell you? It's not an issue of being partisan. No. It's an issue of the right side of history and the protection of our history. That's what's at stake here. And a democracy to me is vital. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the right … the right that people have to vote –all people have the right to vote.
And we wouldn't get to express and to push for the things that we think are important for this country if it wasn't for the right to vote. And I have been, as the elected official and a public official, on the losing side of that part of democracy more than I have been on the winning side. But that doesn't propel me to want to overthrow our government, create violence, and continue a big lie and a march toward fascism in this country that we must all resist with every ounce of intellect, drive, and spirit that we have.
That's what's at stake.
I have an ask today. My ask is primarily to Senator Sinema and secondarily to Senator Kelly. Just say that you support this. Not in context of “I support it” but that you are willing to take a vote on an arcane rule in the Senate [the filibuster] that doesn't even exist in the Constitution or anywhere else. Get rid of it. And if you don't vote for anything else, and I mean that to break this filibuster, break it on this question.
And, because we all have legacies. So, I say to my friends and senators, we all have legacies, and I would want their legacy to be that this moment in history, they stood at the breach that they defended democracy, the people's rights to vote and the heritage that this country continues to develop, to becoming more perfect union. [Senator Kyrsten Sinema clung to the filibuster and denied important votes on voting rights and protection for reproductive rights. Her legacy is that she will go down in infamy for clinging to the racist tradition of the filibuster and stopping good laws that would have helped millions of Americans.]
Thank you very much.
Segment 4: Stop Abortion Bans Rally in Tucson, May 14, 2022
Rep. Raul Grijalva: Driven by the very, very important and necessary and … God … higher-power-given right and legal right of women in this country to have control over themselves. Period. That is taken center stage.
Waiting in the wings: Challenging who you love. Waiting in the wings: Challenging who you are. Waiting in the wings: Our fundamental right to privacy and the protection of that privacy.
And we can't forget there's a whole movement that was going on before January 6th to introduce into the fabric of this nation and to its democracy an authoritarian streak fueled by racism, by the ignorance and a sense of arrogance that I'm right and you're not.
And that arrogance can be construed as religious arrogance. It can be construed as ideological arrogance. But the fact of the matter, it goes against the fundamental tradition of this nation.
If voting rights was not the crucible for the filibuster bust and if a woman's right and co equal status in this society of ours is not enough, if the packing up of our federal court system by ideologues is not enough, then I ask the Senator [Sinema], what is? What is enough?
It’s time to get that legislation that protects the women's rights. It's time to get legislation that confronts the inequality and disparity in this country. It's time to get that legislation that protects our democracy by insisting that all of us have the right to vote. And to get that legislation that invests in the next generation of leaders and people in this country.
It's time to take get legislation, Senator [Sinema], and act on it. [Sinema did nothing to advance these causes in her one term in the US Senate. Her inaction was instrumental to stopping or watering down many of Biden’s signature bills.]
For me, this is a very fundamental issue and a crucible issue. What the court does with Roe vs Wade is going to have a chilling effect on this nation. And I would hope, and I bet that it is also a motivational win for this nation.
That we need to … It's not just about electing the right people. It's about getting the right things done. And it's not just about posturing and being window dressing on this issue. It's about getting something done. And it's not merely about being at a rally and telling you what you want to hear. Show me. Show me.
So, at this point in our nation's history, we can't erase the past. We can't rewrite the past, and we can't whitewash the past.
But we’re in this moment in our nation's history where we can dictate the future, and learn from mistakes and recognize that in this country of ours and in this world of ours that equality knows no color, knows no age, knows no love … for one another, and knows no gender. Thank you very much.
Pamela Powers: Thank you for listening to A View from the Left Side today. For now, this is Pamela Powers signing off. If you like this podcast, please subscribe, like it on social media, make a comment and share it with your friends.
In the meantime, please take care, be healthy and stay vigilant. See you next time.
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