WEBVTT 00:00:03.629 --> 00:00:06.269 Today on the Leftful North, we are crossing state 00:00:06.269 --> 00:00:09.050 lines, but not literally, to talk with one of 00:00:09.050 --> 00:00:12.230 the Texas Democrats making headlines this week, 00:00:12.589 --> 00:00:16.109 Representative Trey Martinez Fisher. First elected 00:00:16.109 --> 00:00:18.410 at just 29 years old, Trey is now one of the 00:00:18.410 --> 00:00:20.710 most senior and effective members of the Texas 00:00:20.710 --> 00:00:22.949 House, known for his willingness to fight tooth 00:00:22.949 --> 00:00:26.109 and nail for voting rights, fair maps, and public 00:00:26.109 --> 00:00:29.170 education. He's been called a, quote, soldier 00:00:29.170 --> 00:00:31.670 prepared to do battle, but ready to make peace. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.859 Though right now the battle is front and center. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:38.740 Trey and his fellow Democrats have left the state 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:41.359 to break quorum and stop an outrageous mid -decade 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:43.659 gerrymander, a move that would hand Republicans 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:46.960 five extra congressional seats, all to cement 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:49.659 Donald Trump's grip on power before the midterms. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:51.960 We're grateful to him not only for defending 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:54.420 democracy in his home state, but for also crossing 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:58.079 over the border today to join us on a North Carolina 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:01.549 politics podcast. Representative Martinez -Fisher, 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:04.269 welcome to the Left of Old North. Thank you. 00:01:04.269 --> 00:01:06.549 It's great to be here. Thank you. And, you know, 00:01:06.590 --> 00:01:09.290 I know Adrian already kind of said thank you 00:01:09.290 --> 00:01:12.390 in the intro, but, you know, we can't thank you 00:01:12.390 --> 00:01:14.069 enough for just what you're doing to kind of, 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:17.310 you know, defend democracy in general. I mean, 00:01:17.329 --> 00:01:20.250 this is, you know, kind of just an all -out assault. 00:01:20.629 --> 00:01:23.310 And honestly, just kind of a, at least in my 00:01:23.310 --> 00:01:25.209 opinion, kind of a testing ground for what else 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:27.189 they can try to get away with in other states 00:01:27.189 --> 00:01:30.340 as well. You know, absolutely. I mean, like I 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:33.019 said to other folks, this wasn't the fight that 00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:35.019 I picked. I didn't just wake up one morning and 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:36.640 say we're going to break quorum. I mean, the 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:40.540 fight picked us. Texas is unique in lots of respects. 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:42.840 I mean, we're pretty big and whatever happens 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:45.219 in our state will likely show up somewhere else. 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.319 We feel that pressure. And then, of course, Texas 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:51.459 is one of only four states that requires a two 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:55.299 thirds presence for a quorum in the state legislature. 00:01:56.109 --> 00:01:58.129 And so not everybody has the tool that we have. 00:01:58.290 --> 00:02:00.069 And obviously, our founders said we're going 00:02:00.069 --> 00:02:01.810 to put it in there for a reason. Well, we're 00:02:01.810 --> 00:02:04.049 using it. We took the dust off of it, and we've 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:06.510 been using it for the last couple of weeks. And 00:02:06.510 --> 00:02:09.689 in this instance, we are putting up our share 00:02:09.689 --> 00:02:12.669 of the fight to save our democracy. Can you walk 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:14.129 us through that decision a little bit? Because 00:02:14.129 --> 00:02:16.949 I know it must not have been easy. Governor Abbott 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:21.180 has responded with imposing penalties. daily 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:25.280 fines and is even issuing arrest warrants. The 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.080 FBI is currently getting sicked on y 'all. Like 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.560 what went through y 'all's mind before this decision 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:33.560 was made? Pretty much all of that, just as you 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:35.259 mentioned. I mean, look, I've been in the legislature 00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:38.780 now. This is my 12th term, so I'll be completing 00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:42.780 24 years next year. And this isn't my first rodeo. 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:46.539 I mean, quorum breaks are very rare. The very 00:02:46.539 --> 00:02:50.379 first one I did was in 2003 when Tom DeLay took 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:52.939 power and wanted to do mid -decade redistricting 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:55.780 in Texas. We went for a few days in Oklahoma 00:02:55.780 --> 00:02:59.659 and we were able to stop that measure. But prior 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:02.919 to 03, it hadn't been used since the 1980s. So 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.599 this wasn't a tool that we resorted to. We work 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.939 out our problems. We sit at the table. We get, 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:10.240 you know, pragmatic solutions just like you do 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:12.840 in North Carolina. Here lately, folks have gotten 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:16.680 really... hyper -partisan, ultra -MAGA. They 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.319 don't want to negotiate. They want to act like 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:21.620 their leader. And that's just really not for 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:24.319 us. I mean, that's not the way we handle ourselves 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:28.060 when it comes to civic debate. So yeah, of course, 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:32.219 knowing the stakes, a daily fine. If you don't 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:35.860 pay the fine, they start attaching, deducting 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:38.340 your budget that we have for our employees and 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:42.780 our staff. Questions as to whether we would be 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:44.759 legally challenged for abandoning our offices. 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:47.280 So there's all these professional stressors. 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:50.199 And then look, man, we're married. We have families. 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:54.159 Most of the people I work with, they sign the 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.259 back of the paycheck, right? They work for somebody. 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:58.439 They have to explain why they're leaving again 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:01.500 because we just left town. We just left our homes 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:04.770 for six months for a regular session. You know, 00:04:04.770 --> 00:04:06.469 and then for other folks who own a business, 00:04:06.629 --> 00:04:09.250 try running one a thousand miles away, you know, 00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.710 always with your suitcase packed because you 00:04:11.710 --> 00:04:13.550 never know when the next bomb threat is going 00:04:13.550 --> 00:04:16.009 to come and you have to relocate. Right. So a 00:04:16.009 --> 00:04:19.170 lot of stress going on. But we recognize this. 00:04:19.230 --> 00:04:21.069 We recognize that we didn't pick this fight. 00:04:21.149 --> 00:04:23.689 It picked us and we had to do something. And 00:04:23.689 --> 00:04:25.990 I'm a proud Texan. I think about the Apollo 13 00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:28.310 mission where you hear those famous words about 00:04:28.310 --> 00:04:30.529 Houston. We have a problem. This is like America. 00:04:30.670 --> 00:04:34.040 We have a problem. We need to wake up. We need 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:36.480 to rise up. This democracy is being stolen right 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.819 in front of us. You all are the tip of the spear 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:41.060 in North Carolina. This has been happening in 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:43.600 your state and your litigation is still going 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.629 on. We have the same situation. Funny, though, 00:04:46.689 --> 00:04:49.269 funny how that is, because states like Georgia, 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:51.490 North Carolina and Texas seem to be changing 00:04:51.490 --> 00:04:54.110 demographically. We seem to be recognizing our 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:56.170 political power. And so we're the ones getting 00:04:56.170 --> 00:04:58.389 beat up on the most. Right. We're the ones whose 00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:01.290 power is trying to be silenced and muzzled because 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:04.329 they're trying to hang on to power and they know 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:06.589 they're losing it. One hundred percent. They're 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:10.129 they're afraid. Simple as that. Now, a second 00:05:10.129 --> 00:05:12.370 ago, you mentioned that bomb threat and we wanted 00:05:12.370 --> 00:05:14.680 to kind of. Asked about that really quick. You 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:18.439 know, that kind of obviously takes this whole 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:20.259 thing from, you know, it goes from political 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:22.699 protests to being a life -threatening kind of 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:25.620 situation. Like, how did this, how did the group 00:05:25.620 --> 00:05:28.279 handle it? You know, what do you think that says 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.339 about how high these tensions have gotten? You 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:33.899 know, it's a really good question because it 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:36.139 was real early in the morning, right? And so 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:39.779 just, you know, I don't want to make light of 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:42.420 the moment, but you definitely. At 7 a .m. in 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:44.220 the morning, you recognized who the early risers 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:48.100 were in your delegation. So I was on the verge 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:50.339 of going for a run. So I was actually put together 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:56.439 and caffeinated. And so, you know, I don't think 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.240 we expected that. Right. And to add context, 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:02.399 we're regular people. We have single parents 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:05.399 on this trip that have their children with them. 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:07.680 And I'm talking like nine years old and younger. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:13.420 And so. to have an alarm blaring at 7 a .m saying 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:15.560 evacuate the building there's been a bomb threat 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:19.120 uh you know you don't know what to do uh you 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.720 know luckily for me i just had to grab my wallet 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:25.360 and my keys and i ran out uh but for others i 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.199 mean you know it was an ordeal i think we all 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:31.480 came together And of course, we were worried 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:34.560 about maybe something else was going to happen 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:38.420 that was bad. And so here's what we did. I mean, 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:40.420 we came together, we stayed together, and then 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:43.060 we put our faith in Governor Pritzker and we 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:46.259 listened to him. And if his experts felt like 00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:49.180 we needed to do something else. or, you know, 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:52.959 change the way we travel and how we protect ourselves, 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:55.160 you know, we were fully going to listen. So we 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.360 were grateful to have a host in Governor Pritzker 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:02.620 to allow his team to give us the best practice 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:06.399 and advice. And so, you know, we're always looking 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:08.600 over our shoulder, no doubt about it, but we 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:10.519 feel like we're very safe here in the state of 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:14.319 Illinois. And also, most importantly, while this 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.839 all happened, it did not deter us from the mission. 00:07:17.940 --> 00:07:20.180 And he's not the only governor that's taking 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:23.639 action either. Governor Newsom has essentially 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.160 put Trump in check, warning him and Texas Republicans 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.800 that they need to stand down or California is 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.660 going to redraw on their own maps to benefit 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.379 Democrats specifically. You could call this fighting 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:37.879 with fire with fire. But how do you feel about 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:41.540 this kind of cross state solidarity between you 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:44.459 and California? And how do you feel about this 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:47.720 kind of political posturing? No, I think this 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:51.860 is exactly, you know, some of the hope. This 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:53.899 is what we had hoped for. Right. I mean, again, 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:57.279 we can count. We can count votes. I've been doing 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.019 it for 23 years. We don't have them in the House 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:03.000 or the Senate. We have some time. We're going 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.740 to make the most of it. You know, our job was 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:08.269 to wake up the country. And if we just stayed 00:08:08.269 --> 00:08:11.589 home and had this fight somewhere on a Wednesday 00:08:11.589 --> 00:08:14.029 evening where nobody cared and had very little 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:16.170 coverage, nobody would have even heard about 00:08:16.170 --> 00:08:18.839 it. not even the folks back in the district that 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:21.500 I represent in San Antonio. We knew we had to 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:23.639 fight this in the national arena. And so that's 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:25.720 where we are. You know, we believe we're waking 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:28.439 this country up. We have sent delegations to 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:31.699 many states. We've been to California twice and 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:33.679 met with Governor Newsom and the legislative 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:36.179 leadership there in California. And one thing 00:08:36.179 --> 00:08:38.940 is certain. We all agree if Donald Trump is going 00:08:38.940 --> 00:08:41.059 to toss out the rule book, if there are no rules, 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.899 then OK, we're going to fight fire with fire. 00:08:44.509 --> 00:08:46.429 And Governor Newsom said that for every seat 00:08:46.429 --> 00:08:49.250 you pick up in Texas, we will offset it in California. 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:51.889 And in fact, Governor Newsom did even better 00:08:51.889 --> 00:08:54.429 than that. He sent President Trump a letter. 00:08:54.889 --> 00:08:57.269 And he said, if you don't do this, I won't do 00:08:57.269 --> 00:08:59.750 this. You stand down in Texas, I'll stand down 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:02.330 in Texas. And so we are now seeing governors 00:09:02.330 --> 00:09:04.889 in other states, Governor Hochul in New York, 00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:07.750 Governor Moore in Maryland, other Democratic 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:10.570 governors, you know, reevaluating this, even 00:09:10.570 --> 00:09:12.830 though they have commissions and so forth, figuring 00:09:12.830 --> 00:09:15.169 out what legal options and strategies they have, 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:18.309 because nobody is going to have this election 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:21.129 taken from them before the first vote is cast. 00:09:21.330 --> 00:09:24.169 And I don't care if you play sports. dominoes, 00:09:24.169 --> 00:09:26.909 cards, or you go to you enter yourself into, 00:09:26.970 --> 00:09:30.350 you know, science contest. Why would you ever 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:34.269 enter a contest if you knew the other side was 00:09:34.269 --> 00:09:36.889 going to win before you even started? And that's 00:09:36.889 --> 00:09:39.690 what's happening with Donald Trump. I keep telling 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:42.129 people he is not the commander in chief. I call 00:09:42.129 --> 00:09:44.210 him the commander in chief. Right. Because he's 00:09:44.210 --> 00:09:46.269 cheating on America and he's cheating on our 00:09:46.269 --> 00:09:50.090 democracy. Sure is. And I don't know if you. 00:09:51.210 --> 00:09:55.070 Maybe I'm sure you're very tapped in. So if you 00:09:55.070 --> 00:09:58.950 saw Gavin Newsom's version of a Trump letter 00:09:58.950 --> 00:10:02.769 that was sent to him via social media, I don't 00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:05.929 know if you caught that. I didn't catch it. Well, 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:08.190 we had a briefing a couple of nights ago and 00:10:08.190 --> 00:10:10.230 I heard and this is where I learned this information. 00:10:11.210 --> 00:10:14.789 It was formatted like one of those rambling Trump 00:10:14.789 --> 00:10:18.889 tweets. So if you get a chance, you should look 00:10:18.889 --> 00:10:23.330 at it. my team is flying in you know that's awesome 00:10:23.330 --> 00:10:28.649 i want to see it now you know with talking about 00:10:28.649 --> 00:10:31.710 california maybe redrawing their maps as a response 00:10:31.710 --> 00:10:34.990 to this you know new york i've seen i think maybe 00:10:34.990 --> 00:10:37.330 illinois mentioned it as well i know a bunch 00:10:37.330 --> 00:10:39.070 of like democrat -led states have mentioned this 00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:43.350 you know there seems like this could be a way 00:10:43.350 --> 00:10:46.779 of kind of spiraling into like a cold political 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:49.320 civil war so to say just kind of this back and 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:52.100 forth and whatnot uh for our at least democratic 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:55.639 processes and you know that's a fight that republicans 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:59.259 seem to be more than ready and eager to wage 00:10:59.259 --> 00:11:02.139 do you think that's maybe do you think that's 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:03.940 kind of a dramatic way of looking at it do you 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:07.259 think it might be a little too accurate no i 00:11:07.259 --> 00:11:09.059 mean i think that's that's the only thing these 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:11.679 people understand and you know and i'm a democrat 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:15.159 very proud of that uh and i live in a beautiful 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:18.100 democratic city and everybody gets along and 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:20.340 and we get along with everybody i mean you know 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:22.740 we don't have republicans that kind of you know 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:25.039 get that extreme and if they do you know they're 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:27.600 not many of them that being you know that being 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.720 said i tell my democratic family all the time 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.179 that the difference between us and republicans 00:11:33.179 --> 00:11:35.480 is that when republicans get power they use it 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.919 and and donald trump is using his power we get 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:41.409 power and we start having a debate between the 00:11:41.409 --> 00:11:44.169 perfect and the good, right? And so, you know, 00:11:44.190 --> 00:11:46.450 this is a lesson to us. This is what can happen 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:48.669 when we lose elections. This is what can happen 00:11:48.669 --> 00:11:51.490 when we lose South Texas Hispanics because they 00:11:51.490 --> 00:11:54.470 feel like blue collar issues aren't on the table 00:11:54.470 --> 00:11:57.090 when we're looking at national policy. And so. 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.019 Yeah, I think this is the reaction we need because 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.240 there has to be a grown -up in the room that 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:05.659 says we're not doing this. You know, I ultimately 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:07.899 believe most of this stuff is going to be fought 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:11.059 out in the courtroom. And I certainly hope that, 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.960 you know, cooler heads will prevail and recognize 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:16.720 that this is not how to control a democracy. 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:20.500 And so, you know, it's unfortunate, but it is 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:22.639 going to be an escalation before there's a de 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:25.809 -escalation. There are certainly a number of 00:12:25.809 --> 00:12:29.909 things that, unfortunately, this is the main 00:12:29.909 --> 00:12:32.809 focus right now, but work still has to get done 00:12:32.809 --> 00:12:35.830 in the legislature. While this is happening, 00:12:36.149 --> 00:12:40.009 other actions are not being taken. Laws are not 00:12:40.009 --> 00:12:44.950 being passed or debated. And meanwhile, we have 00:12:44.950 --> 00:12:48.559 members of our federal Congress. that are trying 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:51.360 to call for the FBI to basically drag you all 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:53.960 back to Texas. And it seems that Cash Patel is 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:56.879 taking it, that would be Senator John Cornyn 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:59.580 specifically. Cash Patel has seemingly taken 00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:01.799 him up on that. Do you think, did you know it 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:03.600 would come to this? Or were you all expecting 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:05.740 this kind of action from the Trump sycophants? 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.220 You know, didn't I mean, the FBI was a little 00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:12.279 bit rich. That was a new one. Right. But, you 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:14.440 know, I've been told they won't come for us because 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:16.720 we have the Epstein files. Right. So they're 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.879 going to stay far away from us. Right. You know, 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:23.759 so so, you know, Governor Pritzker, again, is 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.159 pretty much said, hey, you all want to come to 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.860 town. You want to visit, have a nice meal, spend 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:30.659 some money. You're not leaving with anybody. 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:34.759 Right. And so, you know, we have not felt the 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:39.019 effect of that threat. And of course, we're not 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:41.799 we're not asking for it either. But but again, 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.779 you know, the threats that are being made, you 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:48.440 know, the language that's being used about hunt 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:51.320 us down and and, you know, leaves all this sort 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:53.740 of vigilante, you know, type of justice where 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:55.820 folks want to take the law into their own hands. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:59.049 You know, our families are back at home. uh you 00:13:59.049 --> 00:14:01.070 know and we want to make sure they're safe and 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:03.149 i will comment on this i don't want to paint 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:06.610 law enforcement with one brush you know i'm very 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:08.970 thankful that the law enforcement community uh 00:14:08.970 --> 00:14:12.149 you know even even those charged with coming 00:14:12.149 --> 00:14:17.100 after us are taking the responses and calls from 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.379 our families very serious and providing them 00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:21.980 with real protection. And that says a lot about 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:24.840 law enforcement. At least our local Texas law 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:26.379 enforcement, they're not going to get involved 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:28.139 in the politics. They're going to do their jobs. 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:30.059 This isn't the first time you've had to fight 00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:34.080 for fair maps either. When you led, well, I mean, 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:36.700 you still do. But when you were the chair of 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:40.639 the MALC, that's the Mexican -American Legislative 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:45.690 Caucus, correct? Yes. in some lawsuits and fought 00:14:45.690 --> 00:14:49.870 some chronic inequities. Is this moment differing 00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:54.389 from that past, or is this a new feeling, or 00:14:54.389 --> 00:14:57.690 is this kind of more of the same? You know, in 00:14:57.690 --> 00:15:01.950 truth, it is a pretty significant departure. 00:15:03.110 --> 00:15:05.629 You know, the Mexican -American Legislative Caucus, 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:08.330 we call it MALC, has been in existence since 00:15:08.330 --> 00:15:12.090 1973. It is the oldest and it's the largest Latino 00:15:12.090 --> 00:15:14.490 caucus in the country. We're even larger than 00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.889 the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington. 00:15:17.169 --> 00:15:21.169 We're pretty big and we're pretty proud and we 00:15:21.169 --> 00:15:25.509 don't take a lot of BS. And this group sued the 00:15:25.509 --> 00:15:28.850 state, took them to the Supreme Court on two 00:15:28.850 --> 00:15:31.330 occasions. As a matter of fact, there was a... 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:34.809 There was a very bright on top of it attorney 00:15:34.809 --> 00:15:37.610 who was part of the litigation team. Her name 00:15:37.610 --> 00:15:39.370 is Allison Riggs. I'm sure you've heard of her. 00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:42.169 I remember sitting in the courtroom with her 00:15:42.169 --> 00:15:47.090 and watching her present a case. And so Texas 00:15:47.090 --> 00:15:50.529 has been a troubled jurisdiction ever since the 00:15:50.529 --> 00:15:54.149 inception of the Voting Rights Act and every 00:15:54.149 --> 00:15:57.870 decade beginning in 1970. Texas has always been 00:15:57.870 --> 00:16:01.230 found to intentionally discriminate against its 00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:04.990 voters. And that is a fact that we should not 00:16:04.990 --> 00:16:08.049 be proud of. But the intentional discrimination 00:16:08.049 --> 00:16:11.110 that happened back then is really, really just 00:16:11.110 --> 00:16:15.559 changed in today's environment. Just with the 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.759 inception of technology, AI, and the ability 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:22.500 to model with data and elections, you know, you 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:26.200 literally have politicians picking their voters. 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:28.379 And this is where it gets a little nuanced and 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:30.860 we lose people by this. But just think about 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:33.940 all the technology you have on your iPhone and 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:35.740 all the things that you can do with it that you 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:38.320 could never do before. Well, now just take that 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.659 technology and put it in the voting space. They 00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:42.850 know who you are. They know where you live. They 00:16:42.850 --> 00:16:44.690 know what you buy. They know your credit score. 00:16:44.929 --> 00:16:47.690 They know your preferences. They take your picture 00:16:47.690 --> 00:16:50.450 and they run it across social media. They know 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:52.110 who your friends are. They know what you do. 00:16:52.409 --> 00:16:55.389 And so they will compile all that. And they will 00:16:55.389 --> 00:16:59.129 profile whether you if you decide to vote where 00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:02.809 you would land. And so with precision, districts 00:17:02.809 --> 00:17:05.569 are being drawn and they may look like they're 00:17:05.569 --> 00:17:08.230 minority districts because they are percentage 00:17:08.230 --> 00:17:11.309 minority districts. But they know from political 00:17:11.309 --> 00:17:13.289 performance that they will never act like one. 00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:15.930 And they know that. So they can walk into a courtroom, 00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:18.930 swear under oath that race had nothing to do 00:17:18.930 --> 00:17:20.910 with this because this is a majority Hispanic 00:17:20.910 --> 00:17:23.670 seat. But they know that the electoral behavioral. 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:27.400 behavior of those folks they will never act like 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:29.819 it because they won't vote and all you all you 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:32.339 got to do is uh go on elections twitter for like 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:34.920 five minutes and you'll see hundreds and hundreds 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.920 and hundreds of maps that people have jerry -rigged 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.539 and like played around with to see just how far 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:43.140 they can push it and if you think that people 00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:45.740 on twitter are the first people to do that you're 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:49.609 you're crazy You know, and how this process really 00:17:49.609 --> 00:17:52.650 changed, too. We used to draw our own maps. And 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:55.049 even the members of Congress, they would draw 00:17:55.049 --> 00:17:58.730 a map as a Texas delegation, both sides, and 00:17:58.730 --> 00:18:01.569 then they would present it to us. We would make 00:18:01.569 --> 00:18:05.730 a formal rendition based on our software, and 00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:07.809 then we would, you know, put that on the floor. 00:18:07.990 --> 00:18:10.890 Now, these maps are coming from the sky. Like, 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:13.069 nobody knows where they come from. Nobody knows 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:15.150 who drew them. They just all of a sudden become 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:19.359 part of the record. And that is what is alarming 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:22.579 about this process. We've got a whole history 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:24.619 of gerrymandering here in North Carolina that's 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:27.700 just absolutely, absolutely insane, to say the 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:31.460 least. You know, we're kind of getting to time, 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:34.119 but just want to ask a couple of real quick questions. 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:39.660 One being, where do Texas Dems kind of go from 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:44.410 here? Right. No, it's a great question. uh you 00:18:44.410 --> 00:18:47.509 know again i mean the reality is we know we know 00:18:47.509 --> 00:18:51.210 where we stand vote wise um we know the bandwidth 00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:54.509 of our members and the personal struggles and 00:18:54.509 --> 00:18:57.250 stressors that we have and we also know that 00:18:57.250 --> 00:19:00.190 it's a matter of time you know before we you 00:19:00.190 --> 00:19:02.970 know sort of you know outstay our welcome i mean 00:19:02.970 --> 00:19:06.809 it's tough to to to protect you know 40 or 50 00:19:06.809 --> 00:19:10.559 of us in one city and have to be responsible 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:14.000 for moving us around when things get tough. And 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:18.700 so we said that our job was to take this fight 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:22.319 and put it on the national stage and to get other 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:24.920 states and get the public to wake up and rise 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:28.099 up. We have our faith in the American people. 00:19:28.730 --> 00:19:30.309 that they will not be underestimated when it 00:19:30.309 --> 00:19:32.470 comes to preserving and protecting our democracy. 00:19:32.990 --> 00:19:37.529 And we also know that at some juncture, we have 00:19:37.529 --> 00:19:40.549 to hand this baton off to the next state that 00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:43.789 has fresh legs and fresh ideas. Right now, that 00:19:43.789 --> 00:19:47.730 seems to be California. We are hopeful that in 00:19:47.730 --> 00:19:50.289 less than one week's time, we're going to see 00:19:50.289 --> 00:19:54.109 significant movement in California. And we've 00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:57.089 been told over and over again by Governor Newsom. 00:19:57.690 --> 00:20:00.289 that this wasn't going to be possible had it 00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:03.430 not been for our efforts to be that initial spark. 00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:06.809 And so look, I think our job now is we've demonstrated 00:20:06.809 --> 00:20:09.329 that we are willing to be part of this fight. 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:12.349 We have sacrificed for this country. We have 00:20:12.349 --> 00:20:16.009 given other states time to prepare and be ready. 00:20:16.230 --> 00:20:19.809 And I think now we will now maybe find ourselves 00:20:19.809 --> 00:20:22.750 sitting in the backseat now, let someone else 00:20:22.750 --> 00:20:25.049 take the wheel. And let us provide the support. 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:28.789 Let us keep the momentum going and let us rally, 00:20:28.930 --> 00:20:31.589 continue to rally this country around because 00:20:31.589 --> 00:20:34.190 this stuff's gonna happen fast. I mean, I don't 00:20:34.190 --> 00:20:36.490 know about the laws in North Carolina, but we 00:20:36.490 --> 00:20:40.650 start filing for office already in November. 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:44.039 And before you can file for office, you got to 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:46.200 know where you live and where you're going to 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:49.940 run. And the county elections folks got to tell 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:51.819 folks, here's who you're going to vote for. Here 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:53.819 are your districts. And so you just can't change 00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:55.859 these maps and expect them to show up at the 00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:59.519 ballot box without time. So, you know, we've 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:01.279 got the legislative piece and now we have the 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:04.299 legal piece. And then we're going to have the 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:06.740 national response. So, you know, we've got many 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.680 cards to play in this game just, you know, right 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.980 now. One last very quick question. People wouldn't 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:16.559 all readily walk into this kind of danger, you 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:21.420 know, with fines, threats and legal action being 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:24.740 taken. What is your message to voters, not just 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:29.140 in Texas, but nationwide to keep up hope? Yeah, 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:32.920 look, I mean, you know, this is real, right? 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:36.779 This is not an exercise or a hypothetical. You 00:21:36.779 --> 00:21:39.680 know, literally our democracy is being unraveled 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.880 before our eyes. We are looking at a president 00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:47.680 who believes in authoritarian rule, right? That 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.640 ought to scare you, ought to scare the hell out 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:52.200 of you. And we need to come together. You know, 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:55.220 this is bigger than North Carolina. This is bigger 00:21:55.220 --> 00:21:58.039 than San Antonio, Texas. This is the entire country. 00:21:58.339 --> 00:22:01.799 And we need to respond like that. And so we have 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:05.019 to come together and do our part. You're in the 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:07.000 middle of a big fight. We've got to figure out 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:09.720 how to support you all in North Carolina and 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:13.019 give you hope. I can't, you know, I'm not giving 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:15.660 up. You can't quit because I can't quit. Like, 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:19.309 we're in this together. And we don't worry about, 00:22:19.349 --> 00:22:22.329 you know, the obstacles. We don't worry about 00:22:22.329 --> 00:22:24.970 the repercussions. I mean, that's not why we 00:22:24.970 --> 00:22:27.150 were elected. I'm not going to, you know, just 00:22:27.150 --> 00:22:30.089 sit here on the fence and not get into this fight. 00:22:30.430 --> 00:22:34.509 That's why I'm here. That is who I am. And that's 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:36.349 who Texas Democrats are. We're going to, you 00:22:36.349 --> 00:22:37.710 know, we didn't pick this fight, but we're going 00:22:37.710 --> 00:22:40.150 to finish it. And we can't do it alone. So, look, 00:22:40.210 --> 00:22:43.009 I recommend three things. Number one, at least 00:22:43.009 --> 00:22:44.670 for us in Texas, as we sit here in Illinois. 00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:48.920 If you know us or if you've read about us, send 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:52.000 my colleague a note. Touch somebody. Let them 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:55.200 know that they're fighting a good fight. Make 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:57.259 them feel good because I'm in the room with them, 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:01.039 and our cup isn't full, and it's tough, number 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.559 one. Number two, if you are involved and you're 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:05.839 engaged and you're organizing and you are working 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:08.240 on democracy projects in your state, keep doing 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:10.940 it. Don't give up. And then for those of you 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:12.440 who have done both of those things and you're 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:14.200 saying, well, what else can we do? You know, 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:15.779 if you're going to walk into the coffee shop 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:17.880 and drop five bucks on a latte, you're like, 00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:20.359 what else can I do with this? Put it, put some 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.359 resources where it's going to count. You know, 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:24.799 help us here in Texas, help other groups that 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:26.640 are doing this. We know this fight's going to 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:29.400 California. You may want to help them. I have 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:31.680 an organization called OneTexas .org. Pretty 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.900 easy. I wrote it down. A little cheap plug here. 00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:36.859 There we go. Thank you. No, that's good. OneTexas 00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:38.740 .org. Let me tell you what's good about this. 00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:42.869 No consultants, no commissions, no middleman. 00:23:42.990 --> 00:23:46.210 100 % of those resources come here to fight this 00:23:46.210 --> 00:23:49.349 fight in Illinois. I've got fines. I have three 00:23:49.349 --> 00:23:52.190 members of my team babysitting me literally to 00:23:52.190 --> 00:23:54.230 make sure everything gets done right. So that 00:23:54.230 --> 00:23:57.490 is, you know, three air flights. That's three 00:23:57.490 --> 00:24:00.210 hotel rooms. That's nine meals a day. That's 00:24:00.210 --> 00:24:03.470 countless Ubers. Who knows what it is? And we 00:24:03.470 --> 00:24:06.049 need fuel for this fight. If you can chip in, 00:24:06.109 --> 00:24:08.930 great. But if you can't. you know, do one of 00:24:08.930 --> 00:24:10.809 the two other things, because that's what we're 00:24:10.809 --> 00:24:12.789 going to need to get through this. If we're fighting 00:24:12.789 --> 00:24:14.690 fire with fire, let's keep fueling that fire. 00:24:15.430 --> 00:24:17.630 Representative Trey Martinez Fisher. Thank you 00:24:17.630 --> 00:24:20.190 so much for taking the time to sit down with 00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:22.710 us and talk about what's going on. We really, 00:24:22.809 --> 00:24:24.750 really appreciate what y 'all are doing. Can't 00:24:24.750 --> 00:24:27.650 say that enough. Thank you. Hopefully next time 00:24:27.650 --> 00:24:29.049 we come back on, we're going to talk about like 00:24:29.049 --> 00:24:31.710 barbecue or something. Okay. Well, we'll have 00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:34.369 a good one. All right. Yes, sir. Texas barbecue 00:24:34.369 --> 00:24:41.509 on top. Anyway. All right. Adrian? All right, 00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:43.089 man. You're going to take it easy. Anything you 00:24:43.089 --> 00:24:44.809 holler, okay? Yes, sir. Thank you.