CNN host Don Lemon pushed back at Colorado Democratic Representative Jason Crow on Wednesday’s Don Lemon Tonight. Challenging Crow from the left on what his party, position, and ultimately, on what he himself will do to fight back against the recent overturn of Roe V. Wade.
Lemon, pushing from the left, asked Crow just what his party will be doing in the future to provide for the needs of woman, and why they haven’t done it 50 years prior when they had the chance.
Instead of answering the question upfront, Crow first expressed to Lemon just how important voting matters will be in this next election And he rancorously boiled down upcoming elections as between “one party wants to protect women and abortion rights, one party wants to top it and harm millions of American women.”
Of course, Lemon didn’t push back on that description of Republicans given the nasty things he’s said about them in the past.
Crow pushed the agenda that “we have to win elections. We got to maintain a majority… we have to save millions of people.” Even going too far as to say, “That’s what’s at stake between now and November,” insinuating that millions of Americans will die in the next five months; Democrats are the ONLY ones that can stop them. Stating, “Yes, the ballot box and what going to happen between now and November does matter.”
Neglecting to answer Lemon’s question about the past and only stating plans for the future, Crow when on to explain what the Democrats plan on doing with the Women’s Health Protection Act and ending the filibuster to actually help women; Lemon called him out once again for not answering the original question: “do you think your party was slow to act?”
“There are even Democrats now and supporters of abortion rights we are saying Democrats have done nothing, what did they do? Part of the blame, they are part of the blame for allowing this to happen, Democrats are,” Lemon added.
Crow, admitting that the Democrats should have done more, still stood strong on the idea voting is where the change needs to happen.
As Lemon pointed out, “many Americans are looking to Democrats to do something to safeguard reproductive rights… people are not satisfied just being told to vote this fall when Democrats currently hold power.”
Asking about November elections Lemon probed, “do you think it’s going to discourage people who are going to say, you know, Democrats didn’t protect our rights, why should we trust them to do it now?”
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CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight
06/29/22
10:22:49 p.m. Eastern
DON LEMON: I'm wondering what, you know, everyone was thinking, who was part of this insurrection, meaning who were threatened by insurrectionists on the outside, right, our lawmakers and the- the staff and – and support group and police officers. When you heard Trump wanting desperately to go to the Capitol with the crowd, what do you think he would have done when he got there?
REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): I don't know. I've never -- I've never pretended to get into the side -- the mind of Donald Trump, in fact, I don't want to go there. I don't want to try to go into the mind of Donald Trump. What I think is it probably wouldn't be positive, it wouldn't be good, because it's not a healthy and good place to be. But I think we have to, you know, broaden out here and look at, kinda, the larger story of this committee process. One of the things that's really shocking to me is the number of people that have really important information that's important to our country, to our democracy, to our national security, to our public safety, who have withheld or sat on that information until they've been compelled to testify and provide it. How many more people are there, dozens, hundreds? That have important information. My message to them tonight is your country needs you to come forward. We need to hear about this, the American people need to hear the information you have, about the level of disregard and the criminal conduct within this administration, because we need to be able to make it right. There is no way that we can fix this until we know what happened.
LEMON: Congressman, after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade this week, many Americans are looking to Democrats to do something to safeguard reproductive rights. I mean, people are not satisfied just being told to vote this fall when Democrats currently hold the power. I should -- it was last week actually, I should have said. So, what are Democrats going to do?
CROW: Well, we have to make sure that we are protecting women's data. Right now, there is a lot of information that's in the commercial space and the public domain for women that are in very dangerous states and places right now. So, we're looking at how we protect that data. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I'm looking to how we protect our female service members who have been assigned to post in states where they are not treated as equal citizens, where they don't have equal access to health care. That's not okay. So how can we protect those female servicemen and women? But we do need to win at the ballot box. I will push back on the notion that, you know, don't say that this is not a political problem. This is a political problem. We have to win seats. We have to maintain majorities, and that matters. Because if we lose, and if people elect Republicans into those seats, guess what? They're going to go for a federal abortion ban. And that's going to harm millions of women. So, yes, the ballot box and what's going to happen between now and November does matter.
LEMON: Do you think your party was slow to act? I mean, 50 years to codify Roe, and it never happened.
CROW: Yes, it never happened. And we've passed the Women's Health Protection Act now several times through the House, where it goes to die in the Senate. That's why I'm a firm believer in removing the filibuster because right now the filibuster is way outlived any purpose that it may have served at one point. You know, I think it has a very fraught history. But the bottom line is we need to eliminate it --
LEMON: But Congressman, those are all things you are saying --
CROW: -- and actually do the will of the American people.
LEMON: Those are all things that you are saying that you are going to do, but what about over the last 50 years? Because even -- there are even Democrats now and supporters of abortion rights who are saying Democrats have done nothing, what did they do? Part of the blame, they are part of the blame for allowing this to happen, Democrats are.
CROW: Yes, should Roe have been codified in the past? Absolutely. Should we have done more to prevent what's happening, yes, I don't know how you can say we shouldn't have. But where we are -- we are in the position we are in now. We have to win elections. We got to maintain a majority. We had to expand a majority in Senate, and we have to save millions of people. That's what's at stake between now and November. We have to focus on what we need to do to protect these folks.
LEMON: Do you think this is going to encourage Democrats -- or I should say, people who support abortion, you think that's going to encourage them to go to the polls by November? I mean, perhaps, they may have forgotten about it, I don't know. I mean, we have short memories here in this time. Do you think it's going to encourage people, or do you think it's going to discourage people who are going to say, you know, Democrats didn't protect our rights, why should we trust them to do it now?
CROW: Well, I will put it this way, there are a lot of things on the ballot this November. The future of our democracy, rule of law, the climate crisis, gun violence prevention, abortion rights and the equality of women, all those things are on the ballot. And I will absolutely reject the notion every single day of the week that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats. It does matter. It does matter who gets elected and who is in those seats, because one party wants to protect women and abortion rights, one party wants to stop it and harm millions of American women. That is the bottom line. Do I always agree with the Democratic Party, no. I'm a proud Democrat, of course, and I'll disagree with my party when it's necessary and when it's in the best interest of my state and my district. But it does matter who is in the seats. It does matter who is committed to truth. It does matter who is committed to democracy, and who gets elected in these seats this November. So, people need to let their voices be heard. And I'm not going to tell people how to vote, but vote your values, vote your conscience. Actually, look at the candidates on your ballot and get involved.
LEMON: Congressman, thank you. I appreciate your candor and your time. Thank you so much.
CROW: Thank you.
