On MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday, co-host Mika Brzezinski eagerly cheered left-wing media mogul Norman Lear using the occasion of his 99th birthday to pen an op-ed in The Washington Post demanding Democrats take over and rig all future elections by passing federal voting legislation. She then turned to the head of the NAACP to further push the partisan crusade.
“Norman Lear, the groundbreaking and celebrated television writer and producer, turned 99 years old on Tuesday and used the day to speak out on voting rights,” Brzezinski proclaimed. She then recited his rant, in which he claimed Republican voting reforms had “undermined” the country:
I woke up today at the start of my 100th year as a citizen of this beautiful, bewildering country. I am proud of the progress we’ve made in my first 99 years, and it breaks my heart to see it undermined by politicians more committed to their own power than the principles that should bind us together. Frankly, I’m baffled and disturbed that 21st-century Americans must still struggle to protect their right to vote. I am a patriot and I will not surrender that word to those who play to our worst impulses rather than our highest ideals.
In the article, Lear went on to decry: “Now, headlines seem drawn from the past: States target Black voters with voter-suppression bills. Federal voting-rights laws blocked in the Senate by a filibuster.” He warned: “Racial and religious nationalism, nativism and authoritarianism are seemingly on the rise everywhere.”
The longtime television writer and producer condemned GOP lawmakers objecting to partisan efforts by Democrats to rig elections in their favor by wailing about “senators who are standing in the dishonorable tradition of those who filibustered civil rights legislation.” To moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin, who oppose abolishing the filibuster, Lear scolded: “To senators who are willing to sacrifice the right to vote to some outdated notion of bipartisanship and Senate tradition, I almost do not know what to say. On the scale of justice, this is not even a close call. Do what’s right.”
After promoting Lear’s activism, Brzezinski brought on NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson, touting: “...you are announcing a new push from your organization exactly on this issue. Tell us about it.” Johnson gushed: “Norman Lear has it correct. We must aspire to our highest ideals....And we have to have a new sense of urgency for the Senate to act.”
Brzezinski followed up: “Yeah, and so as you announce a new push to safeguard Americans’ voting rights, what specific concrete issues and actions do you think need to be taken, and how can you help pave the way for that with this push?”
Predictably, Johnson echoed the demands from Lear:
The Senate must, they must, adopt legislation before they go on recess, and no later than the middle of September, to protect our right to vote....The Senate must act. No procedural rules should stop that. The Senate must act. And our goal is to lift up stories across the country to show that this is not a partisan issue. This is about our democracy.
Defeated Democratic senator turned MSNBC pundit Claire McCaskill pleaded for long-existing voting regulations in states across the country to be ripped up: “...what about the states that have never had the ability to have drop boxes or no-excuse absentees or early voting? My state is one of those....And I’m wondering if there is any effort through your organization to raise that issue in states like mine?”
Johnson assured: “Absolutely....It should be standard across the board for federal elections where there is early voting.”
If Democrats want something, the compliant leftist media rush to demand it, no matter how many constitutional and democratic norms must be shattered in the process.
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Here is a full transcript of the July 28 segment:
8:43 AM ET
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: And now we want to move to the latest developments around voting laws across the country. Norman Lear, the groundbreaking and celebrated television writer and producer, turned 99 years old on Tuesday and used the day to speak out on voting rights. In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Lear, who has always been very active in politics, wrote in part, quote, “I woke up today at the start of my 100th year as a citizen of this beautiful, bewildering country. I am proud of the progress we’ve made in my first 99 years, and it breaks my heart to see it undermined by politicians more committed to their own power than the principles that should bind us together. Frankly, I’m baffled and disturbed that 21st-century Americans must still struggle to protect their right to vote. I am a patriot and I will not surrender that word to those who play to our worst impulses rather than our highest ideals.”
And joining us now, the president and CEO of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson. And Derrick, this morning, you are announcing a new push from your organization exactly on this issue. Tell us about it.
DERRICK JOHNSON: Yeah, Norman Lear has it correct. We must aspire to our highest ideals. And when you look at what’s taking place in Texas, we’re working with the Texas delegation to try to further the stories of what’s taking place. This is not about the latinx community or the black community. This is about America. The changes that are being proposed in Texas, the changes that have already been adopted in Georgia, impacts us all. And we have to have a new sense of urgency for the Senate to act. If we’re going to get an infrastructure deal, we need to have a deal to protect the rights of voters. Our election infrastructure needs a deal. We need a new deal in America to insure our Constitution is upheld, the right to vote is protected, and we push back against all these individuals who are seeking to placate an egomaniac who’s no longer in office.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, and so as you announce a new push to safeguard Americans’ voting rights, what specific concrete issues and actions do you think need to be taken, and how can you help pave the way for that with this push?
JOHNSON: The Senate must, they must, adopt legislation before they go on recess, and no later than the middle of September, to protect our right to vote, to restore Section Two from encroachment that the Supreme Court just had, to make sure that they’re drawing the political boundaries, redistricting. This will be the first time since 1970 that we will have a redistricting process without the protection of the Voting Rights Act. We must make sure that the validation of the elections are certified by individuals with the capacity and authority to do so and not brought to a legislative body so a political decision can be made.
When we have these nonsensical attacks on our rights like in Arizona, if people want to continue to find a problem, they should be charged if no problems are found so that the cost of what they are doing to our systems, we should be sending Trump a bill. We have to, as a country, as a country, understand that voting right protection is not partisan, it’s not race based. It is patriotic, and we have to protect the rights to vote. The Senate must act. No procedural rules should stop that. The Senate must act. And our goal is to lift up stories across the country to show that this is not a partisan issue. This is about our democracy.
BRZEZINSKI: Claire?
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: Let me get in here and ask you a question about, what about the states that have never had the ability to have drop boxes or no-excuse absentees or early voting? My state is one of those. We have never had any of those things. We have always had very tight procedures. Is there any effort ongoing to raise this issue that we should have no-excuse absentee voting in states where we don’t have it now? They’re trying to limit it some places that have had it, but there are many states that have never had it. And I’m wondering if there is any effort through your organization to raise that issue in states like mine?
JOHNSON: Absolutely. You know, I think Senator Manchin had it right. We have to raise the floor of access. It should be standard across the board for federal elections where there is early voting. That’s one of the things that he did in West Virginia. That’s one of the things we think should happen now. We should make it easier for people to participate. Legitimate citizens should not have to jump through hurdles and go through hoops just to exercise their right to vote. So I absolutely agree, in states that have long restricted access to voting, we need to increase the bar. We need to standardize it across the board, making sure our machines have integrity and the ability for us to have trust in the outcome is elevated through transparent systems, not a hodgepodge of systems state by state.
BRZEZINSKI: NACCP president and CEO Derrick Johnson, thank you very much for being on this morning.
