While most of the coverage of John Lewis' memorial focused on his role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and later career as a congressman, CNN's Abby Phillip and Dana Bash argued on Monday's special edition of CNN Newsroom that if Americans wanted to honor Lewis' legacy, they should embrace not just Lewis' dedication to civil rights and racial equality, but also his liberalism on things from gun control to taxes.
After declaring that Lewis was always concerned the country would regress on issues of race, Phillip claimed that this could also apply to "not just on the issues of racial equality but on all issues of justice and fairness in this country." Being just and fair on issues, according to Phillip, could be seen in Lewis taking "a stand on the issue of immigration in The Capitol in his final years. As Suzanne [Malveaux] pointed out, gun control was a major issue for him."
Phillip also claimed that voting this year will be an important issue to:
his friends and his mentors and the people who are carrying his torch on Capitol Hill taking that on because they know how important that was to John Lewis and how John Lewis very much saw real problems on the horizon as he looked forward into a time that he wouldn't be with us in this moment but he was saying to us effectively this is the crux of our democracy, this is what we fought for
A few minutes later Bash also highlighted Lewis' more partisan positions:
But also, things that he did with regard to gun safety. He was a big advocate of the Brady Bill early on, he is also somebody who before it was -- when it was very, very unpopular, in politics, even in Democratic politics, to be for gay rights, he was and he would say that he didn't fight for equality just for African-Americans and later for women but for everybody and that included people who from his perspective should be allowed to love who they want to love.
Presumably, Bash just compared the fight against Jim Crow to abortion and mandatory wedding cake baking.
After also citing Lewis' opposition to both the 1994 crime bill and the Defense of Marriage Act, Bash cited Lewis' beliefs on taxes and entitlements:
people don't talk about the tax legislation, Medicare, Medicaid, he was a senior member of the tax writing Ways and Means Committee, didn't get the headlines that other things did because he was John Lewis but those are some of the things that he was passionate about and used his platform on those committees, on those policy making committees the try to further the work that he did for people who were disenfranchised.
John Lewis did many great things for the country throughout his life, but that does not mean that Americans are obliged to become liberals on gun control, immigration, or tax policy if they want to empower the disenfranchised.
Here is a transcript for the July 27 show:
CNN
CNN Newsroom
1:33 PM ET
ABBY PHILLIP: He has always pushed the country forward from the beginning of his time in this movement as a young man in the early 20s all the way until his death and the very last public gesture that he made to be at Black Lives Matter Plaza was part of that signaling that he was giving to this country in this pivotal time that the work is not done. He really did believe that there was -- there is a threat that always remains that we could take steps backward and that you have to be vigilant not just on the issues of racial equality but on all issues of justice and fairness in this country. He took a stand on the issue of immigration in The Capitol in his final years. As Suzanne pointed out, gun control was a major issue for him and voting. I think this year of all years voting is going to be such a crucial issue and you see his friends and his mentors and the people who are carrying his torch on Capitol Hill taking that on because they know how important that was to John Lewis and how John Lewis very much saw real problems on the horizon as he looked forward into a time that he wouldn't be with us in this moment but he was saying to us effectively this is the crux of our democracy, this is what we fought for. And I think he wanted to remind people that the work on that issue is not done and that there is a real threat that the country can take a step backward if they get too complacent sitting on the laurels and he was never one to allow people to do that even in his later and final years.
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DANA BASH: No, you’re right. Very, very different skill sets but when you're John Lewis very transferable because it has to do with listening, organizing, talking to people who don't always agree with you, taking a lot of stuff from people. Either in politics across the aisle or in his previous life across an ideological spectrum but he did come here. I mentioned the work he did to get the African-American Museum from an idea to a real beautiful and important building and teaching tool for everybody in the world who can come under normal circumstances to see it. But also, things that he did with regard to gun safety. He was a big advocate of the Brady Bill early on, he is also somebody who before it was -- when it was very, very unpopular, in politics, even in Democratic politics, to be for gay rights, he was and he would say that he didn't fight for equality just for African-Americans and later for women but for everybody and that included people who from his perspective should be allowed to love who they want to love. He went against his fellow Democrat in the White House at the time, Bill Clinton, who supported the -- signed the Defensive Marriage Act. He opposed the 1994 crime bill which through the lens of today he was asked most Democrats including the guy that signed it Bill Clinton, that was a huge mistake. So he was the conscience of Congress and worked on pieces of legislation, people don't talk about the tax legislation, Medicare, Medicaid, he was a senior member of the tax writing Ways and Means Committee, didn't get the headlines that other things did because he was John Lewis but those are some of the things that he was passionate about and used his platform on those committees, on those policy making committees the try to further the work that he did for people who were disenfranchised, Brianna.
