American’s Authoritarians – Al Jazeera
Transcript
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Lower Thirds Samuel Perry Co-Author, The Flag and The Cross Bob Abeshouse People & Power Clay Clark ReAwaken America Tour Promoter LTG, Ret. Michael Flynn Trump Nat. Security Advisor Joe Oltmann Rightwing Podcast Activist Eric Trump Donald Trump’s Son Pastor Lance Wallnau Seven Mountains Evangelist Benjamin Hett Author and Historian of Nazism Valerie Wirtschafter Senior Data Analyst, Brookings Inst. Nsé Ufot CEO, New Georgia Project Ari Berman Author, Give Us the Ballot Vera McIntosh Former Chair, Spalding Election Board Glenda Henley Former Secy., Spalding Election Board Pastor Gerod Duff Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church |
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00:01:00 |
Trump on Jan. 6, 2021 Crowds on Jan. 6, 2021 |
DONALD TRUMP KNEW THERE WERE ARMED MEN IN THE MOB THAT
GATHERED ON JANUARY 6, 2021 IN WASHINGTON DC TO
PROTEST HIS LOSS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. |
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00:01:11 |
Trump giving speech |
Trump Make no mistake. This
election was stolen from you, from me, and from the country. |
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00:01:16 |
January 6th Hearing Cassidy Hutchinson testimony |
ACCORDING TO CONGRESSIONAL
TESTIMONY, TRUMP WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN EFFORTS TO DISRUPT THE COUNTING OF
ELECTORAL VOTES AND HOLD ON TO POWER. BUT TENS OF MILLIONS OF REPUBLICANS
DON’T CARE ABOUT HIS ATTEMPTED COUP. THEY SEE TRUMP AS A WARRIOR FOR REAL
AMERICANS LIKE THEM. |
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00:01:30 |
Jan 6. Crowds Trump speech |
Trump There has never been a movement like this. Ever. You are
the real people. You’re the people who built this nation. |
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00:01:38 |
Flags on Jan 6. Confederate flag in crowd |
OVER 80 PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS
BELIEVE THAT AMERICA NEEDS A STONG LEADER TO DESTROY RADICAL AND IMMORAL
CURRENTS PREVAILING IN SOCIETY. AND A THIRD THAT VIOLENCE MAY BE NECESSARY TO
SAVE THE COUNTRY. |
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00:01:49 |
Trump speech |
Trump And we fight. We fight like hell.
And if you don’t fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore. |
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00:01:56 |
Jan. 6 insurrection footage Members of Jan 6 crowd chanting |
FIGHT
THEY DID. THE CLASH OVER FREEDOM THAT ERUPTED THAT DAY IS CENTRAL TO THE US
MIDTERM ELECTIONS THIS NOVEMBER, AND THE AUTHORITARIAN THREAT FACING AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY.AND AMIDST ALL THE THRONGS OF PEOPLE AND VIOLENCE WAS AN
UNMISTAKEABLE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION THAT WENT MOSTLY UNNOTICED. Chant:
Trump is president, Christ is king |
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00:02:16 |
Jan 6. Insurrection footage Samuel Perry in a sit-down interview Footage of Christian Cross flag on Jan 6 Sign saying “Jesus Saves” Men carrying a cross on Jan 6 Sign depicting Jesus in a MAGA hat |
Perry On January 6, I was on a text chain with several different
friends. As we watched this footage, we started to comment, like, hey did you
guys just see that Christian flag? Hey, did you guys just see that Jesus
saves sign? And it seemed very clear that white Christian Nationalist
ideology was
motivating and driving a number of these participants. |
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00:02:35 |
Perry and Bob in a sit-down interview Perry’s book The Flag
+ The Cross |
SAMUEL
PERRY, A FORMER EVANGELICAL MINISTER, IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
OKLAHOMA. HE IS THE CO-AUTHOR OF A NEW BOOK THAT USES POLLING DATA TO EXAMINE
CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM, THE FLAG AND THE CROSS. |
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00:02:47 |
Perry talking in a sit-down interview with Bob Bob talking Perry talking Bob talking Perry talking Jan. 6 attack footage Jesus flag in foreground of mob breaking
into the Capitol building Perry talking |
Perry White
Christian Nationalism is fundamentally authoritarian
and it is anti-democratic. It is also conspiratorial. It is actually far more pervasive than many Americans understand
and potentially could lead us into a – a lot of violent, political
situations. Abeshouse What
percentage of the Republican party do you think are white Christian
Nationalists? Perry It is a
comfortable majority of Republicans who would subscribe to the idea that
America was founded as a Christian nation and that we should be in some way
institutionalizing or privileging our Christian heritage and our identity in
American law and policy going forward Abeshouse You say
that freedom, order, and violence are the holy trinity of white Christian
Nationalism. What do you mean? Perry Christian
Nationalist ideology for white Americans is characterized by boundaries that
distinguish bad guys from good guys, us versus them, and
also arranges society in a series of hierarchies. Those people on the
top are consistently white, Christian, native-born men. So, it's the freedom
for them, it's the order for outsiders culturally and religiously and when
that is violated, then good guys with guns can exercise righteous violence to
maintain order. |
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00:04:03 00:04:19 |
Oregon countryside from
window of a moving car, Bob driving Outside of Reawaken
America tents, parking lot Merch table, flags, man
with firearms Clay Clark speaking
onstage at event |
WE SET OUT
TO INVESTIGATE HOW AND WHY FREEDOM IS UNDER SEIGE IN THE US, AND WHERE IT IS
TAKING THE COUNTRY. OUR FIRST
STOP WAS SALEM, OREGON, WHERE THE REAWAKEN AMERICA
TOUR HELD A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN REVIVAL IN APRIL. Clark Jesus is
King. President Donald J Trump is our President |
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00:04:28 00:04:42 |
Inside ReAwaken America event, crowd cheering Clay Clark speaking Cameras filming Clark |
CLAY CLARK, A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENUER IS THE EMPRESARIO AND ORGANIZER
OF THE TOUR. TENS OF THOUSANDS HAVE ATTENDED 14 REAWAKEN GATHERINGS
SINCE THEY BEGAN IN 2021, WHILE COUNTLESS MORE HAVE WATCHED ON CHRISTIAN AND
RIGHTWING INTERNET SITES. Clark
This
event is going to be the spark of revival for this state. So
we are going to learn a lot about election fraud, medical fraud, religious
fraud, monetary fraud, all that |
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00:04:50 |
Mike Flynn getting onstage Bob on edge of crowd watching Flynn speaking |
ONE OF THE
HEADLINERS OF THE EVENT WAS GENERAL MICHAEL FLYNN. TRUMPS FORMER NATIONAL
SECURITY ADVISOR WHO WAS PROSECUTED FOR LYING TO THE FBI AND PARDONED BY THE
FORMER PRESIDENT. Flynn We are in
a fight for the heart and soul of this country right now. Everybody feels it.
Everybody knows it. |
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00:05:08 |
People in crowd recording event on phones Oltmann speaking onstage Crowd listening |
REAWAKEN EVENTS HAVE BEEN SHOW CASES FOR SOME OF THE LEADING
PURVEYORS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT COVID-19 AND THE 2022 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION. Oltmann We have a to focus on the problem. And the problem right is that the
elections have been stolen/your voice was stolen. |
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00:05:23 00:05:32 00:05:52 00:06:02 |
Clark speaking onstage Clark presentation slide Clark speaking onstage Crowd listening Clark speaking onstage Crowd cheering and woman
blowing horn |
CLARK HAS DEVELOPED AN
ELABORATE NARRATIVE LINKING COVID-19 AND VACCINATIONS TO A SATANIC CONSPIRACY
BY GLOBAL ELITES TO DEPRIVE PEOPLE OF THEIR FREEDOM. Clark This is Klaus Schwab of the
World Economic Forum openly stating in 2015, they will put shots inside your
body, that will change you that's what it is all about.They want to edit you. Not in the image of god, but in the image of these nefarious Luciferians MANY EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS IN
THE US FEAR THE COVID VACCINE COULD BE THE MARK OF THE BEAST, IDENTIFYING
THEM AS FOLLOWERS OF THE ANTI-CHRIST IN THE END TIMES. Clark You have team Satan versus team
Jesus. That’s why I am doing this. I am trying to give you tools to wake up
your family |
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00:06:11 00:06:19 00:06:23 |
Eric Trump takes stage,
shakes Clark’s hand Crowd chanting |
UNDERSCORING
THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTS TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND DONALD
TRUMP’S MAGA MOVEMENT, WAS THE APPEARANCE OF HIS SON ERIC. Eric
Trump Wow. Chanting:
U.S.A. Applause:We love
you Eric Trump You know what[00:18:26]we want
our religion back, we want our Constitution back, we want our Second
Amendment back. And guys, I promise we're going to make this country great
again. |
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00:06:34 00:06:37 00:06:42 00:06:53 00:06:58 |
Crowd in prayer Wallnau praying on stage Wide shot of crowd
listening to Wallnau CU of person recording Wallnau on their phone Hands in crowd raised in
prayer, US flag being held in foreground Wallnau speaking on stage |
Wallnau: Whoa the Holy ghost is the
flowing right now If you need a healing, keep your hand up high. LANCE WALLNAU, A CHARISMATIC
EVANGELIST, WAS ANOTHER POPULAR SPEAKER AT THE EVENT. Wallnau Do you know why they freaked out
over January 6th, to send you a message, you are never to show up
with your strength ever again in their face WALLNAU WAS ONE OF THE PASTORS
WHO CAME TO WASHINGTON TO PROTEST ON JANUARY 6th. Wallnau It’s like Donald
Trump said to me. He believed that Christians were the secret to the future
of America//but you guys got to get organized |
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00:07:08 |
Wide of crowd listening
to Wallnau B roll of crowd |
IN 1976, 80 PERCENT
OF AMERICANS IDENTIFIED AS WHITE CHIRSTIANS. TODAY THAT NUMBER IS LESS THAN
45 PERCENT. |
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00:07:16 00:07:40 00:07:54 |
Perry talking Bob talking Perry talking Clark presentation slide
from ReAwaken America with the Beast from
Revelations Woman in crowd taking notes Perry talking |
Perry Secularism is on the rise,
non-white racial minorities are growing in terms of the percentage of the
population, and America is slowly moving leftward politically. They are also concerned with this idea of replacement,
that immigrants are coming to the country who tend to vote Democrat and that
the Democrats are behind this plot to replace true Americans, and by that
they mean people like us Abeshouse Warnings about globalization and
technological advance were a big part of this
meeting So were claims that COVID isn't real, that elites are engaged in
deception. How does that fit in with white Christian Nationalist ideology? Perry This is part of their theology of the end-times that there is an effort on the part of Satan and –his workers to unite the world together, to – to oppose God’s people, and to curtail your freedom. So, white Christian Nationalism inclines Americans toward conspiratorial thinking it is highly suspect of those who have historically been in charge the media elite, the political elite, the academics. |
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00:08:13 00:08:19 00:08:38 00:08:55 |
Crowds at event buying
from merch tables Banner saying “Stop
Vaccine Mandates” B roll of people visiting
booths Bob and event attendees in stand-up interviews Bob talking Man talking Woman (Diane) talking Bob talking Another woman (Nicole) talking |
PEOPLE AT THE REAWAKEN
EVENT THINK IT
IS DEMOCRATS AND LIBERALS WHO ARE THE AUTHORITARIANS. Man Suppressing
information about the vaccine, suppressing information about where the virus
came from, suppressing the news. I think Americans responding to
authoritarianism, right now, this is what this event is doing. Abeshouse Do you think there's a
battle going on in America between good and evil? Man Absolutely. Diane So,The evil side, I believe, is people
who do not want the God element in America. They're politicians who don't,
they don't want God and Christianity to upset their agendas Abeshouse Do you think the
election was stolen in 2020? Nicole Absolutely. I have
articles on people that have done data, and we try to get the data here…. |
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00:09:05 00:09:10 |
Booth b roll Bob and event attendees in stand-up interviews |
70
PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS BELIEVE THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS STOLEN FROM
DONALD TRUMP. Jayce I mean, ballots showing up on
streets kind of is an indicator that there's something going on, in dumpsters
and things like that. Abeshouse Uh-huh. So, where did you hear
about that?
Jayce I mean, there was a lot of it
all over, just random posts on Facebook// YouTube//random streams, you know? Abeshouse Abeshouse What did you think of the
attack on the capital on January sixth? Jayce What attack? Kiara People were all
let in. And when you look at other people’s videos that they’d taken, it was
just as peaceful as this. Abeshouse So you don’t think it was an insurrection Kiara No |
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00:09:50 00:09:58 |
Event b roll Bob and Clark in a sit-down interview B roll of people at the event; man with guns |
FROM
THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK TO THE 2020 ELECTION TO COVID-19 VACCINATION CONSPIRACY
IS IN THE AIR THAT PEOPLE BREATHE ON THE REAWAKEN AMERICA TOUR. Clark I don't know that conspiracy theories is how I'd describe it. I
would just say people who are here are speaking about election fraud, medical
fraud, religious fraud, monetary fraud, mainstream media fraud, and those are
all things that are definitely happening right now. Abeshouse What is the crux of
the opposition to vaccination, and the concern about COVID, that it's being
used to restrict freedoms? Clark I think that COVID-19
is//the moment when Americans will agree to put surveillance technology
underneath their skin.
Abeshouse Does that mean it's a
plan? It's a plan? Clark I definitely
know that COVID-19 is a plan, yes. Abeshouse But a million
people in America died of COVID? It’s been shown that the
]people that had the vaccine had lower hospitalization rates, and
lower death rates. Clark I don't trust those
statistics.
Abeshouse Are you concerned, at
all, that all of the discussion about the stolen election is de-legitimizing
the whole electoral process? Clark No. Abeshouse Why do you think most
people come to the ReAwaken America tour events? Clark I think there's people
who are previously not politically active that are coming here because
they're seeking the truth. That's why I'm doing the tour is to waken people
up to the truth. |
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00:11:09 |
Bob and Benjamin Hett
in a sit-down interview |
Hett ]In almost every case I
think that you can look at, authoritarian governments flourish on
irrationality, they flourish on disinformation// |
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00:11:19 |
Bob and Hett walking
and talking along sidewalk in neighborhood Hett’s books lined up on a
table, ending on The Death of Democracy Hett talking Stills of cameramen in the 1920s or 1930s
shooting footage at a Nazi rally Still of Josef Goebbels sitting in front of
a radio microphone Young men gathered around a radio Hett talking |
BENJAMIN
HETT, A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT THE GRADUATE CENTER OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF
NEW YORK, IS THE AUTHOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT NAZI GERMANY. THE DEATH OF DEMOCRACY,
EXPLORES SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CONDITIONS IN AMERICA TODAY AND IN THE WEIMAR
REPUBLIC WHEN HITLER TOOK OVER. Hett
There really is a sort of basic
structural similarity between how conspiracy theories and misinformation lies, appeals to irrational facets. How all of that
functioned in Weimar Germany, and how it functions in America today.And also the 1920s was an
age of a kind of media revolution.//Film was new, radio was new. So, there is
this kind of media explosion which felt to people, at the time, much like the
internet or social media feels to us. And had a similar impact in terms of
making it much easier to spread information including disinformation. |
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00:12:10 |
Screenshots of right-wing social media
sites: Parlor, Gab, MeWe, BitChute,
Truth Social, Gettr, Rumble |
THE DANGER
SOCIAL MEDIA POSES IN SPREADING DISINFORMATION HAS
BEEN COMPOUNDED DURING THE TRUMP YEARS BY THE EMERGENCE OF A SEPARATE
UNIVERSE OF SITES TO SERVE THE POLITICAL RIGHT -- AND A NEW INTERNET MEDIUM
THAT HAS LARGELY FLOWN UNDER THE RADAR – PODCASTING. |
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00:12:23 00:12:32 |
Playback of a conservative podcast Valerie Wirtschafter in a sit-down interview |
Powell:You can cull
out all the Trump votes you want. And put in em in afile an adjudicated file. And just throw it away. Valerie There are no regulations.//you can say whatever you want in this medium, and that’s what
they did around the election |
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00:12:38 |
Bob and Valerie in a sit-down interview |
VALERIE WIRTSCHAFTER [Wurt Shafter]IS A
SENIOR DATA ANALYST AT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION WHO LED A STUDY ON HOW
PODCASTS SPREAD TRUMP’S CLAIM THAT THE 2020 ELECTION WAS STOLEN FROM HIM. Wirtschafter Now I
would say around 40% of Americans listen to a podcast monthly. Which is more
than people who use Twitter about the same as those Instagram monthly. |
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00:12:59 00:13:09 |
Bob and Valerie in a sit-down interview in front
of a graph Valerie talking Pointing at graph |
THE BROOKINGS TEAM RECORDED, TRANSCRIBED AND ANALYZED SOME 1,500
PODCAST EPISODES BETWEEN AUGUST 2020 AND THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL Wirtschafter We have many more conservative podcasters just
simply because the ecosystem is larger and because there's so much more
content there. And right here is when we have our election, and we see a huge
spike in terms of number of podcasters sharing content tied to election
fraud. At some points 60% of the episodes that we looked at are sharing false
content |
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00:13:32 |
Playback of conservative podcasts |
Navarro: The Democrat party had a coordinated, stuff the ballot box strategy Bannon correspondent: This has been an amazing day out in Washington DC at the Stop the Steal march for Trump Knowles: People who are not eligible to vote sneak in and they vote anyway, we know that Kirk:Voter fraud is real.Don’t let them tell you otherwise. Roll tape. |
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00:13:51 |
Bob talking Valerie talking |
Abeshouse So, all of
this totally bogus information about the election is going out on these
podcasts to millions of people. Wirtschafter Yeah.
The Steve Bannon Show claims on their website they’ve been downloaded, I
think, 135 million times. He’s kind of this outlier up here with nearly 118
shows dedicated, at least in part, to disseminating Big Lie content. |
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00:14:14 00:14:24 00:14:31 |
Hett talking Trump speech on Jan 6 Hett talking |
Hett What Hitler said in Mein Kampf, and it’s a very interesting passage is that if you tell a big enough lie, voters will think that's too big a lie. He couldn't possibly be lying. It must be true. Trump Democrats attempted the most brazen and a outrageous election theft in American history.Everbody knows it. Hett And also, very astutely, Hitler said even if the lie is then later debunked, it will linger in the minds of people who have been exposed to it. It's very hard ever to eradicate once it's there. And Trump understands that you need to sort of go big with the lie, be persistent about it, and then it will stick, once you've put it in there. And we've seen, it has stuck. It's now very pervasive on the right, very widely believed by a majority of Republicans. |
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00:14:55 |
Driving down a Georgia highway, looking out front windshield Bob driving Atlanta skyline Outside Georgia General Assembly New Georgia Project
sticker Bob looking out over
event happening below B roll of voting rights
group working |
IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP’S BIG LIE, REPUBLICANS ACROSS THE US HAVE PUSHED
THROUGH CHANGES TO VOTING LAWS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION THAT DEMOCRATS SEE
AS A THREAT TO THE VERY FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN FREEDOM, MAJORITY RULE. GEORGIA, HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE REPUBLICAN EFFORT. IN 2021,
THE REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE HERE PASSED SB202, THE SO-CALLED ELECTION
INTEGRITY ACT. THE NEW GEORGIA PROJECT, A VOTING RIGHTS GROUP THAT HAS
REGISTERED MORE THAN 500,000 NEW VOTERS SINCE 2014, IS DEALING WITH FALLOUT
FROM THE LEGISLATION |
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00:15:26 00:15:42 |
Nsé Ufot talking B roll voting rights
group members making calls, working on computers Ufot stand-up interview B roll Ufot talking to team members |
Ufot We are//monitoring about 200 polling locations//in this new anti-voter,
anti-democratic environment// it is extraordinarily important that we have
eyes and ears on as many polling locations, as possible. NSE
UFOT IS CEO OF THE NEW GEORGIA PROJECT. DURING ELECTIONS LAST MAY TO FINALIZE
CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE CANDIDATES, SHE AND HER TEAM WERE BUSY HELPING PEOPLE
NAVIGATE HURDLES PRESENTED BY THE NEW VOTING LAWS. |
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00:15:55 00:16:33 |
Ufot and Bob stand-up interview B roll team working News footage of Georgia voting results
during 2020 presidential election Bob talking Ufot talking |
Nsé Ufot There are over 50
changes to Georgia's laws// that we have seen because of Senate Bill 202 They
want to get rid of absentee balloting We're still seeing long lines. We're
seeing polling locations that have been changed, again, without giving voters
the proper notice, and they've cut 100 days from the early voting timeline.
So, the ambition of SB202 is to shave off votes at the margins because the
former President lost in Georgia by less than 12,000 votes Natsot: It’s pushed Biden’s
lead over a thousand now statewide Abeshouse What do you see as
the connection between this voter suppression and race? Nsé Ufot That in a place like
Georgia, Black voters make up 35% of the electorate. That, by 2025, we're
talking about white people no longer being the majority in Georgia. So what does that mean that in the marketplace of ideas
fewer and fewer people are buying what Conservative Republicans are selling
and the only way for them to hold onto power is if they cheat. |
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00:17:00 00:17:15 |
Map/graphic of restrictive voting laws in the United States Ari Berman in sit-down interview |
Berman So many of
the Republican-controlled states that pass laws making it harder to vote,
follow the Georgia template |
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00:17:21 00:17:33 00:17:47 00:17:53 |
B roll of Berman’s books:
Give Us the Ballot and Herding Donkeys Berman working on his computer Berman talking Bob talking Berman talking Outside Georgia General Assembly |
ARI BERMAN
IS THE AUTHOR OF GIVE US THE BALLOT: THE MODERN STRUGGLE FOR VOTING RIGHTS IN
AMERICA. HE IS WORKING ON A NEW BOOK EXPLORING REPUBLICAN EFFORTS TO
ESTABLISH MINORITY RULE IN THE US. Berman I think it’s very simple. You don’t
have to rely on minority rule if you have policies that appeal to a majority.
But they’ve given up trying to have policies that are broadly popular, and
they’ve also given up trying to play by established rules of American
politics// Abeshouse What do you think’s most problematic
in terms of
suppression and subversion in the Georgia law?// Berman Well, They’ve changed the law in all sorts of different ways/ to
make it harder to vote, but the ultimate voter suppression tactic is throwing
out votes on the backend, right? And now/you have the heavily gerrymandered
state legislature gets to control a majority of appointees to the state board
of elections, which oversees how elections are certified. At the same time,
you have local boards of elections that are either becoming more Republican
or believe the election was stolen.What that can
mean is that Republicans who don’t believe in certifying elections if their
side loses will then be in charge of certifying them. |
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00:18:33 |
Griffin, GA water tower Griffin police truck People walking on the
sidewalks downtown |
GRIFFIN
IS THE MAIN TOWN IN SPALDING COUNTY, ONE OF SIX COUNTIES IN GEORGIA WHOSE
LOCAL ELECTION BOARDS WERE RESTRUCTURED TO FAVOR REPUBLICANS SINCE 2021. |
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00:18:42 00:18:54 00:19:05 |
Bob walking and talking outside on a sidewalk
with Vera McIntosh and Glenda Henley People exiting voter
registration office CU Election and Voter
Registration Office sign Bob, Vera, and Glenda in sit-down interview |
Abeshouse So after the 2020
election, there was a lot of tension around here? McIntosh Yes, we went from
three people coming to our meetings to maybe 25, 50 people coming. VERA MCINTOSH SERVED AS THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE SPALDING ELECTION BOARD, AND GLENDA HENLEY WAS A MEMBER. BOTH
ARE DEMOCRATS, AND THE PRESSURE ON THE BOARD BECAUSE OF TRUMP’S CLAIM OF
ELECTION FRAUD IN GEORGIA WAS INTENSE. McIntosh We had some
dumpster diving//to try and find that there were votes that the board had
thrown into the dumpster, and they needed to go into the dumpster to find out
where those votes were.// Henley And they did not find any Abeshouse So, that’s
interesting, I meanTrump won, I think, about 65% of
the vote here, right? McIntosh Yes. Henley So, we couldn't
understand what the problem was here. He won Spalding County. |
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00:19:28 00:19:39 00:19:44 |
Flags in the wind Outside Spalding County election board Bob talking Vera talking |
TRADITIONALLY, THE ELECTION BOARD HAD FIVE
MEMBERS, TWO DEMOCRATS AND TWO REPUBLICANS, WITH THE FIFTH CHOSEN BY A COIN
TOSS. IN 2020, THIS RESULTED IN THREE BLACK DEMOCRATIC WOMEN FORMING THE
MAJORITY. Abeshouse What role do you think race played in people's
anger over the election? McIntosh I think that race played quite a bit in the
sense that the makeup of the election board at that time was total minority
that was in control. So, the powers that be//wanted to change that dynamic |
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00:20:01 |
Outside Georgia General Assembly |
THE STATE LEGISLATURE PASSED A BILL TO ALLOW LOCAL ELECTED JUDGES TO
PICK THE FIFTH MEMBER OF THE SPALDING ELECTION BOARD RATHER THAN HAVE IT
DECIDED BY A COIN TOSS. THEY SELECTED SOMEONE WHO SIDED WITH THE REPUBLICANS
GIVING THEM CONTROL OF THE BOARD. |
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00:20:15 00:20:26 |
Bob, Vera, and Glenda in sit-down interview US and Griffin flag side
by side Outside Spalding County election board Outside of Liberty
Technology building Screenshot Ben Johnson “Stop the Steal”
social media post |
Abeshouse So,
that happened, not just in Spalding County, but other counties in Georgia.// McIntosh Yes. These were all election boards that
were controlled by minority people, okay? MCINTOSH AND HENLEY RESIGNED. THE NEW REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN OF THE
SPALDING BOARD IS BEN JOHNSON, THE CEO OF A LOCAL IT COMPANY. HIS SOCIAL
MEDIA POSTS SUGGEST HE IS AN ELECTION-DENIER. MR. JOHNSON DECLINED OUR
REQUESTS FOR AN INTERVIEW. SO DID REPUBLICAN STATE LEGISLATORS WHO SPEARHEADED
THE NEW VOTING LAWS IN GEORGIA. |
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00:20:48 00:21:03 |
Outside of Rising Star
Missionary Baptist Church Bob walking inside church People in church dancing
to gospel song A group of singers
performing on stage Pastor Gerod Duff speaking Church attendees
listening |
Music from church. A MAJOR CHANGE IMPLEMENTED BY THE NEW SPALDING ELECTION BOARD IS THE
ELIMINATION OF SUNDAY VOTING DURING THE EARLY VOTING PERIOD. TRADITIONALLY,
CHURCHES IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY ENCOURAGE
THEIR CONGREGANTS TO VOTE AFTER SUNDAY SERVICES. IT’S KNOWN AS “SOULS TO THE POLLS” Natsot
from Duff: If you see something defective in the
system, take the hand and go to a voting booth, and cast your vote |
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00:21:11 00:21:46 00:22:12 |
B roll people in church Clapping, cheering Pastor Duff and Bob in sit-down interview |
PASTOR GEROD DUFF HAS LED THE RISING STAR MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
IN GRIFFIN SINCE 2004. Duff There's been a concerted effort to stop
Sunday voting. And I think it's no coincidence that happens when you see a
large African-American segment that finally stood
up, and taking a major role in the democratic process. Abeshouse I went out to this ReAwaken America
Tour, you know, it's a revival. One of the main messages is that COVID was
invented //to steal rights,to
take away freedom Duff Covid is real. Our congregation has been effected
by Covid. I believe that God empowered men and women to come up with various
ways to treat this disease. And so, for us, to say that we reject it and we think it's a plot in a conspiracy, I think it's
folly. Abeshouse What's your view of white evangelical
pastors who are rallying their troops for the Republican cause? Duff: I think the white evangelical Christian
movement that support Donald Trump and his ilk have whitewashed the gospel.
What I mean by that is//it's fine as long as we keep
the white evangelical or just white on top. As long as
we're in the positions of power, everything is good. But if the playing field
gets level in any type of way now all of a sudden,
there is this upheaval. And so, what's happened, the political climate has
exposed really who we are. |
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00:22:47 |
Perry talking Bob talking Perry talking |
Perry The Christian right, mobilized by Christian
Nationalist ideology has a decision to make. They can – they can change their
values and change their platform, or they can shore up enough fear and anger
to change the rules of the game to sideline or handicap their opponents Abeshouse:
And that’s an authoritarian agenda. Perry That’s an authoritarian regime. That’s
actually how it starts And the more white Americans
subscribe to Christian Nationalism, the more they believe that voting is not
a right, it is a privilege. In other words, it's not something that shall not
be infringed, but it's something that we can actually limit
or take away altogether. |
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00:23:23 |
Woman (Janice) at ReAwaken America Tour booth speaking Janice and Bob stand-up interview |
Janice Voting by mail is the most corruptible.
Everyone who comes by here says the system is so corrupted. And I’ve been
working with concerned citizens to ensure election integrity |
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00:23:37 |
Bob does stand-up interviews with ReAwaken America attendees |
Abeshouse People
are concerned that efforts by Republicans in a number of
states are actually undermining democracy. Man I don't think so. Nicole It's not secure. We need to make sure it's
secure. In other countries, they get fingerprints to make sure it's secure |
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00:23:53 |
Stills of Republican candidates in
battleground states Still of Donald Trump at a rally in support
of candidate |
THIS NOVEMBER, 87 REPUBLICANS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICES THAT WILL
PLAY A KEY ROLE IN CERTIFYING THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE. 54 OF THEM SUPPORT
THE BIG LIE THAT THE ELECTION WAS STOLEN FROM TRUMP. |
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00:24:06 |
Berman talking People standing in line
outside of a voting station Grassy area on the side
of a Georgia road full of campaign signs Berman talking Trump clapping at his Jan 6 speech Jan 6 insurrection footage |
Berman The results of the 2022 election are going
to go a long way toward deciding what kind of democracy we have because so
many critical races are up. Not just control of Congress, but control of really important state races that determine who certifies
elections, who writes election law It was a very haphazard effort to try to
steal the election in 2020. Now,
they’re getting more sophisticated. They’re trying to take the insurrection
and institutionalize it in all of these key swing
states, and ultimately at the national level, as well. |
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00:24:48 |
Ufot talking Black mother and child
walking up to a voting station “Vote here” sign in
Georgia People campaigning on
side of road Campaign and Black Lives
Matter signs in the yard of a Georgia home “Stand-Up & Vote”
signs on the side of the road |
Nsé Ufot A vote could absolutely be stolen here.
There's no doubt in my mind that if we do not remain vigilant, if we do not
call out this bad behavior, if we do not have overwhelming participation in
our elections this year that we will have a future of stolen elections, and
it could mean the end of democracy as we know it. |
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END |