Transcript: Why Trump Is Losing Ground Even in This Deep-Red State
Bacon: Let me end on why is this important – I guess most of our audience, most of the people watching us, don’t live in a red state, don’t live in a gerrymandered state – wWhy is it important for people across the country to know what’s going on in a place like Tennessee where policies aren’t going to go the way we want and it’s going to take a long time? What can – why is it important? And then secondly, what can they do if you’re not in Tennessee?
Behn: A great case study for this is the nationwide ban on gender-affirming care. It all started in Tennessee. They passed a bill banning gender-affirming care. Our attorney general then took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and the attorney general’s office actually sent an email to the entire legislature inviting us to attend oral arguments in which they would take away health care from our nation’s most vulnerable children. Our leaders went to Washington – they also followed.
And so what happens here could happen to you next. And so…however you think about the South, as WEB Du Bois once said, So goes the South, so goes the nation. It’s true. And we struggle: No matter what you think you’re facing in your blue state, it’s stifling to live by the policies that are passed here. So please continue to invest in organizations and organizers like me who are really thinking ahead and thinking about what’s going to happen in the next 10 years and profiting from it.
Because once again, things are already bad. They will get worse. You need organizers and thought leaders like me who understand how to take advantage of the crises, the compounded crises that we’re going to face in order to create opportunities for improvement and to make Tennessee a better place to live.
Bacon: Aftyn, nice to see you. Thanks for the great answer to end there. I like you. And a great campaign – congratulations on that. I think we’ll look at other things you do in the future. See you soon.
Behn: ALL RIGHT. THANKS.
