The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Beto O’Rourke - The Race to Restore Rights in Texas

Episode Date: September 25, 2022

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate and author Beto O’Rourke discusses how the extremism in Texas is reflective of a broken democracy and immigration system, why there’s a need for solutions to the immigration issue rather than reactive stunts, and how dialogue across all political parties is crucial.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Better or rock. Better to rock. Welcome back to the Daily Show. Thank you for having me back. You are back. to the day. to show.

Thank you for having me back. You are back on the campaign trail this time for a different position, Governor of Texas. It is, uh... It's an interesting time to be dealing with politics in Texas because it feels like everything is happening in and around Texas. So let's jump straight into it. You know, you've run before. You came super close. You didn't take it. What do you think will be different this time and why? It's really about where Texas is and what Texans are willing to do about it. So you mention all these things that are coming to a head in our state. We have

the most extreme abortion ban in America. No exception for rape or incest begins at conception. Speaking of democracy and the right to vote, it is harder to cast a ballot or get on the rolls in Texas than any other state in the Union. It's been 17 weeks since those 19 kids and two teachers were killed in Yvaldi. Gun violence, the leading cause of death for kids and teenagers in that state. But instead of succumbing to despair or submitting to this, Texans are rising up. And they're going to win this the the the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the temptation the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the temptation the the tectionation te, te, teateate, their their their their their their their volunteering on this campaign, they're knocking on doors, they're turning out in record numbers, and they're going to win this election in November, which is really a referendum on all these issues. Are we going to be defined by this extremism and our hatred and the way that we make each other afraid of one another? Are we going to come together and do big things together? So it's it's it's an it's an it's an exciting it's an exciting it's an exciting it's an exciting it's an exciting it's an exciting thiiiiiii. It's an exciting thi. It's an exciting ti. It's an ti. It's an ti. It's an thea. It's an thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's thi. It's the's the's the's the's the's the's the's the's the's the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thee. ttime to be doing this and a great state to be in and we're going to win.

No, there's no denying that you've always had a charismatic way about you. There's no denying that you've been really popular on the national stage. Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like the majority of Texas isn't exactly on the same page that you are. A good example is the busing stunt that's happening right now, you know, with Greg Abbott busing people to all over the country to prove a point. You're against that. You've spoken out against it multiple times, but more than 50% of Texans go, yeah, this is the right move because it sends a message to Washington, D.C. How do you, you know, how do you work that in your mind, the idea thapapap to so many Texans where they're saying, no, this is actually what we want?

I actually think that this extremism that we see in our current governor and government in Texas is reflective of the fact that we have a badly broken democracy. Seven million Texans didn't vote in the last election in 20, 27 million who are eligible to, did not. And if a majority majority thxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxeee thia thia thia thiooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, how thi, how thi, how thi, how thi, how thi, thi, to to too. toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. thi. thi. thi. thi eligible to did not. And if a majority right now thinks that busing migrants to DC or Chicago is a good idea, maybe as you suggested, it's a reflection of the fact that our immigration system is so badly broken and people want to do something, what I propose though is instead of these stunts which are so cruel and unkind, not just to those migrants, but to those of us who live in Texas, to the Border Patrol agents who we put on their backs this entire immigration system that is so badly broken.

What if instead we had, for example, a Texas-based guest worker program or the ability to join family and not wait 20 years in line, which is the back of the line in Mexico or India or the Philippines to come to the U.S. tod today tod today to to to to to to to to to to to to their their their th.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S..S.S...S.S.. And th. And thiioli. And th. And thiui.. And thi. And th. And th. th. their, th. th. th. th. th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, their. And, their. And, their. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. And, their their their thi. Ande. Ande. And, their their their their their te. Ande. Ande. And, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their their their their to come to the U.S. today. What if you were trying to claim asylum, you didn't wait six years for your claim to be adjudicated, which is the current wait time. What if Texas led the way in rewriting our immigration laws to reflect our values, our interests and our needs? And we say, look, you want to come to this country, you must follow our values, the values, the values, their, their, tha, tho, tho, their, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, their, to, to, to, and to, and to, and to, and to, and to, and to, and to, and to be, and to be, and to be, and to be, and to be, and to be, and, to be, to be, which, which, which, which is, which, which is, which is, which is, which is, and to be........ And, to, to, to be..e.e.e.e, to be.e. We. We. We. We. We. We. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be to be. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe., of toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe., toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. I want Texas to lead on that. It's admirable, you know, I think it's admirable. I think you're proposing solutions, but it seems like America is getting to a place where people are less enthused by long-term plans

and more riled up by an immediate idea that seems like it will work even if it may not. So, you know, you're out there, you're speaking to people. I know that you knock on doors and talks to people personally. So I'd love to know, have you met a person who doesn't agree with you on immigration, doesn't agree with you on these issues and has changed their mind? And thinne, thinnec, their their their their their their, their, thir, thir, thir, th, thir, thir, thiiii. thi. thir, thir, thi. thi. thi. thi's, thoo-a'eruo, the. thir, that, tho, tho, you're their, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're their out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their.............. thiiii. thiii. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thr. theauuu. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. were in a town called Hemp Hill in East Texas, and in that county, they literally have about 3% high-speed internet access. So huge infrastructure problems there.

It's a very red Republican rural county. So half the group that comes out asks a very legitimate question. He's wearing a Trump at. He said, my mom immigrated to this country from Canada and to renew her green card we had to stand in this line every so often. She worked three jobs because my dad who was disabled in World War II fighting for this country could not work. I started working when I was 14 years old. We played by the rules. We followed the law. And I don't know why, Betto, people are coming in between ports of entry right now and not following our laws. And I think his anger was legitimate. His experience was valid and he

asked a really good question. And so we talked about, you know, is busing migrants fixing this problem at all? We'll no. Is building a mile and a half of border wall, which is what Greg Abbott has done, helping anything, we'll know, I guess it's not. Well, what if we address the fact that people have legitimate reasons to want to come here to work or to join family or to seek asylum asylum toas, and a country that is comprised, by and large of asylum seekers and refugees, and what if we in Texas, you as a Democrat actually led on this issue. And he's nodding his head and comes over at the end of the meeting, shakes my hand and says, you know what, you might have earned my vote by coming out here to Hemp Hill and having this conversation. So it works.

Dialogue works. How do you then bring people together to solve an issue of voting that you know, you you know you talk about in the parties view the issue of voting. You have Donald Trump and the Republicans saying that the election was stolen. There were millions of illegal votes. None of this has been proven. In fact, the opposite has been proven. And then at the same time, you have Republicans saying, well, if Democrats say that we should accept the elections, why don't they accept the elections?

After they lose, Stacey Abrams will say it wasn't legitimate. How do you then break that? How do you get beyond that dialogue to even begin the conversation of having everybody votes? It helps, for me at least, to understand that not only can we do what you just described? We've done it before against much longer odds. One of the stories that I tell in this book we've got to try is about a black doctor in El Paso, Lawrence Nixon, who never missed an election until the Democratic-controlled legislature in 1923 outlaws voting by black Texans.

Nonetheless, he pays his poll tax the next year, shows up. They say, Dr. Nixon, you know we can't let you vote. And he says, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. tho, the the the tho, tho, thi, the tho, tho, th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin, thin, thin, thin, t t tooooooooooooooooo. togu. togu. togu. th th th th th th th th th th next year shows up, they say, Dr. Nixon, you know we can't let you vote. He says, I know you can't, but I've got to try. For the next 20 years, he fights this battle, a very lonely one, takes it to the Supreme Court, wins two signal victories there, and by 1944, he's helped to integrate elections once again in Texas, and has laid the path for LBJ to work on and to to to the to to to to work on and the to work on and the to work on and, the to work on, the to work on, to work on, the the, the, the, the, to work on, to, thoanan, to, thoan, the, the, thiole, thoe, the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965. So if that guy could do it against those odds, then who are we now in Texas who have inherited his sacrifice and his service and his struggle, we can't squander it. We have to build on it and make sure that we win it back. So in our campaign, we're targeting the very voters who are themselves the targets of suppression and intimidation to bring them in and make them the margin of victory on election night we're gonna get our democracy back

it's a very difficult mountains of try wish you the best of luck thank you so much for joining me on the show thanks for having you know we've got to try better on YouTube for exclusive content and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.