The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Cori Bush on Seeking Justice as an Activist and Lawmaker

Episode Date: February 15, 2021

Democratic Rep. Cori Bush talks about confronting her GOP colleagues about white supremacy in the wake of the Capitol insurrection, her journey from activist to congresswoman and more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Congresswoman Corey Bush, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Thanks for having me. I thank you for making the time. I mean, we literally had to wait for this interview because you were on the floor giving your remarks in, I'm sure what many people agree, was a fiery condemnation of your colleague's inability to condemn white supremacy and also condone the actions of, in particular, Marjorie Taylor Green. Why is this such a major issue for you? I know it's an obvious question, but I want to know why you are so fired up by what's happening in Congress right now.

Multiple reasons. One is if we don't call it out, if we just allow it, we continue with what we have right now. My activist friends and now, we stood out on the streets of Ferguson, day in and day out. Rain, sleep, hell no, we won't go. Getting our butts kicked out there on the ground, but then also fighting to be able to be here, to be in a place where we get to make these kind of decisions to save lives and especially to save black lives. And so you think I'm going to make it all the way to Congress and then be quiet when white supremacy comes and knocks at the door, when white supremacy was ready to attack me and my colleagues,

when it could have attacked my team? Now I will say this, it's not that she can't evolve or be reformed, and so that's why I won't shut up, because maybe she just needs to be exposed that there is a whole other side to this thing. It's called loving humanity. And she gave a response earlier today saying that she regrets, you know, some of the things that she said because, you know, she didn't realize that those things were, you know, may not be true. This is the thing. She called. She said I was the leader of a terror. She said that I called, I called, I was the the leader. I, the, the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thr-I. thr-I. thr-I. thr-I. thr-I. thr-I. thr-I. thin, thin, thin. She said, the the the the the the the the the the the the the thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, th. She said, th. She said, th. She said, th. She. She. She's-a. She's-a. She's-a. She's-a. She's-a. She's-a. She said-a. She said, th. She said, th. She said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, the the the the the th. She said, th. She said, the rape and the rape and the burning of a home. And I called for the murder of a couple. She didn't take that back.

She didn't regret that. That's the kind of stuff that's dangerous for our communities. And so that has to be called out. You haven't been afraid to speak your mind about what you see that is going wrong. And you have had an interesting journey because you were an activist marching from Ferguson, you know, this was the pre-George Floyd, you know, before it became a nationwide movement the way people saw in 2020. It's been interesting because some people say that the activists on the streets

are the reason that we're seeing the changes and now you are in Congress. Where do you think that more progress is made in Congress or through the activism in the street? Should should more activists be trying to th th th th th th th th th th thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the thi thi the the the the the the the the pre the pre the the the the th. the the the the the the pre the the the the the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the pre the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. thu. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the. the. the. theeeeee. the. thee. thee. thee. the. the. the. the in Congress or through the activism in the streets? Should more activists be trying to get into lawmaking? Absolutely more activists should be trying to get into lawmaking, but you need both. I don't think you need to have, there is, and, you know, you got to have both. You can't just have one. The reason is you need the activists that will put pressure, that'll do the work to make sure that things are moving, that'll keep the awareness and the visibility, but then you need the person that has the pen, you need the person that has the power of the purse

to be able to bring those things home. That's what we were missing when we were out there fighting for justice for Michael Brown. of sitting here and I'm hoping to be able to pull in more, but not just in Congress. We need them on the local levels and on the state level. You are the first black woman to represent Missouri in Congress. You overcame extreme odds. I mean, you know, living an unsheltered life. You are unhomed, you're a mother of two kids and you've shared being a survivor of sexual assault. It is a story that resonated with many, and some of your constituents have said,

I like her because I believe that she will fight for me because she reminds me of me. When you're now in Congress and you are trying to, I think, enact laws that are specific to your constituents in Missouri, and then there's obviously the laws that are going to affect the entire country, how do you find that balance? What are you looking to achieve? Every single moment, I'm thinking about what can we do to make sure that we're doing the absolute most for everybody in our district and around the country, but starting with those who have the very least,

because I've been someone who's had the very least. And I understand how we how legislation happens all around us and all above us, but then it misses us. There's so many of us. Trevor, I can remember the days when I was hungry and I was I was able to feed my kids but not myself. I remember being abused by a former partner and not being able to have justice in that situation. And so why would I not? If I'm okay with being vulnerable for my people so that they get changed, why would I not bring that to the forefront and use that to help inform legislation and to help push my colleagues? Like you may not know what it was like to be hungry. You may not know, these things may not be your story. You may not know what it's like to have your rape kids sit on the shelf for four months and still not get justice. You may not understand that. You may not understand what it's like to make $20,000 less a year simply because you're a black woman when the person next to you is a

white man doing the exact same work but getting more money than you, you may not understand it, but I'm here to tell you what that's like. Do you think that many of your colleagues are out of tou toub. to toub. to their their their thes. tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-a. to to to to to to to tooooo-a to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the the the the the the the the the the the thea. too. to. too. and you were wearing a Brianna-Taylor mask and some of your now colleagues thought you were Brianna Taylor. I mean, that surely means that there are some people who are there just like maybe they've been there for a long time or maybe they're completely disconnected. Do you feel like many of the lawmakers are out of touch?

Or some of them. Absolutely some of them are them are them are the the all, but some of them are, but that's our work. Because the thing is, we all have something to bring it. We all have a skill, a gift, a talent, something to bring. And so for me, I'm going to bring this struggle, that black folks and brown folks have been fighting for such a long time. I'm bringing all of this chocolate, I've had to the forefront so that they understand what has to change and you're going to hear it from your own colleague.

I'm not, I don't care about a name, a reputation or a title. I don't care if you, you know, if you look at me like, oh, I'm dirty because I came from, you know, I came from living on the street. I don't care. I don't care. my people where we need. You've been very vocal in talking about what you think Joe Biden needs to do. One of the issues has been commuting the sentences of federal inmates who are on death row. This has always been a contentious issue in America. You know, many people have said, look, we don't want the death penalty, we don't

want death penalty, but beyond the conversation, I agree with you. I do not support the death penalty. But I always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always th tho tho tho tho the tho the the tho the the tho tho the tho the tho tho the the tho, I tho, I tho, the conversation thoe, the, the conversation tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. the, the, the, the, the, the. the. thean. theaneaneaneaneaneateateateateateateateateateateateate. Ie. Ieateate. thean. thean. do not support the death penalty, but I always would like to know from a lawmakers point of view, how do you speak to those families who have been the victim of some of these people who are on death row and say to them, hey, here's why this person shouldn't be on death row? You know, I not only empathize with those families, I sympathize with those families as someone who lost a loved one, a very, very close loved one to an execution-style murder. I absolutely stand with those families, but we cannot continue this cycle of violence and think that we will begin to heal this country.

We have to get out of the mindset that that is a way to get justice. There are other ways to get justice. And one, some of those ways is the work that we're doing right now with legislation saying that we have to make sure that there are resources in our communities, we have to make sure that people have, and communities have the things that we need to be able to behold. And so if we won't do that work, when our work is to build this carceral system, when that's our work, when we're telling our third graders that if you don't score this particular number on this particular proficiency test,

that you may be a one in three chance to end up in prison one day, when that's the mindset of America, then that's that's that's that's that's then then th that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that you that you that you that, when that's the mindset of America, then that's the problem we have to deal with. We stand with our families and we do. But we have to change our thinking and do the real work to fix, you build people, to build people, to build families, to build community. Let's talk a little bit about the COVID relief bill. 1.9 trillion dollars. That's what Joe Biden has come out with. It is ambitious because America is in a desperate place where something ambitious needs to be done.

One of the sticking points in this bill has been the $15 minimum wage. Some people have argued that fighting for a $15 minimum wage is going to cost small businesses in particular the opportunity to give people jobs. What do you say to the small business owners who are terrified of the idea of not being able to afford to pay someone? And also, how do you respond to the worker who says, hey, I get $12 and I still want my job? I don't want to lose my job because it's $15. You know, in our district locally, we have have have have have have have have have have have have have have have thia, that that that that's that's thiiiiii, that's that's that's that's that's thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thioliolomea, thi, thi, thi, thi, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, their their their their their thi, thi, thi, thi, th't want to lose my job because it's $15. You know, in our district locally, we have had small business owners who decided to take a risk and go ahead and switch to $15 an hour.

This was, this started a few years ago. And they didn't know that they would be able to do it, they didn't know if they would survive. And some of them said, well, Corey But what actually happened was when they started paying their staff $15 an hour, they saw they saw an uptick. So then the productivity increased and they started making more money. They said that that was the best thing for them. And not only that, when we think about when you pay people the living wage, because I tax, you know, I the, I don't, I don't, I don't, I their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thee, thee, thee, thee, thee, thee, thee, thi. thee, their, don't know if you've ever worked for, but I've worked for $5 and $35 an hour. And after 10 years, I was making $9 at that job.

So I understand. I totally get it. The thing is, when we push something else that I've been pushing, which is Medicare, and we take away employers for having to pay that part of the health care, and then, and then, and then, and then, and then, and then, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, the, and the, thi, the, thi, thi, thi, the, and I, they, I'm, they, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, and, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I...... I. And, I. And, I. And, I'm, I. And, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm thi. And, to. And, toe. And, toa. And, toa. And, toa. And, toa. And, toa. And, toa. And, toa. And, I'm th. And, I'm th. And, I having to pay that part of the health care and then they can take that so down now they can take the money that they would have been paying into health care and now they can use that to pay more and to and to increase the benefits for their staff that's how we look at it but for our for those for those small businesses that feel like it's going to hurt their business right that's when you th th th that that th that that that that th that that th that that's th th that's th. th. th. to hurt their business. That's when you call on us. Use your lawmakers in that way.

Let us put together those programs to be able to help you because we cannot look at it like we can't do this because we don't want to, we think what may happen. Because you know what? There was a day when people didn't wear seatbelts. And then all of a sudden somebody, we had had to start to start to start to start, we had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to too. took. too. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to to to to. to. to. to. to. to. to. too. too. too. too. too. too. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the to. the the the the the the too. too. th. th. th. the. thea. thea. thea. thea. tooooooooooooooooo. too. too. then all of a sudden somebody we had to start to wear seatbelts and people people push back but now let's see what we can see the benefit of it. There was a name when you can smoke anywhere you wanted to smoke and people push back but now they see

the benefit so we have to you know look at change being a good thing yeah it really is about perception. It's more about how people perceive a thing than the thing itself. So looking at that perception, let's talk about one of the issues that's going to be coming up, and that is the $2,000 checks that people have been waiting for and expecting. Now there are two realities that sort of exist right now. Some people say what happened was, the the Democrats fought and argued that yes, Americans should be getting a $2,000 stimulus check. The same as Donald Trump was saying at the time. Republicans said, no, it's too much money, we care about the budget now, which was hypocritical, but fine.

$600,000 was agreed upon. And now the Biden administration has said $1,400 additional will be added to that, which makes up the $2,000.00. There are many people who are saying, no, no, no, you promised us $2,000. We want the $2,000 check. This is going to be a sticky conversation, which, as you know better than anyone, can be used in a conversation about perception. So my question to you is, what do you think needs to be done and where do you stand as a lawmaker? You know, I'm all for the $2,000 straight out, you know, not at not at at at at at at the $6, the $6, the $1, th th th th th th th th th th th th thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the $ $ $2, thi, the $ $ $ $ $ $2, thi, the $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, you know, not at not a six hundred and a fourteen, you know, I have been advocating along with several of my colleagues for $2,000 per month, you know, that's

retroactive back to when this pandemic started. And we want to keep it until through the course of this pandemic so that people can get on their feet and start and have some stability and sustain. That's what this is about. So we're pushing for monthly checks and that check has to be 2000. Obviously a lot of your colleagues are going to say, but Corey, where does that money come from? Look, if we can find money for so many other things, look, we have space force now. Don't tell me we cannot make sure that the people in our communities can eat. We're talking about people eating. We're talking about children having diapers and milk. We're talking about people being able to keep lights on to have heat if they need it or to be able to have cool air if it's hot.

That's what we're talking about. We're wea about about about about about about about about about about about saving about saving about saving about saving about saving about saving about saving about saving about saving their their their their their their to their their their their to their to to their to to be to be to be able to be able to be able to have cool air if it's hot. That's what we're talking about. We're talking about saving lives and there is no price to that saving lives one, period. But then also when we can build a wall? Congressman Corey Bush, I could talk to you forever, but I know you've got business to get to. Thank you so much for taking the show. Thank you for having me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me the the the the the to ha ha to ha to have to. Thank you so much for taking the time. And thank you for joining us on the show. Thank you for having me. The Daily Show with CoverNoa, Ears Edition.

Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.