What A Day - "Do Something": How Stacey Abrams And Organizers On The Left Are Mobilizing In 2024

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

Tuesday night’s DNC turned into a raucous celebration as delegates from each state showed off their local pride while casting their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama headlined the night’s speeches, capping an exciting night for the party. But to win in November, Democrats will need to mobilize voters while also combating a slate of new voter suppression policies enacted by Republicans since the 2020 election. Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia lawmaker and voting rights activist — and host of the new Crooked podcast ‘Assembly Required' — joins us from the DNC to talk about the voting rights fight ahead. Meanwhile, DNC organizers granted more than 200 content creators and influencers special access to the convention this year. Their presence speaks to the power of social media in the world of political messaging, especially with young voters.And it’s a power that the Democratic Party is eager to tap into in these final few months before the election. Victoria Hammett, deputy director for Gen-Z for Change, talks about the content that resonates with young voters. Show Notes:Check Out Assembly Required – https://tinyurl.com/2s38jxs3Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Wednesday, August 21st. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And I'm Juanita Tolliver, and this is What A Day, the show that is wondering who hired DJ Cassidy for the celebratory roll call vote. Best decision ever. Absolutely the best decision of this convention so far. And that's, you know, there have been a lot of good decisions,

a lot of great speakers, a lot of good music, but DJ Cassidy just knocked it out of the park. For the win. Truly. For the win truly for the win on today's show we are bringing you two conversations later in the show we'll talk to TikTok creator Victoria Hammett her content focuses on politics and voter engagement but first Tuesday night's DNC was a joyful celebration. Delegates from each state showed off their local pride while casting their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris.

And it was hard to top Georgia, who brought out LeJount to take it to another level. Ladies and gentlemen, we are here tonight to officially nominate Kevin O'Hara for president. Five, six, another round of shots. D.A.C. Turn out for what? I didn't even hear that it was turn out for what. That's amazing. When I tell you that energy, I feel like the audio doesn't even capture the crowd response accurately. People went berserk.

The crowd response, our response at home. I mean, that was wild. So out of left field. No one was expecting it. And he just like ran away with it. So much excitement. And the evening was headlined by two of Chicago's hometown heroes, Barack and Michelle Obama. Former First Lady Michelle Obama gave an electrifying speech, taking Donald Trump to task for his blatant racism and giving him a taste of

his own medicine. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black. I want to know. I want to know. Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs? She also reminded viewers not to get too comfortable before election day with the rallying cry of do something. It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her. Don't just sit around and complain. Do something. So if they lie about her and they will, we've got to do something. If we see a bad poll and we will, we got to put down that phone and do something. If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping

back in, we got to pick ourselves up, throw water on our face and what? Do something. And former President Barack Obama ended the night by focusing on the threat of Donald Trump and the possibilities that are represented by the Harris-Walls ticket. The people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question. Who will fight for me? Who's thinking about my future, about my children's future, about our future together. One thing is for certain, Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.

It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to Kamala. But I will say the real highlight had to be a jab that he made about Trump's obsession with crowd size. It needs to be seen on video to be fully appreciated, but that clip will almost certainly be everywhere today. Highly recommend taking a watch. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. Of course, in order to win in November, Democrats will need to mobilize voters, but they'll also have to combat voter suppression tactics that Republicans have deployed across the country. According to the nonpartisan policy Institute, the Brennan center for justice voters in about half of the country's states will face new voting restrictions.

This election, one of the States that has passed multiple repressive laws since the last election is Georgia. And one of the people working to fight against these attempts at voter suppression is politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. She's also the host of Crooked Media's newest podcast, Assembly Required, where she's talking with folks trying to fix parts of our political system that just aren't working. Abrams is spending this week at the DNC, and she spoke with me from the busy floor of the convention center. I asked for her highlights from the start of the DNC.

I think, of course, it was President Biden's valedictory speech. He was gracious. He was kind. He was bullish on our ability to win. The surprise appearance, of course, of Vice President Harris, who recognized how important that moment was of being there and making the appearance and recognizing what had been accomplished together. I think that really set the tone, but also reminds us of what we've got to protect in the next few months as we head into Election Day. Speaking of what we've got to protect, there were a lot of messages that went out to supporters over the past few days about delivering for the people, protecting reproductive rights, or protecting the public from Trump, who is

also a threat to our rights. Which of those messages do you think the Harris-Walls campaign should focus in on most in order to be successful in November? We've got to pull together a coalition of voters, and that means speaking to the needs of all people, especially those people who feel like no one's listening. I've been very heartened by the Harris campaign's willingness to talk about issues like reproductive choice, but also talking about housing. Affordable housing is a crisis, especially among younger voters. Their willingness to not

just articulate a fight for democracy, but to speak to the needs of average voters having access to the ballots in states like Georgia, where we're watching voter suppression rear its ugly head again, where we're watching the RNC attack the right to vote in Arizona. Their willingness to pull in and lean in on those issues matter. But what we have to avoid is trying to only pick one issue, thinking that's going to carry the day. We live in a multiracialial, multi-ethnic, multi-generational society, and that means we've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same

time. All right, you said the phrase voter suppression. Naturally, this election wouldn't be complete without those attempts to infringe on the rights of voters from the right. Earlier this month, the NAACP sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark asking her to investigate a website that allows users to cancel voter registration for Georgia residents. How much of an obstacle will this website and other voter suppression tactics present this election cycle? We know that in Georgia, despite being heralded as champions of democracy in 2020, that both Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Raffsenberger have both been involved and engaged in voter suppression. It was under Governor Kemp that we got a new law that will allow individual members of county election boards to decertify or

refuse to certify the election. So the same governor who gets credit has actually been the one to suborn this behavior. And the Secretary of State who loves to champion how he believes in voting was the person who set up a website that will allow people to cancel registrations. We already know that personal data was leaked and that when called on this issue, he has yet to be able to effectively articulate why in an election year he is setting up a website to cancel voter registration. We know that these are not only direct tactics, there's also a psychic effect. When you make it hard to vote, you make people think it may not be worth the effort. democracy, to call out voter suppression, to not get distracted by misinformation or disinformation, but to tell the truth that the right to vote belongs to us as Americans

and that we have the responsibility not only to protect our right to vote, but to expand the franchise as much as possible to those who don't know that their voices deserve to be heard. And understanding that right, understanding the importance of calling out that misinformation, how are organizers approaching voter education efforts in response to these attempts of voter suppression? In the state of Georgia, we are relying on organizations like Fair Fight, an organization I'm proud to have founded. And we encourage people to go to FairFight.com to sign up to be part of the voter protection enclave that we need. We know that in Arizona, they're facing attacks from the RNC. And we encourage you, you can go from Fair Fight's website,

but also look up Democratic voting opportunities across the country, especially if you're in a battleground state. They are not going to stop until they stop us from voting. And so we've got to believe that the attack is real, but we also have to believe our power is real. We used it in 2020 to overcome voter suppression and we can use it in 24 to win and save our democracy. Now, you did mention Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger

and that also prompted me to recall when Donald Trump contacted him and asked him to find 11,780 votes in an attempt to overturn the will of voters in 2020. How can Democrats best prepare for any repeated attempts by Donald Trump this election cycle to call state election officials if Vice President Harris wins? We can't stop him from taking bad action, but we can keep a spotlight on those who would suborn that bad action. And that's why I've been so intentional about pointing out one good act by the Secretary of State or the governor in Georgia does not exempt them from the poor actions they've taken.

Voter suppression isn't just about trying to change votes. It's about stopping people from casting them in the first place. It's about putting barriers in place. And Brian Kemp and Brad Raffsenberger have both made it their mission to impede the right of voters to participate. For disabled voters, they have made it more difficult by constraining access to absentee ballots, by putting more difficulties in place. They've made it harder for homeless and unhoused voters to cast their ballots. They are going after every marginal voter they can so that they don't have to worry about the numbers if they can stop the people

from showing up in the first place. And it's not just in Georgia, it's around the country, although Georgia often stands as ground zero, but we've got to pay attention in every state, in every election, especially this state and especially this election. But we can do it. We've done it before and we will do it again.

Stacey, I know you've been working hard recording new episodes of Assembly Required. Tell us when the next episode drops and what can listeners expect to hear? We recorded live from the convention and the next episode drops this Thursday. It has two extraordinary rising stars, not just in democratic politics,

but rising stars in their generation. We have Representative Maxwell Frost, and we have civic influencer and social media star Haley Lickstein. And they're going to tell us how we get young people to vote, show up at the polls, and save America. That was my conversation with politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. Make sure you check out her new cricket podcast, Assembly Required. Thank you for that, Juanita.

We'll talk all about how creators on social media are helping Democrats reach young people in just a moment. But if you like our show, please make sure to subscribe and share it with your friends. We'll be right back after some ads. And we're back with more on the ongoing Democratic National Convention, this time from the lens of social media. In addition to vertical live streams of the event on pretty much every social platform, this year, more than 200 content creators and influencers were granted special access at the

DNC to take people inside of the convention and rally support for Vice President Harris's campaign. Their presence at the convention really speaks to the power of social media in the world of political messaging, especially with young voters. And it's a power that the Democratic Party is eager to tap into in these final few months before the election. This isn't entirely new. The Biden administration has regularly collaborated with influencers over the past few years, inviting them to the White House to make content and even to meet the president. But they continue to step up their game here. It's really impressive at a whole new level.

Right. And that new level includes the joy and positive energy surrounding Democrats at a moment like I don't think they've experienced in a really long time. Definitely creating opportunities for new content to be made. We also know that the GOP is very aware of the power of social media in reaching young people, not to mention that the GOP's presidential nominee is also very active on social media,

for better or for worse. I mean, definitely for worse. I will say the memes are certainly better on our side, but we are still up against a lot and we need the energy that is there online right now to carry on into the voting booth come November. I've been really interested specifically in progressive messaging from content creators.

One of my favorites out there is 25-year-old Victoria Hammett, who in the past four years on TikTok has amassed over 800,000 followers. In addition to making her own content, she also serves as the deputy executive director for Gen Z for Change, a coalition of content creators across a variety of topics and niches online that is dedicated to promoting civil discourse and civil action among their Gen Z followers. I started by asking Victoria about the kind of content that she makes and whether it's a waste of time to go back and forth with

conservatives and others who disagree with her messaging. I totally disagree with anyone who's saying that it's pointless to go back and forth with conservatives online. I grew up in a conservative area. You know, I grew up in Plano, Texas, if anybody knows what that is. It's a town outside of Dallas. So I was sparring with Republicans in my real life all the time. And I was fortunately able to change perspectives and give people in my community a new perspective. And this is something that I hope my audience, as well as other people's audiences knows, is that as much as content creators can do the work that we do online, people going to their family members, to their friends or acquaintances,

people they know from school, and having these conversations is what actually makes the biggest impact. And that's how I see my beefing with Republicans as useful in this ecosystem. I'm hoping to give my audience the tools to go have those conversations with their own family members, with members of their own community. I'm not even necessarily trying to convince Republicans with the content that I make or conservatives with the content that I make. I'm just trying to give my audience the tools to do that work on their own as well. Totally. Have you ever been approached by anybody who, you know, has changed their political views or become more politically

engaged after watching your content? Yeah, I have fortunately received messages from people who started following me back in 2020 in order to hate watch my content, who ended up listening to the things that I was saying and doing more research for themselves and realized that a lot of the media that they had been fed was lying to them and that they were really glad that even if it was just a hate watch, they stepped out of their echo chamber for a little bit to gain a different perspective. Definitely. And I mean, something notable about your content, you make space to criticize Democrats. You've spoken out about many issues that young voters have with both President Biden and Vice President Harris, particularly their support for the war in Gaza. I want to know what kind of reaction content like that

gets when you post it. And, you know, what's your response to other content creators, people on the left who may accuse you of hurting the party when you criticize Biden or Harris on your platform? First of all, you know, criticizing our elected officials can in no way, shape or form hurt them, if anything, and will only make them better. So I definitely push back on that. At the end of the day, I view my platform and social media just in general as a tool. And if we're not using that tool to genuinely and authentically advocate for the things that we believe in, then why are we even using it to begin with? Right. I think that there is

this mentality with some content creators on the left that they need to praise Democrats, regardless of those decisions that Democrats are making. And to that, I say, at what point do you decide to speak up? What point do you decide to criticize Democrats? If Democrats were to make a shift for the right wing to continue to move towards the center, would you stop that? Or would you try to use your voice to push back against that to keep Democrats left or push Democrats further left so that we can have a party that we all feel really proud about? I would hope that our elected officials listen to the people who voted them into office. And I would hope that those critiques make the party better. I want to shift specifically to, you know, what's going on

on social media, especially lately. This year, the DNC gave special access to more than 200 content creators. This acknowledgement that social media is a major player in this election, in this moment, is something that the Biden administration has really embraced for some time now. They've worked with organizations like yours, Gen Z for Change. So can you tell us a little bit about what Gen Z for Change does and how you all are organizing ahead of this election? Yeah. Gen Z for Change, we're a nonprofit organization that utilizes social media and other digital tools in order to create progressive change. Through that, we have a network of 500 creators who all have different niches on the internet. Some of them talk about pop culture, some of them

talk about movies, some talk about makeup, and some talk about politics. But they're all bonded in this desire to use their platform for good. And so we see that with, you know, creators covering aspects of the DNC to inform their audiences on what's going on. So yeah, I think that giving influencers access to spaces like the DNC is definitely important right now, just because there are so many young people who are tuning into social media as opposed to traditional media outlets. And so it's really important that these influencers are given similar access to more traditional journalists in order to meet young people where they are and give young people the facts that they need this election season.

That was my conversation with Victoria Hammett, the deputy executive director of Gen Z for Change. We'll link to her organization and her content in our show notes. Truly incredible work being done to make sure that young people have the information that they need, but also to stay excited and engaged in this moment, which let's be real, the joy is overflowing. Absolutely. And I think it's really amazing, just hats off to Gen Z for Change, that they are organizing online like this. Like this is a coalition of, as Victoria was explaining to me, cooking content creators, fashion TikTokers, like people who do all different types of videos and content online kind of all

coming together and wanting to promote this information about voting and being engaged politically to their followings is what an amazing undertaking one more thing before we go the supreme court Court might be on a break, but the conservative agenda is still going full steam ahead. Project 2025 is a 900-page far-right wish list that lays out a hyper-specific and bone-chillingly fascist roadmap for a second Trump administration. Over at Strict Scrutiny, our favorite trio of badass constitutional law professors

is breaking down the full 900 yards in a four-part series within your Monday episodes. Melissa, Leah, and Kate scoured all the fine print for you because they are lawyers and they love that kind of thing. Stay informed about the far-right agenda and its real-life implications for tens of millions of Americans as we head into this election cycle by listening to Strict Scrutiny wherever you get your podcasts or even on youtube priyanka i feel like we should have said two more things before we go because y'all i am thrilled to share i am officially an author in my book a more perfect party oh you're cheering for me

the night shirley chisholm and diane carroll reshape politics is available for pre-order now this book is about shirley chisholm's humanity, her vision for this nation, and her efforts to create a pathway for the first woman to be elected president of these United States. And honestly, this book could not have come at a better time. I hope you all pre-order today

and stay tuned for more details. Juanita, congratulations. This is such an amazing accomplishment. And as you said, truly could not come at a better time. What a moment for this. I cannot wait to read this. And just hats off.

You're amazing. Thanks, friend. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a review. Check out Victoria Hammett on TikTok and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about fighting voter suppression like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter.

Check it out and subscribe at Cricut.com slash subscribe. I'm Juanita Tolliver. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And from the window to the walls. We are not finishing this sentence on this family-friendly program. No, no, no. But there was a full party

at convention just the other night with this explicit theme. And yes, LeJean was there. I guess it was his warm up to the roll call vote, you know? I mean, who knew that I thought he was the delegate. I was like, is he the delegate from what's going on? Amazing. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media.

It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. We had production help today from Michelle Alloy, Ethan Oberman, Greg Walters, and Julia Clare. Our showrunner is Erica Morrison, and our executive producer is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.