'This Doesn't Stop With Texas': Mihaela Plesa Warns More States Will Be Forced To Redistrict

Forbes Breaking News

During a press briefing on Monday, Texas House Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-TX) spoke about the redistricting of Texas and the impact that will have on other states.

Transcript

00:00in the in the Texas House of Representative Plisa. Thank you Governor

00:04and thank you Mr. Speaker. My name is Mihaela Plisa and I proudly serve as the

00:09Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and the constituents of House

00:13District 70 in Collin County. I just want to thank you for standing with us today

00:18and for your leadership. Your continued support reminds us that the fight to

00:23protect democracy is not confined to one state. The fight is for all 50 and I'm

00:29proud to stand with you. I'm joined here by my colleagues of the Texas House

00:33Democratic Caucus, public servants who came to this work not to chase power but

00:38to protect people. I'm proud to stand beside them in this moment of national

00:43urgency. But before we get into the redistricting crisis in Texas I want to

00:48acknowledge something else that we share in common that connects us and that's

00:52the recent flooding that happened in both of our states. New York just experienced

00:57flooding they put people over policies and they declared a state of emergency. In

01:03Texas today marks the one-month anniversary where over 130 people died,

01:09the majority of them being children. An incident that our governor has still

01:15failed to attend any funerals for the victims. People are rebuilding their lives,

01:21their homes have been destroyed, they're burying their children. Some of them only

01:28have the snuffies that their children were clinging on to for support. Did you

01:35guys know that there's a nonprofit that's been started in our state that's

01:38trying to help parents find those stuffed animals because it's the last thing

01:44their children had? Today on the House floor House Republicans did not want to put

01:51flood relief, disaster relief, they didn't want to do anything for the people of Texas.

01:57They're bending the knee to President Donald Trump. The first bill put on the

02:03calendar today was a redistricting bill, an attempt to steal power. This cannot be

02:10allowed to stand. The playing field has changed not just for Democrats but all

02:16Americans and it's time to meet them on the new field. Governor Abbott formed a

02:23select committee on redistricting. That committee held nine meetings. We also had

02:29a committee on flood relief. That committee only held two meetings. That shows you

02:36what our governor is focused on. What House Republicans are focused on. It's not the

02:41people of Texas. It's the people in power and how to keep that power. I remember when

02:48Trump called Georgia. He called the Secretary of State. He told them I need to just

02:54find 11,780 votes. What did Georgia say? No. Well Donald Trump called our governor and he

03:05said I just need a small change. I just need you to send me five congressional

03:11members. What did our governor say? Sure. Give me a minute. Coming right up. We were sent to

03:22the Capitol to serve the people, not political parties. While Texas are waiting

03:29for relief, Republican leaders are redrawing maps to silence voters, hijack our

03:34democracy. And this doesn't stop with Texas. If Trump and Abbott secede, it will, yeah,

03:41give them five seats. But then, where else do they go? Ohio? Missouri? Any other Republican

03:50legislature with Democratic congresspeople? They're on the chopping block too. Is that fair? Is that just?

03:58Is that just? The fight isn't just about lines on a map. It's about lives on the

04:05line. That's why we're here. That's why we're fighting. It's about democracy. It

04:11affects every single American. We need Democrats across the country in state

04:16houses, in Congresses, in communities to say loud and clear this is not who we are.

04:21And this is not what we will accept. This is a rallying cry. This isn't just about the

04:29people who voted for us. It's about every American who believes that the power

04:34belongs to the people, not one man, not a king. And I will not allow this one man to

04:42rewrite the rules of our democracy behind closed doors. This is about representation,

04:47about fairness, and about the integrity of our elections. We are not here to resist.

04:55We are here to fight. And we are asking for your help in this fight. Thank you so

05:02much, Governor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. We'll take questions now from the

05:06Department of Education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much.

05:19Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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