Republican announces EMERGENCY amid SHOCK UPDATE

This is Democracy Watch Mark.We have one of the most corrupt announcements from a Republican governor that I have seen.Can you explain what just happened?

Yeah.The governor of Louisiana has issued a state of emergency.I want to put it up on the screen.Okay.This is on an official, you know, calligraphy document from the state of Louisiana in all caps, state of emergency.And, you know, you might think that it's because there was a hurricane.

You might think there was a natural disaster.You might think there was some civil unrest.No, it is the suspension of the party primary elections for the offices of representatives in the United States Congress.Brian, in plain English, the governor of Louisiana has declared a state of emergency for the purposes of canceling the ongoing voting in the state of Louisiana for U .S.Congress.

Now, They're going to say this is about redistricting and the court order from the Supreme Court.But if anyone believes this ends in Louisiana and if anyone believes this ends with redistricting, you are kidding yourselves.What have we been talking about?We've been talking about Donald Trump trying to declare a state of emergency this November to try to cancel the elections.He can't.But to try to deploy ICE, to try to seize ballots, to try to take over the vote counting.

right, whatever it is.We've talked about this, Brian, you and I on and off, and people have said we were crazy and we were alarmist.Well, here it is taking place in Louisiana in the primary elections.The Republicans no longer like the rules that those elections are taking place under.So the governor on his own, stroke of the pen, says, I'm stopping the voting.I'm If you cast ballots too bad, and let me just tell you, Brian, we're not going to stand by for this.

My law firm and I, we've already filed a lawsuit here.There have been a handful of other lawsuits filed.And we are not going to allow Republicans to say that when they don'thow voting is going, they're just going to call it off by saying there is a state of emergency.

And I want to dig into the details of this.But first, you know, you had mentioned that your law firm is going to intervene here.We have so few fighters on the left.And first of all, I think you deserve all the credit in the world, you and your team, for taking on these fights.And I would just ask everybody who's watching right now that if you're not yet subscribed to Democracy Docket, which is the news outlet Mark founded to focus on everything voting elections, Just subscribing is the perfect way to show some support for the work that Mark and his team are doing on a daily basis.Again, not only so that you're going to get accurate, timely news delivered right to your inbox, but also to elevate the voice of somebody who knows how to be a fighter, which is absolutely necessary in this moment that we're in right now.

So I'm going to put that link right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video.If you're not yet signed up, please go ahead and sign up.Mark, on this point of of them declaring a state of emergency.I think that what you said is absolutely right, that it wasn't for some natural disaster, wasn't for the fact that, you know, God knows how many people are going without health care, without food assistance.But it's such a state of emergency that these black voters in Louisiana don't have black representation, that this is what they needed to do with all of the resources that they have at their disposal in the state government.

Yeah.And, Brian, let me let me ask you a question.Is there any chance that the governor does this if Donald Trump's not in the White House?Is there any chance that...Could you imagine under Barack Obama, if a Democratic governor decided to declare a state of emergency because they wanted to redistrict?Could you imagine if Barack Obama had declared a state of emergency after the Obamacare decision and said, you know what, now that there's this Obamacare decision, we think we should be able to immediately, you know, implement it or do whatever it is?

I mean, could you imagine Any democratic governor, any democratic mayor, any democratic president getting awaywith the kind of rhetoric that they're talking about here.You know, the governor of Louisiana could have said, you know what, there's a new court decision, and I'm going to ask the legislature to come into special session, and we're going to hold a quick special session.But he didn't do that.He declared a state of emergency.And that's why I wanted people to see the certificate, because it is clearly a dog whistle, or maybe not even a dog whistle, to the right wing.

that he's on the program, that when it comes to, you know, canceling elections or halting voting, he's going to use the stroke of a pen.to do extreme things.And, and I just want to ask you, Brian, whether you agree with me on that.

Yeah.I mean, look a hundred percent.I think that this party is all bought in on this idea that they can't win on, on governance.They can't win on their agenda.They can't win on their popularity.And so right now they're recognizing that the only way to entrench their own power is to take these extrajudicial measures, anti -democratic measures, and just reward themselves with, with you know, by engineering themselves majorities in these seats because God forbid they actually go to the voters.

And of course, they again, they won't be able to because right now the agenda that they're running on is giving blind deference to a guy who has plunged the U .S.into another war in the Middle East, who has stripped health care away from 17 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, 24 million Americans who rely on ACA, you know, food assistance to the tune of 186 billion dollars.Prices on everything have risen right now.to Trump's trade war.We have the Epstein files that are being covered up by this federal government.

And so and finally, we have gas prices that are at an almost record high.And so, of course, this federal government, of course, this Republican Party isn't looking to run on their agenda because they can't.They would lose.And so instead, they're just taking this action where they just decide to reward themselves again with seats that they've drawn for themselves to entrench their own majority.

Right.And as I said before, look, they could have done this by waiting for the Supreme Court to send its mandate down to the lower court.They could have then gone to the lower court and sought an injunction or some sort of relief.They could have called a special session.But the governor, I believe, wanted the aesthetic, wanted the appearance of being a strongman.Right.

You know, he wanted to do the things that Donald Trump wants to see done.You know, kind of like the indictment of James Comey over seashells.You're right.I mean, the idea that a governor issues a formal proclamation declaring a state of emergency and then puts in all caps suspension of elections.

Yeah.

I mean, if this was another country, we would be talking about this like, you know, like a banana republic.And here it is.But I think it is intentional because it is trying to desensitize the American public and incite among the MAGA faithful this idea that, you know, if elections aren't going the way you like it, you know, don't worry about Congress.Don't worry about legislatures.Don't worry about courts.Just declare a unilateral state of emergency.

So in this instance, is it that the primaries are going to go on as scheduled for all other races that are not congressional races?So they're going to have two election cycles here because they're just that hell bent on making sure that they can redraw their congressional maps and eliminate minority representation?

Yeah, that's what they have in mind.I mean, you know, but but it's worse than that.Because like I said, though, the election formally is not until May 16th.Military and overseas voters have already received their mail in ballots and they've already cast them in many instances.

Yes.

So, you know, for a party that is very concerned about our men and women in uniform overseas, they are the ones who are going to be disenfranchised most by this declaration of state of emergency.because if you are a if you're a sailor on a ship in the, you know, in the middle of, you know, the, the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Ramuth or the Mediterranean.C, and you managed to cast a ballot, that ballot is now going to get thrown in the trash if they get along with it, get away with this.And you're going to be told that you have to vote again, and who knows if you're going to be able to.So, you know, the irony here is that this state of emergency is not just going to victimize minority communities.But it's also most direct impact in the suspension of the election, the cancellation of these ballots.

The most impacted and disenfranchised are going to be our men and women in uniform overseas and other overseas voters.And it just goes to show the hypocrisy.But here's the thing.Like I said, we're already in court.There are several others already in court trying to block this, both we're in state court along with several others as a federal court case.And let's wait and see what happens.

I mean, let's wait and see whether the courts, who are constantly saying you can't have chaos, can't have election changes on the eve of elections, let's see what they do here.

You know, to that point, you and I have had God knows how many discussions about the Purcell doctrine, this idea that changes too close to an election would be too chaotic, would cause too much confusion, and so we have to wait until after the election to actually put into effect any of these changes.What recourse is there if you have a federal court or even a state court that might have relied on Purcell when it comes to changing illegal Republican maps, but then decide, okay, we have, you know, ballots that are already being cast in the election that is happening right now, the primary election that's happening right now, but Purcell doesn't apply here.Like there will be, if they decide, if the courts decide, federal court decides that there's no, that Purcell does not apply,or even state court decides that Purcell doesn't apply, but they previously ruled that Purcell applies when it benefits Republicans.Um, is there any remedy in that case or are courts just allowed to be hypocritical and give different rulings based on which political party it might benefit?

Look, I think you put your finger on it and there needs to be a big, bright spotlight right now on the courts on this very topic, because, Brian, what you're talking about is not a hypothetical.It is a reality.We won a case in Louisiana involving congressional districts in 2022 that was put on hold way in advance of where we are now.Yeah, I was going to say, what month would that have been, roughly?I, you know, I don't remember off the top of my head which month it was, but it was not while voting was going on and we were told it was too late.And then the same thing happened in Alabama.

You know, same thing happened in Alabama.We won in Alabama and told, you know, it's too late.I think in Alabama, it was January that we won the case.Yeah.And we were told it was too late.Remember in Texas, remember Texas?

They were saying Purcell kicked in in like in like October.Right.It was the last year before.Yeah.I mean, so like this is this is quite extraordinary that here we are in the middle of voting.in this state.

And we're waiting to see if the courts say this is okay or not.But in the meantime, the governor of the state is just saying, you know what, screw all of you.I'm just doing this by myself.I'm just going to break out that fancy letterhead with that ornate seal.And I'm just going to issue a proclamation declaring a state of emergency as if some natural disaster hit the state.And look, Brian, You are covering this on your channel and it's why I'm here and it's why I tell people to always subscribe to your channel because it's one of the most effective ways to get these messages out to people.

I mean you've got a huge audience and I hope it keeps growing and I hope everybody who's already subscribed tells seven friends to subscribe and shares this video.I hope if you haven't already subscribed you do it now and you hit the bell to make sure you're alerted when there's new content because the legacy ofmedia is nowhere on this.Like, sure, they're reporting that, like, he declared a state of emergency, suspended the voting, and now there are lawsuits.But where is the outrage?Where is the pointing out the utter hypocrisy?

And where is pointing out the danger of authoritarianism?That if we start to allow Republican officials now to decide, as voting is going on, that they're going to cancel elections, Like, where does that end, Brian?Where do you think that ends this fall?

Yeah, I mean, I completely agree.And so it's worth asking here, because I feel like when we see these court cases from the outside, it's hard not to become cynical or jaded.But does it count for anything when you can tell the same court or the same judges who once ruled just a few years back that, you know, a case happening, you know, 11 months before an election was was going to be impacted by Purcell But that if it doesn't happen, you know for a case six months before an election does that count for these judges?Is that not a smoking gun?like when you have precedent from these judges themselves in the same exact court in the same exact state where they said in plain black and white that Purcell would kick in if it was in January that How could those same people say that, okay, if it's in May or June that Purcell couldn't kick in, does that count for anything these days?Or are we in just a post -shame world where, you know, so long as it benefits their ideologically aligned party, then they're just going to let it slide and there's no more consistency in their rulings?

Look, I think, you know, the answer to that, and I know the answer to that, but we cannot allow ourselves to become victims of paralysis as a result.We have to insist that the courts do the right thing.We have to insist they follow precedent.That's why my law firm is in court.That's why we are filing, you know,pleadings all day and night, including into the weekend, because we are insisting that the rule of law be applied equally to everybody.

And does anyone really doubt that if the shoe were on the other foot, that the Supreme Court would say it's too late?I mean, just just imagine for a moment that that this was a case in California.And, you know, Gavin Newsom was sitting there saying, you know what, we just want a case and we want to, you know, zero out every Republican.You know, we're just going to we're just going to wipe out the remaining Republicans in the state.And we're going to do it while early voting or after military and overseas ballots have gone out.And the Republican Party went to the Supreme Court or went to a federal judge.

because they would really think that like Gavin Newsom wouldn't lose that case.I mean, like, like, like what would that what would that even look like?Right.And so, yeah, we have to insist the same standard applies, but we also have to be realistic about what we're up against.So, yeah, that's that's what I try to do every day.

Well, look, I think I think, you know, and you and I have had conversations similar to this one offline as well.And and, you know, you're very good at instilling a sense of optimism in the sense that, you know, the arguments that you make in front of these judges, even ones who I think most of us would assume are already already bought in on the Republican agenda, that the arguments you make still have an impact.And and the reality is that you have won a hell of a lot more cases in front of judges who presumably you should have lost those cases in front of than I think anybody else.And so if anybody understands the importance of of making persuasive arguments in in cases where I think a lot of people would have written this stuff off, It's you and so you know to that end again.I'm gonna repeat what I said before which is that mark is litigating nearly a hundred cases right now Oftentimes in front of hostile judges in hostile Courtrooms all across the country so againa step that everybody should be taking right now to support his work and elevating his voice and elevating fighters is to subscribe to Democracy Docket.

So I'm going to put that link right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video.As soon as we're done with this video, make sure to click on that and go ahead and subscribe.I'm Brian Teller -Cohen.I'm Mark Elias.This is Democracy Watch.