Episode 226: "It's Still January 6th" (with Rep. Dan Kildee D-MI)

A year ago tomorrow, outgoing President Donald Trump gave an hour-long speech to a large crowd of his most ardent and agitated supporters, encouraging them to march down Pennsylvania Ave. to the Capitol and demand Congress "Stop the Steal" -- the "steal" in this case being the Congressional ratification of an election he lost fair and square, and an integral part of the peaceful transition of power. What followed was a violent attempted coup of the United States, one in which an essentially all-white mob stormed the Capitol building, threatening the lives of countless workers and staffers in the building, elected representatives from every state in the union, and even the Vice President who ran alongside Trump on his losing ticket.

This grim day of white terror was brought about by months of President Trump egging his supporters on with baseless claims of a fraudulent election, all while his own party worked tirelessly to continue to erode voting rights across the country. But unfortunately, this trend of white right-wing violence in America far predates Trump.

To try and make sense of all this a year later, Michael spoke with Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan -- the US Congressional representative for Flint, and Michael's longtime close friend. A year ago, Rep. Kildee talked to Michael on Rumble in the immediate aftermath of the riots, after calling Michael from the Congressional floor during the insurrection -- with gunshots and rioting in the background.

Today, Michael & Rep. Kildee talk about what has changed in the past year, what hasn't, and what we can do to stop this from happening again. They also talk about how this experience has impacted both of them very personally, and unpack how right wing violence and voting rights are inseparable issues.

*****

Read about Rep. Kildee's experiences moving forward from January 6

If you want to do your part to fight for voting rights for everyone, be sure to visit & support one of these great organizations:

Fair Fight

The League of Women Voters

The Voting Rights Alliance

VoteRiders

Or find a Grassroots voting rights group in your area to get involved with.

*****

Music in the episode