Forget Everything You Know About Texas

Red, Republican, anti abortion, anti trans — Texas has certainly been a testing ground for backlash policies and politicians, and that could be what’s happening now, but could it also be a bellwether of a different sort? Why is the reactionary backlash and the resistance to it that’s happening in Texas vital for the rest of the country? Our guests today say that their state could be a predictor of how 21st century change happens, when people organize differently. What do people who don't live there have wrong about Texas and what do Texans see as the path to "reclaiming" their state?

“This is about love. Abortion is about love for yourself. It's about love for the family that you want to create. One of the most important things that we can do right now to change the trajectory of abortion rights is to just unapologetically declare how pro-abortion we are.” - Aimee Arrambide, Executive Director, AVOW

“This isn't a state of overwhelmingly reactionary people. It's a state where overwhelmingly reactionary people have run the show for so long that most folks say, you know, I just don't want to participate anymore.” - Greg Casar, Texas Congressional Democratic nominee

“The story of Texans fighting for their own civic self-determination in the face of some pretty horrifying gerrymandered odds is, I think, the story of Texas. And I think it's the story of the South too.” - Eesha Pandit, Co-founder, Center for Advancing Innovative Policy (CAIP)

“One point of frustration for me is when people are like, well, forget Texas, right? And then you have the same progressives saying trans lives matter. Texas has the second highest population of transgender people in this country. So if you say trans lives matter, then that includes the trans lives in the state.” - Emmett Schelling, Executive Director, Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)

Guests:

Aimee Arrambide, Executive Director, AVOW

Greg Casar, Texas Congressional Democratic nominee

Eesha Pandit, Co-founder, Center for Advancing Innovative Policy (CAIP)

Emmett Schelling, Executive Director, Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)

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