DSR's Words Matter

Barbara Jordan was a lawyer educator politician and a leader of the civil rights movement a Democrat and Houston native. Jordan was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.On July 25th 1974 Congresswoman Jordan delivered a televised opening statement as the House Judiciary Committee began consideration of articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. It is regarded by historians as one of the greatest speeches in all of American history. Congresswoman Jordan offered a passionate and powerful defense of the United States Constitution. A document, she noted, did not include people like her when it was written and completed in 1787.Congresswoman Jordan also provided thoughtful and well documented explanations of our system of checks and balances which were designed to stop any politician from abusing their power. She stuck to the facts and the law and noted the seriousness and the solemn duty she and her fellow members were about to undertake. As she quoted extensively from the Founders, Congresswoman Jordan explained that those who had drafted and ratified the Constitution anticipated actions like Nixon's and had created the check of impeachment to guard against such executive overreach and abuse of office. So this week we give Congresswoman Barbara Jordan the Final Word.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has the GOP lost its mind? Or is its embrace and defense of lunatics, violent extremists, traitors, sex offenders, racists and the highly corrupt a shrewd, carefully considered political strategy? How should Democrats respond? How do they get accountability for abuses when the GOP absolutely refuses to go along? How do they achieve progress on healing our wounds when the other party actively wants to deepen them? And what kind of role will President Biden play in all this? What has he already shown us? We discuss with Dr. Kavita Patel, former top health advisor in the Obama White House, Rosa Brooks, professor at Georgetown Law School and Ryan Goodman, co-editor of "Just Security" and professor at NYU Law School. It's a great wide ranging conversation that you won't want to miss. Join us.Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio. Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As it looks more and more likely that the Republicans in the Senate will not hold former President Donald Trump accountable for his actions in inciting an insurrection against the United States, we thought it important to remind our listeners why it matters. And we could think of no more articulate voice than the duly elected Speaker of the People's House. Let's remember what happened. The President of the United States encouraged his supporters to launch an attack on the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the free and fair election of Joe Biden. Six people were killed and dozens more permanently injured.We have seen such things happen in other countries. But for those who think that America is exceptional, it was a rude awakening. "It can't happen here," they said It did. On January 13th, as the House of Representatives began considering the Article of Impeachment now before the United States Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reminded those gathered in the very chamber that had been violently attacked by an angry mob just one week earlier, that words matter, truth matters and accountability matters. We could not agree more.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While some may look at the Trump coup attempt on January 6th as the last desperate act of the disgraced former president to remain in power, it is already being seen among white supremacist groups as a long expected signal of an escalation in domestic unrest leading to a civil war they have long planned and hoped for. The fact that Trump is likely to go unpunished for leading the January 6th effort and the Republican Party is taking a strong stand against accountability for that assault may only make matters worse. We discuss the case for Trump's conviction by the Senate, how we got to the 6th and what it augurs for the future with Elizabeth Neuman, Director of the Republican Accountability Project and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security and Ryan Goodman, co-editor of "Just Security" and professor of law at NYU Law School. Don't miss this chilling conversation.Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio. Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, after 4 long, divisive and tragic years, we witnessed the continuation of a 244-year-old American tradition.It was not a peaceful transfer of power. As incoming White House Chief of Staff, Ron Klain correctly noted, “there was nothing inevitable about this day.”Nonetheless - last Wednesday we watched a quadrennial ceremony that Ronald Reagan once called both “commonplace and miraculous” - commonplace because it has happened every 4 years for the 244 - and miraculous because it has happened every 4 years for the last 244.It was, as John F Kennedy said exactly 60 years earlier- “not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom.”It is a ritual that in the past many of us had taken for granted. Not this year - if the last 4 years have taught us anything it is that words truly do have power and they have consequences.Not since Abraham Lincoln, had a new president given an inaugural address to a more divided nation while under the real threat of armed conflict.And Joe Biden rose to the occasion. Let us never forget how close we came to last week NOT happening and as Lincoln said at Gettysburg – rededicate ourselves to a new birth of freedom – where truth, facts and power of words are given their proper place. #WordsMatterSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The past two weeks are unlike any America has ever seen. In the midst of a national pandemic and economic crisis, we saw an unprecedented insurrection on Capitol Hill incited by our then president, an impeachment and then the inauguration of a new leader. On Capitol Hill it was a traumatic period of highs and lows. But it has left America shaken too and asking what's next. We discuss this with Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas and Dr. Kavita Patel, former senior health advisor in the Obama White House. It's an extraordinary conversation and you won't want to miss it. Join us for this special episode.Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio. Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week would have been the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 92nd birthday. Given all that has happened over the last year and the last few weeks, we wanted to highlight one of the most significant and consequential calls for racial equality and social justice in American History - “Letter from Birmingham Jail”On Good Friday, April 12, 1963 - the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and fellow civil rights leaders were arrested in Birmingham, Alabama as they lead a now famous Campaign of non-violent direct action to protest racial segregation and oppression in that Southern City.In the early 1960s, Birmingham was one of the most racially segregated cities in the United States - enforced by both law and culture. Black citizens faced legal and economic oppression, and violent retribution when they attempted to even draw attention to these conditionsThe Birmingham Campaign would become a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. President Kennedy’s Address to the Nation on Civil Rights, the August 1963 March on Washington and many other events were a direct result of this campaign and Dr. King’s now famous letter. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have never seen events like those that occurred on January 6. We have never had a president who posed the kind of threat to our security presented by Donald Trump. We are facing new challenges to our society and government associated with social media and widespread radicalization. How do we respond to these challenges? Who must be held accountable? We conducted a webinar with three experts--Asha Rangappa, former FBI Agent and currently a senior lecturer at Yale's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Harry Litman, former US Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and Ryan Goodman, co-editor of Just Security and professor at NYU Law School. Our listeners asked them questions. You'll be interested in their answers. Join us.Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio. Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We honored to be joined this week by New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, nonprofit CEO and political leader Stacey Abrams. In 2018, after serving for eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Democratic Leader, Stacey Abrams became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, winning more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history.Leader Abrams was the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the United States, and she was the first black woman and first Georgian to deliver a Response to the State of the Union.After witnessing the gross mismanagement of the 2018 election by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, Leader Abrams launched Fair Fight to ensure every American has a voice in our election system.Over the course of her career, Leader Abrams has founded multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues at both the state and national levels.Stacey Abrams is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where she serves on the Subcommittee on Diversity.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the midst of a pandemic, with almost 4000 people dying every day, when the nation should be coming together, the President of the United States once again tore it asunder. Worse, what he did was mobilize the first violent coup attempt in US history on the back of his months long seditious efforts to nullify the November election and steal the sovereign power of American voters. As it happens, he also did it on a week when the Democratic Party secured control of the US Senate, another development with seismic consequences in Washington. We discuss these events and their meaning with former Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams advisor Karen Finney, election law specialist Rick Hasen, former Obama health policy advisor Dr. Kavita Patel and NYU Law Professor and co-editor of "Just Security" Ryan Goodman. It's an important deep dive into the meaning behind the events of an extraordinary week. Join us.Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio. Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices