By Mary Alice Miller
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries addressed a packed auditorium at Medgar Evers College to discuss The A, B, Cs of Democracy, the title of his recently published book based on his first-floor speech upon his elevation as House Democratic Leader, affirming the values of this country one letter at a time.
Jeffries spoke about his first civic action when he joined a group of attorneys with roots in central Brooklyn, who decided that central Brooklyn had historically been undercounted in the census. They launched Brooklyn Counts, the Census 2000 engagement campaign. “It was successful,” said Jeffries.
“We made progress as it relates to reducing the size of the undercount. That work has continued. That was the first time that I really got involved post-law school, moving back home into the community to try to get the situation turned around.”
Regarding the current White House administration in which the functions of democracy are under attack, Jeffries said, “It’s a red alert, all hands-on deck moment. This is a congressional struggle, it’s a struggle in the courts, it’s a struggle in the community, it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of the American people in terms of public sentiment, it involves the House, the Senate, the governor, state and local elected officials, advocacy groups, members of the clergy, non for profit institutions and leaders, and perhaps more importantly, every day citizens to engage in preserving what has been to date the greatest democracy in the history of the world.”
Some central values have endured throughout this country’s sometimes turbulent history, but Jeffries said there have always been “just enough good people [who] rose to the occasion to try to get us to a better place.” He added, “Certainly, that is what is needed right now.”
Jeffries talked about Congressional negotiations about the spending agreement due by March 14. “Though Republicans control the House and the Senate, the margins are extremely close. In the House, the Republicans have the smallest margin of any majority since the Great Depression.”
In terms of the spate of lawsuits in response to Trump’s executive actions, Jeffries said, “The courts are going to have to hold. Right now there are almost 30 lawsuits that have been filed related to at least 14 or 15 executive orders. And where there have been decisions, it’s America 7, Donald Trump 0,” adding, “But of course, this is the early stage, and we will continue to work through the process.”
Jeffries said “I don’t want people to underestimate the value and power of public sentiment. This is a long haul fight definitively. People need to strap in and prepare for that.”
He said there is also an opportunity to begin to turn the tide electorally in this current off-year election.
“In New Jersey, we have to hold the governorship, and in Virginia, we have an opportunity to flip a governorship and also make sure that we continue to hold the Virginia House of Delegates where Speaker Don Scott is the first African American in that formerly confederate state now leads that chamber,” said Jeffries.
“That has to be maintained. It is an active and ongoing electoral contest that, if successful, will signal to America, “Wait a second, the claim that everybody’s down with this far-right extremism and this so-called MAGA movement has been greatly exaggerated.”
Next year will bring the all-important midterm elections, during which there is an opportunity to take back both the Senate and the House. “There is a real opportunity. We can cut his presidency in half legislatively.”
And the Supreme Court will play a role. “We’ve got three strong members, strong women – Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson,” said Jeffries. “And then we have got to find two more on any given issue amongst the other four, putting aside Thomas and Alito. That is not going to be an easy project.”
Jeffries reminded the audience that most cases don’t make it to the Supreme Court, and those that do, it takes a while to get there.
“The far-right extremists have developed what I refer to as a subterranean disinformation machine that in many ways was hidden from plain sight because it didn’t involve the traditional media, certainly not through political news, but through lifestyle programs, through sports, through automobiles, through pro wrestling, through gaming apps, through messaging chat groups on Reddit or in other places,” said Jeffries.
“You cannot combat what you cannot see. The first thing we had to do is give full visibility to it as a project we started working on the day after the election. Those who got their news from alternative sources where there is a one-way conversation, and it was coming from Trump and his supporters overwhelmingly voted for him. That is what made the difference.”
Jeffries added, “We can never allow that to happen again.”
Regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, Jeffries said, “Merit should be based on what you know, not who you know. They want a merit system based on who you know. They cannot credibly argue that the people that they are putting into the Cabinet are the best qualified in the country. Let’s start with the Secretary of Defense. This group is lecturing us about merit? It’s a fake narrative, and we have got to be prepared to call it out.”
Jeffries said, “It is going to be incredibly important to stay engaged in the fight. Understand that the flood the zone approach that we are seeing. They telegraphed it. They said we are going to launch shock and awe. They want to disorient all of us. That is the objective. They want to discourage everyone. They want people to be in despair that all of this is happening and there is a sense of inevitability to it.”
But, He said, “It is important to know that none of this is inevitable.”
Jeffries recounted several examples, including Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s demand to raise the debt ceiling in December, effectively a $4 trillion blank check. “When this was presented to the Congress I went into the Caucus meeting and said my position is not no, it’s hell no,” said Jeffries. “The Caucus rallied, and that bill was defeated. It was the first legislative defeat for this incoming administration.”
He also spoke about Trump’s executive order against birthright citizenship which a court declared it unconstitutional. That initial decision had been expanded across the nation.
The funding freeze that would have decimated Medicaid, Head Start, grants for violence interruption programs, etc., was rescinded and a court has now also frozen it with a nationwide injunction.
And Trump has had to back down from his tariff scheme.
“The pushback has been intense, and it’s working,” said Jeffries. “But the flood-the-zone strategy is designed to convince everybody that all of this is inevitable when it is not. But, it’s going to take a lot of work and staying on the case.”
“We are now seeing elections have consequences,” said Jeffries. “We are in a day-to-day struggle to protect the country, the community, and everyday Americans.”
