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Podcast: Don Lemon Tonight
Episode:

Obama Concerned Over State of Democracy
Category: News & Politics
Duration: 01:18:49
Publish Date: 2021-06-08 05:20:00
Description:

Don starts the show by reflecting upon former President Obama’s recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. As Republicans in state legislatures across the country are passing bills which restrict voting rights, Obama expressed concern about the state of American democracy and about how Republican senators are willing to follow Trump to save their careers with the harrowing statement: the path towards an undemocratic America “is not going to happen in just one bang. It happens in a series of steps.”  

Former Senior Adviser to President Obama Valerie Jarrett joins Don to discuss the former president’s statements and the importance of President Biden’s legislation making it through Congress. Host of the podcast The Axe Files, David Axelrod and Former Chief Strategist for President George W. Bush Matthew Dowd also join to add context to Obama’s statements and to analyze Rep. Liz Cheney’s comments on Trump and the GOP. 

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin wrote an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on his opposition to the For The People Act, a bill intended to expand voting rights, and his opposition to killing the filibuster. New York’s Rep. Mondaire Jones joins to discuss the bipartisan nature of voting rights and why Manchin may as well have called his op-ed “Why I’ll Vote to Preserve Jim Crow.” 

Obama and Cooper also discussed on how he told the story of race in America as president. Political Commentator Bakari Sellers joins to explain why Obama wasn’t forceful enough on the issue of race when he was in office, and Political Commentator and former member of the Obama administration Ashley Allison puts Obama’s decisions on speaking about race in perspective. 

Later, Adam Jentleson, the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Sen. Harry Reid, joins to discuss how the filibuster was used in the past to exclusively block civil rights bills and how it continues to prevent progressive change. 

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson twisted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to deny systemic racism and critical race theory. Professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin Peniel Joseph joins to explain why Johnson misrepresented Dr. King and to discuss how white supremacy is still found in some American tradition. 

At least 17 people were killed in mass shootings and gun violence across the country this weekend, and this year has seen a 23% incense in deaths from gun violence. National Correspondent Ryan Young reports. 

Finally, the youngest survivors of the mass school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida are graduating this year. CNN's Kate Bolduan brings a report that reflects on how two graduating seniors fought to stop gun violence during their time in school, and how they plan on taking their experiences with them as they enter their next chapter. 

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